How to get better?

[faeriegodess612]

So,..after lusting over a D7000, and the comments that followed, ( Which I agreed with ) I'm wondering how I can get better. I would post here, but the rules are so restricting and the comments usually not that helpful. And I figured I would post it here in Landscapes and Cityscapes since that's what I do the most of at the moment.

I know the typical "Practice, practice, practice" And I need to work more on getting to know my manual settings and getting even more familiar with the exposure triangle. What I'm thinking about is composition. I've tried finding books on it, and am having a hard time finding something that isnt,.."This is your shutter button. The shutter is the thing that moves and allows the camera to take a pretty picture." I dont need a lesson on basic photography from every book I pick up.

So,..I guess, any suggestions on how you think I might improve, or websites and books that you can give me to learn more beyond the basics, and without needing an entire studio of equipment. I've already thought about my next book being "The Moment it Clicks" by Joe McNally. I have Vol. 1 of "The Digital Photography Book" by Scott Kelby, and "Light: Science & Magic"

Take a gander at my Flickr for what I can do. Both watermarks are me.

[RichardTaylor]

Have a look at this 3 part series (I own the book)

#1
Taking Your Photography To The Next Level

#2
Taking Your Photography To The Next Level #2

#3
Next Level Part III

[cyber3d]

Have you tried Lynda.com? They have 141 courses related to photography, 21 on cameras, 16 on lighting, 9 on photo assignments etc. Their fee allows you access to their entire course selection. The quality, IMO, is top notch.

[metallion58]

When it comes to books about composition and feeling/vision in photography, I refer everybody to this one.
I believe he's right on the button on the subject of making an image balanced an meaningful. And it's a lot more about vision that the technical side of photography (although there's a little of that too but it's more about how the technique impacts the image and the message you want to convey).
And it's an easy and fun read too!

[shruggy63]

I like Michael Freeman's 'The Photographer's Eye'. Sounds like it might be just the kind of thing you're looking for.

[Nicole]

I think that the thing that stands out for me the most on Flickr is that your subjects aren't always standing out. Whether that's by the settings you use or how you post-process, I'd say your next step should be focusing on making sure there is a clear, and clearly distinguishable subject.

I consider this one of the better ones in the first few pages of your site:

DSC_0881 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Clearly distinguishable subject, good post-processing. Sure, there may some other ways to compose the shot, but overall I consider it one of the better ones.

DSC_0480 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

This one, I think it has potential, but it brings up something I saw in a few of the photos, which was that sometimes it seems like you need to watch the edges of your frames more to see if what you're including in there adds or detracts from the photos.

This DSC_0910 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! is another example where I would question whether the leaves on the edge add or detracts from the photo. Because there are so few it seems more like detracts compared to a similar example you have where the dome was more completely framed.

These two:
DSC_0017-2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
DSC_0032-1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I think could benefit from post-processing to make the subject stand out more. I think in the water one, the red buoys could stand out more to draw your eye to them in the expanse of blue (and again with watching the edge, you've got a line of pink along the right edge).

With the one with the bench, it's nearly the same colour as the wall, so it makes it much more difficult to see it and let your eyes focus on it.

So, IMHO I'd say the areas that I think you need to focus on are composition, post-processing and possibly lighting (which is totally possible with ghetto lighting or picking the right time of day).

[BuddhaPi]

Disclaimer: I am NOT hijacking this thread!

Thanks Nicole, those are really good tips, ones which I will be stealing, sometime I do this exact thing
( actually I do this often )

[ravncat]

In the composition department... these simple things can help

Realize your camera is capturing a little more than you see through the viewfinder- learn to wobble the viewfinder/eye position about and know what else you are getting - so that you can pay close attention to the edge of a frame.

take a photograph of a subject, and stick with that subject taking as many different interesting photographs of it as you can - two ways to do it, one is the improvement game - each successive photo should be better than the previous, the other is all angles...

Carry a cardboard square and visualize the heck out of photos, before shooting.

[faeriegodess612]

Thanks guys. I'll certainly check out all the links.

Thanks Nicole- The bike seat was one of my faves. On the wall mural, I was actually intentionally including the edge of it, to kinda show that its a mural. Maybe I couldve done that one differently? The Dome with a bit of leaves,...I tried SO HARD to clone/heal those out. I guess I couldve cropped down a bit to get rid of them though. The buoys,..TBH, I'm not sure why its even still up. I dont like it at all. The pink? I dont know whats up with that, I've noticed it on other photos, and I think it was Picasa screwing with the files data or something? There was nothing pink in the vicinity of all that blue. It wasnt even always pink. Sometimes it was purple. It's really kinda weird. I see what your saying about the bench shot. And its kinda hard sometimes to know whats in the frame, and what isnt, with my cameras viewfinder. I've had to do some ever so slight crops before because of that. Great stuff to think about. Thanks.

Originally Posted by ravncat

Carry a cardboard square and visualize the heck out of photos, before shooting.

LOL,..I never thought of that. I've always kinda thought about the whole holding your hands up to frame a photo thing so movie/tv cliche. But I guess it might actually be helpful.

[faeriegodess612]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

Have a look at this 3 part series (I own the book)

#1
Taking Your Photography To The Next Level

#2
Taking Your Photography To The Next Level #2

#3
Next Level Part III

I think I may see about getting the book. I got thru the first page, and half way thru the second, and was starting to form a headache. The white font on black background makes it really hard to read. At least for me.

I'll order the others when I can. I found some other books online for composition as well.

Thanks again guys,..and if anyone wants to add anymore to this, have at it.