Beginner looking for tips

[AesBreCov]

Hi All! I am new here, and completely new to photography (besides just snapshots of my kids.) I now have a Canon RebelXS, which is totally pointless unless I learn what the heck I'm doing! I have a few (what I think are) fabulous shots of my oldest son from the summer, but I shot all in auto. I am trying to venture out a bit....but I guess only a little at a time, because I usually stick to aperture priority.

Here is a picture of my son that I took today. It is too dang cold to actually play in the snow today, but he was watching it out the window, so I got some candid shots. My favorite expression (and one he was actually looking OUT the window) ended up with a completely overexposed window/background. This one, I managed to get a little detail of the outside. This is definitely not my best work, and a snow day may not have been the best time to start out, but I wanted to throw it out there and ask for some advice on settings to get better effects. I tend to keep the focus on auto, simply because I can't seem to adjust as quickly as they move!



F/5
1/200 sec
ISO-100
Focal Length 18mm

[AesBreCov]

ok...obviously I don't know what I'm doing here, cuz I can't even get the picture to show up!

[Eileen D]

The easiest way to post the image is to upload to a site like Flickr. When the image is on your screen, you look under Share this and one of your choices is Grab the HTML/BBC code. Copy that and then paste it in the post. The image will then show up in your DPS post. You'll find that viewers here are much more likely to respond to an image if it shows up in the post rather than having a link.

Good luck doing the post and I look forward to seeing your image!

[AesBreCov]

Thank you! I will try that!

[Eileen D]

Glad to see you were able to upload the image!

The exposure on your son is good so that the details of his sweet face are clear -- as well as the Elmo details! For me the scene out the window isn't really necessary, since there's nothing special about the view, so possibly consider a crop making him the main subject.

Nothing wrong with using auto focus, particularly with a subject that is likely to move, but have you used the single point focus option to give you more control of where you want the focus? If you haven't tried it, look it up in your manual and give it a try to see what you can do with it.

If the other image that you referred to has an expression that you like better, how about trying a crop so that he is the main subject?

Keep playing with that Rebel and keep reading DPS and you'll definitely keep improving. It's a great site to learn a lot and share your progress!

[sgeary]

Looks good I would consider as suggested before maybe a tighter crop on the boy. I also agree with previous post about maybe playing with focus points!

[AesBreCov]

Thank you guys so much for your input! I guess I'm not sure why I kept quite so much of the outside scene in there to begin with. May I ask how you would crop it to make it look a little better? I will definitely check my manual and try playing with the focal points next time!

If you're interested, this is the other one with the innocent expression that I liked. I did crop this one in some, because there was a LOT of white in the background. What do you think?

[Eileen D]

Oh I can see why you like the expression in this one! He is so absorbed in his own thoughts and he has such sweet features, particularly that adorable mouth. The blown out background is distracting, but it's almost impossible to regain any detail in postprocessing when there's so little to work with. You could try a slightly tighter crop here -- though you want to be sure to give him some space to look into when you're cropping.

In both of them, for cropping I'd just play around with a variety of crops, even ones you know you don't want because it helps you to clarify your own sense of composition when you see your own mistakes. So for instance in that second one, try a really tight crop and you'll be likely to see for yourself why it doesn't work.

As for the exposure, look up exposure lock in your manual and add that to your list of camera details to get to know. It allows you to tell the camera what the subject is so you can set and lock the exposure, and then totally recompose the shot to get the composition you want. The camera will ignore that light background and focus on your son when deciding on exposure.

It can take some time to master elements like autofocus and exposure lock (and all those other buttons and dials that will help you control your results) but it will be worth the time and effort as you see your images improve!

Keep sharing those sweet shots!

[AesBreCov]

Thank you! This is the first forum that I've posted in that someone has actually come back with constructive comments! I really appreciate the tips, and I will definitely be pulling out the manual again - It's a little easier to understand when someone points out what I'm looking for and why!

[Eileen D]

If you run into problems with trying out either of those features (or others for that matter!) just post a question and you'll usually get some good response here. I've found most of the members to be quite helpful and generous with their knowledge. So welcome to a great place to keep learning!