am I kidding myself...should I throw in the towel?

[rward78]

From Ali & model

This picture was one of my son at our local Shakespear Park. I know that it was taken with the wrong ISO - before I even knew what it was! So I know that the picture could use some work. I am trying to decide if I have any talent and hope for using my skills (LOL) for side work to help supplement my sons college fund. I have been reading a ton of the posts and been working from them to practice and improve. I get alot of positive feedback from those that I have photographed for free and even recently sold some prints. I don't want to charge though if I am simply providing snapshots....any thoughts and advice on how to improve the pic's in this set will be greatly appreciated.

NIKON D90
ISO: 1600
Exposure: 1/125 sec
Aperture: 5.0
Focal Length: 52mm
Flash Used: No

[candleman]

how do you know it's the wrong ISO ?

1/125th is about right for a kid that moves a bit
f/5 ...i'm guessing you're using your kit lens, so it probably couldn't open wide enough.
it looks like yu were inside something dark/shaded neaning there was not much light on the face.

in that case.. your ISO was just perfect.

how to improve it?
well,
1. a change of angle would have been better so we see more of the kid and he's not hidden behind the wall.
2. chopping off the hands is No-No, he can look like an amputee.
3. you caught some great emotion. but often the best smiles are right after the person has laughed and they are relaxing their face again... the brief moment of that smile generally looks very natural.


keep it up. nice attempt.
keep practicing and asking and researching..

[Alexs]

There's nothing wrong with a high ISO if your camera can produce usable results IMO. Sometimes getting the shot is more important than having zero noise.

Not sure if you were using a kit lens but opening the aperture up would help in the composition and give you a chance to reduce your ISO.

Definitely agree on candleman's points 1 and 2. Point 3 is new to me...thanks candleman!

[LeeR]

There are probably much easier ways to contribute to your sons college fund than learning photography, but I understand the idea that you get to do something you really like and earn a few bucks in the process. So let me give it to you straight; Yes, you have a lot to learn. You are nowhere close to being in a position to make money with your images, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should give up. Truth is, there is going to be a learning curve with most any trade and if photography is something you love you are far more likely to put in the hours to master your craft. This is gut check time. You are finally realizing just how much work is involved; are you still willing to slog it out and do the hard work required to learn what you need? If so, go for it. We were all where you are at some time in our careers.

[rward78]

Thank you all for the time and thoughts. That picture was captured right before he fell out of the window (thank goodness for quick reflexes by his daddy) and it was taken right under the eaves of the little shakespearan hut...he wouldn't stay still long enough to really compose any pictures. LOL

I love, love, love photography and am definetly willing to put in the time and effort it takes to learn and hone my skills. I don't expect to ever make a living with my pictures, but being to pay for a few necessities for college would be nice....thankfully I have about 17 years to accumulate the funds :-)

I have been taking pictures for as long as I can remember and I can tell a difference in my work over the past two to three years as I have learned my camera. Unfortunately, I am not much for reading instruction manuals and have learned with trial and error....which looks like it's not really working. I am using the kit lense and did notice about it not opening any further yesterday while taking self portraits to practice poses that I read in another post. LOL - I looked like a nut snapping pictures of myself in my backyard!

So I will continue to read and am going to enroll in some continuing education classes here in my area to learn more about the technical aspects...also going to figure out a way to use photoshop for editing! Thanks again!

[Smallfish]

Originally Posted by rward78

I love, love, love photography

There's half the battle won right there I would have thought. Now it's just the years of practice

On the critique front the other chaps have it covered.

[ajax_andy]

Learning photography is like learning to play the guitar... it looks easy, but the 1st time you pick up a guitar you realise its not!

So you think if you practice for a year you'll be amazing... yet after a year you realise your still not particularly good... yes you're much better than you were 12 months ago, but its now obvious that you could practice for another 10 years and still only be half decent.

But if you put in the effort and are willing to learn and improve eventually you'll be stood on stage ripping in to a great riff and the crowd will be going wild.

So stick at it and keep learning, improving and pushing yourself. Photography just like music is an art form, and as such most people have to work at it and improve bit by bit.

I've had a look at your other pictures, and some of them are pretty good. To me it seems like you're not really pushing yourself though, there's plenty of pictures of children, but what about shooting more adults, wildlife, landscapes etc etc? To improve and improve quickly you have to really push yourself and not just stick to what you're comfortable with... so take chances and shoot new things.

I shot a band the other night for the 1st time, I dont have a low light lense... it was challenging and scary... I got some really good pics (and a lot of horrible blurry ones), but seeing a positive result boosted my confidence and encourages me to try more new things.

Sorry for the long response, but you seem like you want to learn and improve, and you are also willing to listen to advice... so for me those 2 factors say that if you work hard you will keep improving and maybe reach your desired goal one day.

[rward78]

Thanks ajax_andy...hadn't really thought of it from that point of view, but your right...I am better than I was and I do need to get outside of my comfort zone. I think that I will try that out this weekend and get more landscape and maybe some wildlife pictures (if I can force myself to the zoo with my little one.)
P.S. I will always listen to advice and sometimes will even listen to it *grin* - the majority of it from DPS forums I am actually working on...just not posting any of my practice yet!

[ajax_andy]

Originally Posted by rward78

Thanks ajax_andy...hadn't really thought of it from that point of view, but your right...I am better than I was and I do need to get outside of my comfort zone. I think that I will try that out this weekend and get more landscape and maybe some wildlife pictures (if I can force myself to the zoo with my little one.)
P.S. I will always listen to advice and sometimes will even listen to it *grin* - the majority of it from DPS forums I am actually working on...just not posting any of my practice yet!

No problem

[kristenh]

i like the picture and agree with the original critique (from candleman). the most valuable thing i was ever told about portraits is that the background is as important as the subject. if you have bright spots in the background, as you do here, people will automatically look toward those bright spots and that detracts from your subject. so make sure to scan the background before you snap. (yes, i know all about how hard that is with the rapidly moving set)

regarding photography- if you love, love, love it, then do, do, do it. even if you never make a cent, somebody has to record this cute little guy growing up. i am most certainly not in the business of photography, but i am rather surprised to note that a few friends of mine who have posted their photos on FB have people paying them to take pictures of their kids. and they are not very good. i've had 3 people ask to pay me to take pics of their kids (i've been at this just about a year now and i find something wrong with pretty much all of my photos, so its not like i'm so great). so you never know what people will pay for.

i really do recommend that you read up, though- i think you can often tell from a photo when somebody knew what they were doing vs just got lucky. or, if you find the exposure triangle and all that rather dry reading, i think there are actually you tube videos where they explain it.

good luck!