Eeeek...first attempt with new camera!

[poppetme]

Ok, so I'm very new. Only had the camera a couple of weeks!

I'm booked on a course here in London that starts in 4 weeks time...and I'm trying to get a little hang of the camera and generally the way this site works to help me further before then!

It's my first time posting too...so please go easy on me with providing the correct EXIF info... However, feel free to really go at me with the critique. I'm a teacher in "real life" and I'm certainly a big believer in learning best through mistakes.

Camera: Canon 550D
Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 53 mm
ISO Speed 1600
Exposure Bias 0 EV

It was set to the black and white setting on the camera and at first handle couldn't get it off! (Have figured it out now...and would have shot in colour otherwise!)

Here is my very first picture:





I want to know a couple of things really.

1) Is composition ok?
2) Lighting? He was sat near window. No flash used.
3) Generally as a starting point...does it look ok?

Poppet x

[Dodge]

Hi Poppet, welcome to the forum! (Feels a bit spooky calling someone Poppet on first meeting )

Nice shot, even moreso considering how new it all is to you.

I'm no expert myself, by a country mile, but I love the composition, It's a great study of the gentleman and very suggestive as to his personality, if that's what you were trying to capture. (If he's a party animal, disregard that last comment)

The natural lighting looks good to me, although more technically proficient posters may most likely see things I dont. And overall I'd say that as a starting point, yes it's more than ok. The tricky part now will be maintaining that standard and indeed improving upon it.

[MrJones]

congratulations on your new camera.. that's where it all begins
as for the picture, it feels like it needs to be straightened, his shoulders give the feeling like the camera wasn't held straight.
the BW needs a bit more contrast which you can add in post processing.
all in all, a great shot!

[candidrachel]

Hi poppetme! My philosophy is learn as you go too!

On the photo it has a very natural candid feel to it. You captured a lovely moment and its great that you haven't placed him slap bang in the middle of the frame that alot of beginners tend to do however I feel the compostion could be improved if you moved him just slightly more to the right because the photo gives little cramped feel.

Just my thoughts and your off to a great start. Like all teachers tend to say "keep up the good work"

[AnonymousKiwi1]

Hi, Poppet. Welcome to DPS. You've come to the right place to learn!

I really like the lighting, the focus is spot on, and I think your 'accident' in B&W has worked out nicely. I have the feeling that if this shot had been in colour the cushion would have overwhelmed the subject. I to think that the composition could benefit from a little judicial cropping. There's just a bit too much empty space to the right. I would suggest that a square-ish crop might work well. As Rachel said, you don't want you subject slap in the middle, but not all the way up on the side either. (There's alway exceptions to the rules, you just have to know how to use them before you break them)

Actually, as I think of it the 'awkward' feeling might be due to the fact that he's looking the wrong way in to the space. One of those composition tips that I try to keep in mind is 'allow you subject space to look in to'. This gent's looking slightly to the left, so a better composition might have been to allow empty space to his left. Of course I don't know what's to his left - there might be something seriously distracting just there?
Anyway, sorry for rambling.

All in all, this is an excellent start. Keep it up.

[poppetme]

Oooh how exciting!

After a lovely evening spent with my family for mother's day, I return home to find some lovely critique! And very useful too. Thank you for going easy on my first try.

I must admit...I feel better now that I've posted. (And had some response! I had a sneaky little look this afternoon and saw that the post had 31 views but 0 replies and I felt a little worried!)

Ok...I've played around a little. I must admit that I'm yet to purchase Photoshop or any PP (I hope that's the correct acronym) so for the moment I tried a very simple edit in iPhoto.

Is it an improvement?



Dodge: Thanks for your lovely advice and comment. I was indeed trying to capture exactly that. My dad is quite a serious man and was simply sitting down reading. I managed to capture him before he even noticed that I had entered the room.

MrJones: I've straightened it up. It's funny...I didn't even really pick that up until I looked at it again. I think he was slightly slouched at the time. I've also tried to add a little contrast. (I'll be very honest here and say that although I understand what contrast is as a general term...photography wise I'm not sure I understand yet. In iPhoto...I tried to add a little contrast which made it a little darker so then I tried the little exposure slider...I may have simply ruined it...not sure!) Any advice taken. P.s...I will be getting Photoshop next month!

Candidrachel: I think you are right too. When I take a similar pic again, I'll try to gain I little space on the left (or right) side too. I've cropped it a little to see if that improves the 'cramped' feel. What do you think?

AnonymousKiwi1: He was reading and the newspaper was in his lap. He's always read like that...but I suppose now that I think about it...how is anyone else to know what the hell he's looking at!! Perhaps calling the pic...Reading Dad might be an idea.

Oh guys, thank you so much for the little comments. Feel like I've already learnt something new today. I'm really excited about starting my course now and even more so that I have a little place to come and practise until then and hopefully throughout the course and beyond too!

[Dodge]

Hi again Poppet,

Don't worry, you haven't ruined it. Indeed the composition tweaks are a definite improvement.

With regard to the contrast, personally I really liked the soft grey tones of the original, it gave a feeling of tranquility. Remember though, quite often things are subjective and down to personal choice too. You could give ten different people a picture to process and get ten different results .

With regards to photoshop, do you already have experience with it at all? I'm just asking as it is quite a complex tool and learning to use it properly is far from simple. (My wife pretty much has it open all the time, but has worked with it professionally for years. I find it quite over the top for what i need photography wise. CS5 is also quite resource heavy and requires quite a workhorse pc to run at a decent speed). Whilst it's undoubtedly a must for the image manipulation work that an artist such as Windrider does, to me, photoshop for the amateur photographer is a bit akin to using a sledgehammer to crack open a peanut. Unless of course you already know your way around Photoshop, I'd personally recommend Adobe Lightroom 3. It has a much more user friendly interface, loads of presets for instant effects and styles and all the tools you need to edit/pp without being overbearing.

Just a thought

Ooh, incidentally, with regard to others not knowing what your dad's doing in the pic, oddly enough right from the get go, I was under the impression that he was quietly reading a book. Regardless of that though, I do see it as probably quite a personal pic of your dad doing something which is familiar to you. End of the day, no one else on this occasion really needs to know. You could hang this on your wall and in years to come look at it with fond memories. By comparison, you could take the best picture in the world of him clearly tap dancing, for example and it would be so much less familiar to you. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if it's not commercial and a personal thing, it's what the picture means to you that really matters. I really like that, it makes it special on another level all together.
Also I think it adds interest. A pic of a chap reading a book is just that, nothing more to say on the matter. An image like this though encourages some thought and leaves something to the imagination. He looks content, I wonder what he's looking at? He could be enjoying a favourite book, reading the news, reminissing on a picture of a loved one....... See where I'm going?

Wow I've rambled. It's passed the time though, insomnia really sucks ;-)

[AnonymousKiwi1]

Hi again Poppet

Dodge is right that we don't need to know what he's doing. 'Reading' was my first thought too. I like this crop much better. The 'awkward' feeling has gone.

And regards post processing - Dodge is right again. Photoshop is fairly complex to learn. Not to put you off, if you feel there is going to be a lot of heavy processing that you want to do, then go for it.

In the mean time, if you're after a bit of free software I recommend Picasa. It's pretty basic, but easy to learn.

Best of luck.

Oh, and don't get discouraged if you get lots of views and few comments. A lot of the visitors to this site are guests who are unable to comment.

[dannyrich]

Originally Posted by MrJones

congratulations on your new camera.. that's where it all begins
as for the picture, it feels like it needs to be straightened, his shoulders give the feeling like the camera wasn't held straight.
the BW needs a bit more contrast which you can add in post processing.
all in all, a great shot!

Totally agree, add a touch of contrast and you have a very good portrait! You capture the concentration and mood very well.

[poppetme]

Thank you so much guys!

I am going to go away and seriously think about the whole Lightroom/Photoshop thing.

My only reason for thinking about Photoshop was simply because the course I'm going to attend in a few weeks time will be using it...

Also Adobe's Bridge and Raw editor...I don't have a clue as to what these are!

Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design - Digital Photography (Wednesday Evenings)

I'm really looking forward to starting it now.

Thanks again!