What am I doing wrong??

sureshgvv · 06-18-2008, 09:48 AM

All,

I am learning how to use this DSLR. Please help me here. I know i can do better on this but HOW??

Thanks
Suresh

*rmtagg* · 06-18-2008, 08:11 PM

In the first shot my eye imediately goes to the sign to the left. get rid of it if you can. Also I dont seem to land on a focal point in the first pic either.

the second one has interest but on my monitor the colors look flat for both pics. I might tighten up the bottom shot too a bit. Dont know if this helps or not, its all subjective

*Ole* · 06-18-2008, 08:30 PM

Number two lacks contrast. You could increase contrast in post processing. And perhaps crop it into a vertical format to make it more interesting.

OniFactor · 06-18-2008, 08:47 PM

step one:

buy Ansel Adams books, The Camera, The Negative, and The Print, and read.

step two:

apply knowledge gained from books, into real world shooting.

step three:

read books again, and gain deeper understanding.

repeat until you are world class photographer.

:-)

in all seriousness, what you need to work on is developing 'the eye,' for composition, colors, and interacting elements. you need to know what you want it to look like, and then, by understanding photographic principles, you can work towards achieving it. we can't tell you how to fix these photographs, because we don't know what you want them to look like

sureshgvv · 06-20-2008, 07:39 AM

Thanks guys for all the inputs. I will surely take a look at the books Oni.

Rosemary: I too feel the same thing, the colors are looking flat. I dont know why. I shot the pictures in AV mode. May be the time at which the pics were shot. I will go back and try to take some more but at different times.

*rparmar* · 06-20-2008, 03:23 PM

I started to draft a reply but it turned into an article so watch my blog and I'll post it tomorrow.

OniFactor · 06-20-2008, 11:45 PM

Originally Posted by sureshgvv

Thanks guys for all the inputs. I will surely take a look at the books Oni.

Rosemary: I too feel the same thing, the colors are looking flat. I dont know why. I shot the pictures in AV mode. May be the time at which the pics were shot. I will go back and try to take some more but at different times.

program, AV, TV, or manual will not change your colour renditions. that is achieve either in post process, or in camera processing.. do you shoot jpg or raw?

*LaRee* · 06-21-2008, 12:07 AM

Originally Posted by OniFactor

program, AV, TV, or manual will not change your colour renditions. that is achieve either in post process, or in camera processing.. do you shoot jpg or raw?

There is no exif information, no information on camera used or lens used. Besides commenting on composition there isn't much we can say to help. Post processing is a big part of working with at least k10d files in my experience. But I don't know what you are shooting with.

LeroyPK · 06-21-2008, 03:40 AM

It may be a timing issue with the light. Mid-day light will have a tendency to "flatten" colors. Maybe get up really early (especially this time of year in the northern hemisphere) and capture the light of just pre- and post-dawn or get out and shoot it again later, pre- and post-sunset.

I agree with the comments on composition as well. Determine what it is that is of interest to you and then draw the eye to it. For example, in the first shot, is the bridge what was of interest? If so, then maybe concentrate on just a smaller portion of the bridge. Or was it the visual repetition of the upright members of the bridge? If so, zoom in to crop out the remainder. Well, I hope you get my point.

I guess the main thing would be, in my mind, to determine what makes the shot interesting and then compose the shot to zero in on it and highlight it through placement, size, lighting, contrast, etc.

One other thing: Shoot lots more. Digital allows you to cheap press the shutter release time and time and time again. Sure, you'll get lots of crap, but the chances of finding a gem are greatly increased when you have more to choose from. Additionally, as you shoot and review, you'll see things that "work" and will be able to incorporate those techniques more often.

sureshgvv · 06-21-2008, 04:21 AM

The Pics were shot with K100D super and 18-55mm kit Lens. Also they were taken just before sunset!

*rparmar* · 06-21-2008, 04:56 AM

OK, I finished that article I promised. It covers the basics of light, time of day, polarisers and image editing (adjustment layers, curves, etc.) with links to more detailed articles. I trust it is appropriately targeted at the beginner.

It's over at my Theatre Of Noise blog. I've got a good number of other photography articles there, with more arriving all the time. Maybe subscribe to the RSS feed so you don't miss any.

Hope that helps.

sureshgvv · 06-21-2008, 08:48 PM

Thanks Robin, I will Lookat it tomorrow morning

SpecialK · 06-22-2008, 07:20 PM

I too feel the same thing, the colors are looking flat. I dont know why.

Because the subjects have no (or nearly no) direct light on them.

Shooting down a bridge can be interesting - if you have the right bridge. This is not one of them.

Getting the subject (bridge or path) to cross the frame gives the eye something to follow, perhaps making it a bit more interesting.

Don't give up, just shoot more, and from a variety of angles.

PDL · 06-26-2008, 11:04 PM

The images appear to be taken from eye level. Eye ball level images, unless they are truely outstanding, tend to be boring. Change your point of view - get higher - stand on a bench, lower - crouch down-get on your knees- put the camera on the ground, get closer, fill the frame of the viewfinder with what you want to see. You want to challenge the user to see - your vision - not just what they would see if they stood in the same spot.

Think forground, middle and back ground. I like the S curve of the second shot - but why the dead open space to the left? What is the point of the image - where do you want the eye to go.

The first shot is of what? The railing, the bridge part or ...... I'm confused. Now if you had put the camera on the left rail and captured the curve of the walkway back to the viewing area, maybe that would have peak some additional interest. The metal railing and the wood - the contrast could make for some interesting texture contrast shots.

Remember, with a SLR what you see in the viewfinder is what is going to be viewed. Crawl around and look for those elements that attract the eye. Play with perspective, texture and point of view. Exploit the cameras ability to control DoF and selected focus. Also, you do hot have to hold the camera straight up and down - tilt the thing down to forshorten the forground or tilt it up to make the sky appear to fly away.

Go back and spend some additional time working the scenes - try diffrent times of the day. I have a small bridge that is pretty boring near my home and I have hundreds of shots of it. I have had some interesting positive comments on some of them too. But I can only capture the places different moods as I continue to work the area.

You have a good start here, but it seems to me that you are just standing there blasting away. Think about what you want the image to look like - then go find that spot and get it.

The Elitist - formerly known as PDL

sureshgvv · 06-27-2008, 07:09 AM

Thanks everyone for the valuable suggestions. Next week, if weather permits, I will go back there and try to get some more shots.