[paperbag846]

On the contrary, I think what you did with his photo was really nice. The black border works really well. Most importantly, though, you fixed the skin tones - find that colour much more flattering (even if it was not the actual colour of her face). I would agree that the composition here is a little flat, and would be improved by zooming out a bit, and also having taken the shot at a more perpendicular angle. It would have been nice to see her in her environment, a little bit past the car would give the photo more context.

However this is all artistic conjecture and for the most part, my opinion is useless in that we all want photos of different things. I think your run down of the basics of digital photography is spot on and a great place to start. I wonder if you colour treatment will help the OP find some JPEG settings that work best for him (I can understand why people are not enthralled with the idea of post processing every picture they take).

One other suggestion, if JPEG is the game, is to actually set your white balance. I've never seen AWB work perfectly, and it's near impossible to fix it in post properly (with a JPEG).

I took this picture a long time ago - in a bar, with the kit lens. It's pretty bad. I like the expression on my cousin's face, which is why i kept it at all. However the tungsten lighting completely ruins the photo in my books, and I can't fix it in PP. There is not enough detail remaining. If I had the knowledge at the time to select tungsten WB instead of relying on AWB, the colour would have been much nicer.

It was this experience, actually, that made me a RAW shooter.

And I have no problem admitting I am not a great photographer, with lots of room for improvement. I think my little blog is a testament that I am making headway, so as long as I keep at it, I think my skills will justify my time spent on this hobby .

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Last edited by paperbag846; 06-10-2011 at 03:14 PM.

[Manel Brand]

iugsfeusesebfsefi

Paperbag! what happen to you? Can't you speak English anymore?

[Manel Brand]

And I have no problem admitting I am not a great photographer, with lots of room for improvement. I think my little blog is a testament that I am making headway, so as long as I keep at it, I think my skills will justify my time spent on this hobby

Paperbag, you are a gentleman! and your cousin is very nice.
No, the point is to quit jpegs altogether; you see, the correlative of film is raw; jpeg is for p&s shooters, and wedding photographers (with 2.000 photos to process over night).
As for white balance, again, shoot raw, set it to Cloudy and forget about it for the rest of your life.
Being aware of our limitations it's all it takes to become a master on whatever we do; the problem is when you think you are a "big shot" and have nothing to learn from others. I think you are in the right path and if you are determined to get there, nothing can really stop you. BTW, I'm assuming you are a young guy with an interest in photography. Well, I'm not that young anymore, not a great photographer also (I don't have the time it requires), but I like to help young dudes at school who like photography and are starting from the scratch. They feel lost and frequently put the camera aside until it's forgotten. That's a shame because photography is an affordable way of develop an aesthetic feeling on life that makes us better persons, or so I think.

That picture is all about your cousin smile; color is not important here; have you consider a B&W conversion?

[MetteHHH]

I forget the exact details - and obviously I am too lazy to google - but this brings an anecdote to mind that I heard on another photo forum: Ernest Hemingway was visiting an exhibition of... some celebrated photographer in his time, and he said to the artist: "I really like your photos - what camera do you use?", to which the artist replied: "Actually, I am a big fan of your books also, maybe you can tell me what brand of typewriter you use?"

I think that puts it in a nice perspective?

[Manel Brand]

I forget the exact details - and obviously I am too lazy to google - but this brings an anecdote to mind that I heard on another photo forum: Ernest Hemingway was visiting an exhibition of... some celebrated photographer in his time, and he said to the artist: "I really like your photos - what camera do you use?", to which the artist replied: "Actually, I am a big fan of your books also, maybe you can tell me what brand of typewriter you use?"

I think that puts it in a nice perspective?

I got another for you:

This great photographer goes for a dinner with some friends. The cook says to him:

- Your photos are very good, what camera do you use?
- I use this camera made by Pentax, said the photographer.
When it's all over and people are getting home, the photographer says to the cook:
- Your food was very good. What brand of cooking pots do you use?

[piesforyou]

I agree that light is extremely important. With good light you barely need good composition to make a nice photo. If you get good composition, exposure and light, you make a great photo.