Photographs, need your thoughts.

[luv2fsh]

Iam really into photographing, I would like to know what you guys think. Eventually I would like to sell some prints to the public, I think sunset pictures make great household wall conversation peices.

[DementedFish]

Pictures look great however you need to work on composition on some of your pictures. The one with the ship has good composition but I feel like its lacking something... maybe a higher aperture? If you need help, let me know. BTW, what kind of camera are you using?

[DementedFish]

One more comment and suggestion to add. In the third picture, the color of the sunset is amazing, truely brilliant, however I noticed you added flash. Sometimes, artifical lighting can take away the effect on landscapes (in this case it does). This adds too much to the photograph for the eye to pleasantly rest. If you were to use no flash, the natural colors from the sun would have hit the sand giving it more of an orange glow, and not that white one you have there. If your images are coming out too dark without the flash, then you will need to set your camera on the Aperture priority setting, and set it to a high aperture (low focal opening of the lens) and ideally use a tripod. You can also use a slow shutter which will bring in more light. Also, are you using a lens hood? I can see two black marks on the upper left and right hand corner of every picture.

[luv2fsh]

Hey demented fish it sounds like you really know your stuff, and there is black triangels in the corner. I think that is from the lens cover not opening all the way. I have no schooling or knowledge really of photography. I am using a Pentax optio 555. Any more useful info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[aftahour]

Awsome pictures sean.. wish i had a camera to take pics

[DementedFish]

Originally Posted by aftahour

Awsome pictures sean.. wish i had a camera to take pics

Those aren't mine, those are Luv2fsh's.

[luv2fsh]

I was just about to say, my name isnt sean. lol

[DementedFish]

Originally Posted by luv2fsh

Hey demented fish it sounds like you really know your stuff, and there is black triangels in the corner. I think that is from the lens cover not opening all the way. I have no schooling or knowledge really of photography. I am using a Pentax optio 555. Any more useful info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Seems like its a good price for the money, 5mp, a good standard point and shoot camera, however you will be limited to a lot of things that DSLR's can do. For example, here is a picture I just took recently that DSLR's (few p&s's can do this if you try hard enough and have the capabilities) can do:



Now I'm not telling you to go out and buy a DSLR. What I would reccomend doing is continue taking shots with your current camera, and if you still really enjoy the hobbie and want to learn more, then you can get a DSLR. It's expensive, but if photography is something you're really interested in and you're willing to put the time into it, then its worth every penny.

Since I'm here and we're on the topic, let me give you a quick photo lesson on composition:

Here are two flower shots I took, just the first two I found on my computer to give this exact composition lecture if I ever needed to. (These pictures were actually taken with a point and shoot) Now, look at the first picture. It's a nice picture, however there is something wrong with it. The subject is in the middle of the frame. The problem is that your eye rests in the middle, and only the middle, resulting in a boring photograph. The second picture however, is more interesting because the subject is in the bottom right hand corner, and not in the middle. Because of this, your eye wanders around the frame, noticing other normally unoticeable objects and thus creating a more interesting image for the eyes and brain.





Here is an example of a sunset picture I took:



With sunset shots, composition comes in on where the horizon is placed. Notice how the horizon is very low in the picture, not in the middle of the frame. In my opinion it makes it more interesting.

Here's an article for you to look at that I found:

http://photoinf.com/General/Geoff_La...mposition.html

I would also reccomend going on google and typing in "Composition in photography" or "Rules of third in photography"

[luv2fsh]

Dude thanks so much. I completely see waht you are saying in the flower shots. The horizon line in the sunset picture does bring more of the picture to my eye by letting the veiwer see more of the sky above, almost sucking you into the islands. I will deffinitely put my new found knowledge to use and post if you or anyone else would like to see. Thank you again very much for all this very useful information. Tommy.

[BeachBear]

The first photo is pretty cool, the others are nice too.

[luv2fsh]

Here is an old flower picture of mine, I think the background is to blurry but i seen yours and it was kinda the same, is that a good thing or bad.

[DementedFish]

Originally Posted by luv2fsh

Here is an old flower picture of mine, I think the background is to blurry but i seen yours and it was kinda the same, is that a good thing or bad.

Nice picture. The background is blurry, yes, but there's really nothing you can do about it, so its fine. But yea thats a similar concept to the rules of thirds.

[YakityYak]

Originally Posted by DementedFish

One more comment and suggestion to add. In the third picture, the color of the sunset is amazing, truely brilliant, however I noticed you added flash. Sometimes, artifical lighting can take away the effect on landscapes (in this case it does). Also, are you using a lens hood? I can see two black marks on the upper left and right hand corner of every picture.

I agree with demented here. Flash in a picture like that would have been ok if you had something in the forground that you want the focus on (like a portrait). I tend to use the flash too much in my pics. It's a way for me to cheat the shadows, but often it's not needed. I think your developing a better consistancy, though. DM seems to really know his stuff. I only know what I see

[YakityYak]

Nice shots Demented.