dSLR newbie’s Month 1 pics (40D) please cc

Jas H

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I thought I would post up some of the results of my first month's shooting with my first dSLR, the Canon 40D. Even better if I receive some (hopefully constructive) criticism from which I can learn and improve. Then I can see if there's any improvement a few months from now :)


The pics are in fact all taken in the last 2 weeks, as I spent the first 2 weeks' ownership familiarising myself with the camera. I've tried hard to pay attention to composition and framing of each shot, so do say so if I've nevertheless got it wrong.

Almost all pics are taken with the 24-105 lens.

So, without further ado ;) here's one to start with.

Depth of field is something I had never been too concerned with when using a Point & Shoot compact camera, but using the dSLR I found I had to be quite deliberate in its use.

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Second picture is from my “misty new year morning” shoot, where I shot a few pictures early on new year's morning before the mist cleared.

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A picture of my 6 year old son :)

Taken with the cheap 50mm f1.8 lens, which I have found I really like!

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Sunset, viewed from a balcony on the back of my house.

I thought I'd try HDR for this :) I shot it portrait to maximise the sky/clouds whilst having the trees in the foreground.

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Another shot from my “misty new year morning” shoot.

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Just a wheel, but I like this :)

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Another sunset, same view but zoomed in. I liked the rays of the sun in this one, as well as the fiery orange/red sky over the tree horizon.

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My 4 year old daughter :) ….with the sun in her eyes.

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Demonic tree!

The last shot from my “misty new year morning” shoot. You can recognise the tree from the first sunset shot.

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Another sunset, again from a balcony on the back of my house and using HDR.


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Finally, the same sunset view, a few minutes later as the sun set lower (below the horizon) and the light changed to a reddish hue.

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I think it's a promising start, a few too many to comment on all at once but I quite like the last misty tree shot. The first misty tree shot would have been improved by simply concentrating on the three trees in the background rather than having the foreground tree in view in my opinion, that composition would have made a lovely photo. I'm not a massive fan of HDR processing particularly when it looks HDR as these conversions do, personal thing though, some love 'em :)
 
I like these, particular favourite is :

"Another sunset, same view but zoomed in. I liked the rays of the sun in this one, as well as the fiery orange/red sky over the tree horizon."

Looks like you've got a forest fire in progress there, great shot.

Nice pics of the children as well, the one of you Son is my favourite due to how natural it is, he is obvioulsy to engrossed in the TV to pay any attention to your camera :)
 
Well done and thanks for sharing.
They are quite a few to comment on but I like both the children's pictures
At first glance they look like lucky snapshots but they are rather more than that
I also like the non HDR sunset ...Its nice to see the colours captured without blowout , no doubt due to the camera lens and your good use of it
Im not too sure about the mono conversions and the HDR ones but the

Ferrari wheels wouldn't be out of place in "Motorsport Magazine":rotfl: However I think they would benefit from a smaller aperture as the larger one seems to have created a shallow DOF as such there is too much OOF and it is hard to say what the focal point of the subject is

It is however all to easy to critique images ;) so I say well done don't stop being scared to experiment:thumbsup::smashin:
 
Steve, thanks :) I have been given the same feedback on the first tree shot by friends, and of course you are correct. That is one lesson learned in better composition :) I will wait for a suitable day and try and re-shoot it better.

HDR is like Marmite isn't it ;) I rather like it, but do fear that it lends a "fake" look to pictures.





Dazza, thank you. It is interesting that I thought this my weakest sunset pic posted, yet it is liked better. I've often found that with pictures i.e. what I think of a picture is different from what another observer feels. It's always interesting to receive this kind of feedback :) Good spot by the way, yes my son was viewing television.




Senu, thanks also :) I am lucky to have a good lens (24-105). I agree totally about the depth of field on the car pics. I took those pics in the garage on a rather cold dark day with too little light, and it was so cold I rushed and did not take the time to set up a tripod. I will retake those pics outdoors in better light, with greater DoF :) Thank you for confirming what I myself thought was a mistake on my part.
 
The first Ferrari, the HDR shots, and the sunsets for me :thumbsup:

Oh, and the 2nd misty tree.

aww hell, I like pretty much all of them actually:D, apart from the wheel closeup (too much out of focus) and the last tree (too processed for my taste).
 
Nice set there, pretty much like them all but more so the sunset pictures are really nice...:)

Cracking camera by all accounts........

Judging by this set you are on the right road.........only by using and playing with settings and asking questions will you get better....and you will. AVF here helps too.......:D

Cheers


icemanonline
 
Yandros, thanks, you're much too kind :) I plan to re-shoot the wheel close up, and the car side shot, as I totally agree the DoF is too little. The fisrt and last tree shots do have a lot of processing, and I should try being more subtle and see how it looks :)




Dfrear, thank you. And that was one I was so unsure of! :)




Icemanonline, thank you also for your kind comments. I do think these excellent cameras flatter the photographer. I agree completely that posting your work for feedback is a great way to learn :)




Mmmayson, thanks, another very positive view on that picture I nearly left out! :smashin:
 
I got a new 100mm macro lens shortly after Christmas, and tried it out properly this afternoon as the light was excellent.

Here are two pics I shot with it today. The first with a very narrow aperture as I found managing depth of field is very tricky with this lens. Sharp lens though!

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Some great shots there I reckon.

Love the ones of the kids, very natural looking, and the statue(?) behind your daughter makes the shot for me.

On a personal taste note, I would have liked to see the first ferrari shot from a tighter angle to the car, and with a deeper DoF (is it a 348??)

And I love the zoomed in sunset, fields of fire:thumbsup: crackin shot IMO

Keep it up mate

Cheers

Alun
 
Kinchy, thank you, and I used Photomatix as I am not very good using Photoshop yet :confused: I am trying to learn that, but am finding it very complex.




Alun, thanks :) Yes, that is a steel statue in a pond in the front garden, which my daughter is in front of. I will try a tighter angle to the Ferrari when I re-shoot it, and do intend to get more DoF. Yes, it is a F348 Spider, well identified :thumbsup:




Dood, thank you :smashin: Yes, the macro shot of the model is an Enzo, but the first shots of a real car are of a F348 Spider.
 
I have reprocessed two of the same sunset pics using a different (hopefully better) technique. This time I used Canon's own DPP software to convert the RAW files, as I think it does a better job than Photomatix.

I also took a handheld macro of the model car, trying to get a motion effect. No Photoshopping used on this shot. Simply achieved by hand moving my camera, and using flash on second shutter curtain.

Any constructive advice/comments gratefully received :)


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1st one............OUCH HDR OVERKILL! sorry just my personal opinion but it's colours are waaaay to saturated for me leaving a totally un-natural looking scene

2nd one.........I can see what you are aiming for but a bit more space on the left would give the car somewhere 'to go' (always a good idea in 'motion shots', you are trying to convey motion but leave the subject nowhere to go to) Also, by moving the camera (if that is indeed what happened) then you can see the immediate problem.......the wheels show no sign of movement so essentially what we have is a streaky shot of a model car. Good idea on the flash but for this shot I would have rolled the car and panned the camera with a slower shutter.......good practice and you will have gained a better result.

3rd one .......... see 1st one :( The grass looks positively nuclear!

Don't take it personal, i'm a bit of a one for not liking over processing, especially when it makes a scene look 'wrong'

edit

Any constructive advice/comments gratefully received :)

Try and get the exposure as close to what you want in camera and don't try and rescue shots through PP. These may well have been good exposures but the processing has killed them in my opinion, be subtle. Try and keep shots as natural as possible and rely on composition and subject to make a good photograph.
 
Steve,

Thanks :thumbsup:

I really appreciate the feedback.

I was trying to go for a surreal arty look, but you are right, there is just too much processing effect in the HDR shots.

The shutter was slow in the car pic, but yes I did move the camera and not the car. I will re-shoot that and follow your tips :smashin: I did actually leave space around the car, but then removed it by cropping :oops:

Jas
 
Phew...........

Glad you took it as constructive Jas, I was sweating a bit as I thought I might have been a bit harsh :eek:

Always just my personal opinion though. Keep on experimenting!

:smashin:
 
Glad you took it as constructive Jas, I was sweating a bit as I thought I might have been a bit harsh :eek:

Absolutely mate :thumbsup:

No point in asking for comments and not taking them on board - especially when they are made constructively with suggestions. The only way to improve IMHO :smashin:

I really appreciated the feedback :)
 

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