6 Months into Photography - Collection of Photos - Critique

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Xeryus

Guest
Hi All :D

I am brand spanking new to this forum and about 6 months into photography. I got a T3i as a gift and started shooting random stuff with the kit lens and wasn't sure why my pictures are not coming out quite as sharp. 6 Months later and thousands of dollars in lenses, i find myself shooting a few events as an amateur photographer for my friends weddings, bridal parties, and birthdays.

The Million dollar question, what are my pictures missing? or is I that is missing the artistic eye? ???

I know that my camera isn't the greatest in high ISO, I shoot RAW and do my best to reduce the noise in post processing, but sometimes I fail :-\

Thanks for your feedback.

ps. All criticism is welcomed and taken positively, so please don't hold back ;)
 

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You are 6 months in. Just keep shooting and growing as a photographer and artist. I wouldnt even begin to think about getting paid for work until people start saying, "hey, your work is special, I want to give you my hard earned money in exchange for your talent."

Just focus on your craft and not the cash.

Bottom line: I wouldn't expect people to pay me for anything after just 6 months of practice.
 
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philsv77

Guest
pdirestajr said:
You are 6 months in. Just keep shooting and growing as a photographer and artist. I wouldnt even begin to think about getting paid for work until people start saying, "hey, your work is special, I want to give you my hard earned money in exchange for your talent."

Just focus on your craft and not the cash.

Bottom line: I wouldn't expect people to pay me for anything after just 6 months of practice.

Concur that :)
 
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Xeryus

Guest
pdirestajr said:
Just focus on your craft and not the cash.

Bottom line: I wouldn't expect people to pay me for anything after just 6 months of practice.

That's Exactly my point, I am not trying to make money now, that's the future goal, but i feel like i have a lot to learn and "Practice makes perfect". That's why i said i would even go for gigs for free, just to learn and practice so that people can say "Hey your work is special"

I know i am far from it, and that's why i posted on the forum, to be able to get some constructive feedback as to what i am doing wrong, and what i can do better.

Thanks for your feedback :)
 
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CANONPRO123

Guest
ok, so firstly some great shots... 2 things ive noticed are the lack of light in some of your shots which is causing harsh shadows, especially the first shot... secondly, you misfocus on some shots... always try to focus on the eyes and NEVER EVER use FULL AUTO for focus... its almost always misses and turns a great shot into a disaster... back to first point of light, do you have and use a speedlight? bouncing or using fill flash can really help in this area... hope this is helpful
 
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Xeryus

Guest
Thanks CanonPro,

I do have a 430EX II with a Diffuser that never is detached, I do my best to bounce the flash of the wall or the ceiling, but some times the environment doesn't help as much. So i end up having to bump up my ISO and mess things up trying to clean up in post processing. This is where I FAIL. Any help is appreciated, i can't go past ISO 800 :(

As for miss focus, I NEVER EVER use Auto Focal point selection, byt my lenses are set to auto focus. I try to focus on the eyes, but some times the eyes are out of my focal points as per my composition, and for some ODD reason, when i LOCK focus and re-compose, i end up with miss focusing issues. Thoughts ? Advise ?
 
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mike p

Guest
Just keep practicing

Learn composition, perspective, lines, DOF, etc.

This will keep you busy for a while http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/

When I started photography I used to made up assignments with due date.

The greatest assignment that i ended up with was to make a complete alphabet from A to Z from ordinary things, objets, tea cups, even folds from clothing. The whole point of this was to sharp my eyes into seeing letters, things were people would not see.


EDIT. Try to stay away from LR presets.
 
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mike p said:
Just keep practicing

Learn composition, perspective, lines, DOF, etc.

This will keep you busy for a while http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/

When I started photography I used to made up assignments with due date.

The greatest assignment that i ended up with was to make a complete alphabet from A to Z from ordinary things, objets, tea cups, even folds from clothing. The whole point of this was to sharp my eyes into seeing letters, things were people would not see.


EDIT. Try to stay away from LR presets.

+1
Great Advice.
I'm sure you have more examples, but I didn't notice much natural light. Bad lighting from a flash can butcher a good shot, so I would suggest working on everything else with the available light, and don't rely on post.

for only 6 months in from scratch, I'd say you are on the right track.

Edit - For more concrete crit: I think your more unsuccessful shots here lack any negative space. Let the subject matter breathe a little more.
 
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scottkinfw

Wildlife photography is my passion
CR Pro
For 6 months, you are doing great- this craft takes a long time to master.

I like your lighting in general, and especially the last 4 shots. I think the flash shots would be better if you turn down the flash just a bit- makes the lighting softer. Perhaps use bounce and/or diffuser.

Finally, you may want to experiment with your lenses to find out the best f-stop, shoot a bit faster (say 125 )?

Keep working it, doing well so far

stipotle said:
mike p said:
Just keep practicing

Learn composition, perspective, lines, DOF, etc.

This will keep you busy for a while http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/

When I started photography I used to made up assignments with due date.

The greatest assignment that i ended up with was to make a complete alphabet from A to Z from ordinary things, objets, tea cups, even folds from clothing. The whole point of this was to sharp my eyes into seeing letters, things were people would not see.


EDIT. Try to stay away from LR presets.

+1
Great Advice.
I'm sure you have more examples, but I didn't notice much natural light. Bad lighting from a flash can butcher a good shot, so I would suggest working on everything else with the available light, and don't rely on post.

for only 6 months in from scratch, I'd say you are on the right track.

Edit - For more concrete crit: I think your more unsuccessful shots here lack any negative space. Let the subject matter breathe a little more.
 
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In terms of post processing critique: I'd say some of the techniques you used don't work well with the subjects. IE: harsh mid-tone contrast (extreme clarity/ sharpening) on the upclose female portraits. It is just emphasizing every pore, wrinkle, stray hair and imperfection in their complexion. Most women don't like that kind of effect ;)
 
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CANONPRO123

Guest
so some of the other people already made some of the suggestions I would make next given that you do have an external speedlight... one of those is to turn the flash exposure down sometimes to say -1 2/3, that can really help soften an image... personally I also started out by running into your exact issue of messing up my images in post and have learned to really try to take my photos with the hopeful requirement of the least post possible... the misfocused photos happen and its not something to worry about as long as you are aware of it... I generally say out of every 100 pics I take, I have 15-20 keepers that I really like and about 85-90 that are in focus... camera's are not perfect, and most especially we are not! just keep shooting and your on your way!!!
 
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Xeryus

Guest
Thanks for the feedback.

I will keep in mind the flash exposure reduction, and the lossen up my composition a little (to give the subject some room to breeze) and I guess post processing will get better by practice.

Time to shoot some more :)

mws said:
Also, what's with the crowns in the first picture? I don't know much about wedding ceremonies of other religions.

That's a customary outfit that the Orthodox church has.
 
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I personally don't think it's so much a matter of time, but rather technique & knowledge. As was previously mentioned, practice makes perfect. Learn your camera and hone your skill. You can have a person that has taken pictures all their lives and one who has shot for 6 months and the latter has better photos. Then again, some people are just gifted and have natural talent.
 
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They look pretty good overall. Some comments:

(1) (crowns). The guy is out of focus -- you need more depth of field for this shot (two subjects different distance from the camera), and maybe focus on the closer of the two subjects.

(2) (kiss) composition maybe a little tight. Very tight composition tends to remove the feeling of motion from a picture.

(3) (dance) composition a little tight again -- not tight enough to look intimate, yet too tight to make it look like they're dancing. Also very centered.

(4) second last portrait shot -- composition is a bit awkward -- subjects are centered, the big light is in the center and the path kind of pulls the eye out of the frame.

Besides practice, would recommend some reading on composition (try "The Photographers eye", Michael Freeman)
 
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