Canon 7D Mark II or Canon 6D

[Tronhard]

The nice thing about digital is you can play around to your heart's content without losing the original! I should probably have rotated the statue to the right by about 1deg.

[AmitShrestha]

So looking at my few pictures you might have guessed my skill level .. So can u suggest me what should i do/learn to improve my photography to the next level ...

[Tronhard]

As before I suggest you engage with a good photographic society in your area. There are benefits to this:
1. you are around enthusiasts like yourself, and that inspires you to take more photos
2. they often go on photo shoots to different places, making new opportunities and
3. when you are with others you see how they take photos and you can learn from what you like or don't like
4. You can get to see presentations by others on technology and technique
5. You will get the chance to engage in photo competitions - done properly, they can give you great tips to improve your images - just don't worry about competing with others, compete with yourself.

[AmitShrestha]

As before I suggest you engage with a good photographic society in your area. There are benefits to this:
1. you are around enthusiasts like yourself, and that inspires you to take more photos
2. they often go on photo shoots to different places, making new opportunities and
3. when you are with others you see how they take photos and you can learn from what you like or don't like
4. You can get to see presentations by others on technology and technique
5. You will get the chance to engage in photo competitions - done properly, they can give you great tips to improve your images - just don't worry about competing with others, compete with yourself.

Thank You Trev for all those beautiful suggestions and tips, will definitely follow your advice .. Hope to catch you again in some other topics as well as ...

[DanK]

I think you have a good eye and are off to a good start. Some details that may help:

--You have a dirty sensor. Look at the sky near the top of the image and the water on the bottom in posting #16. You can see some in #10 also. More shows up in #16 because you shot at f/22. the narrower the aperture, the more visible sensor dust will be.

--Many of your images are f/16 -f/22. I am guessing that you did this in some cases for depth of field, because of the foreground. However, your equipment is diffraction limited after around f/11. You won't notice it much, if at all, for several stops more, but by f/22, you are pushing it. This will make the image look softer. you might try taking the same image at f/8 and f/22 and see if you can notice a difference. If not, all is OK/

--Some of your images show a fair amount of noise. This is most apparent in #16, but it shows up in #10 also. I'm puzzled, because a 60D should produce essentially noise-free images at ISO 200, which is what you used. Did you process these photos in some way? For example, if you brightened them after you took them, that could create this because underexposed images show more noise. Severe cropping makes it more apparent too.

I agree with Trev--trade images, see what others do, ask for comments, and practice, practice, practice. And, of course, have fun.

[AmitShrestha]

I think you have a good eye and are off to a good start. Some details that may help:

--You have a dirty sensor. Look at the sky near the top of the image and the water on the bottom in posting #16. You can see some in #10 also. More shows up in #16 because you shot at f/22. the narrower the aperture, the more visible sensor dust will be.

--Many of your images are f/16 -f/22. I am guessing that you did this in some cases for depth of field, because of the foreground. However, your equipment is diffraction limited after around f/11. You won't notice it much, if at all, for several stops more, but by f/22, you are pushing it. This will make the image look softer. you might try taking the same image at f/8 and f/22 and see if you can notice a difference. If not, all is OK/

--Some of your images show a fair amount of noise. This is most apparent in #16, but it shows up in #10 also. I'm puzzled, because a 60D should produce essentially noise-free images at ISO 200, which is what you used. Did you process these photos in some way? For example, if you brightened them after you took them, that could create this because underexposed images show more noise. Severe cropping makes it more apparent too.

I agree with Trev--trade images, see what others do, ask for comments, and practice, practice, practice. And, of course, have fun.

Yes had dust problem in my sensor so had my sensor cleaned 2 days ago.. now its dust free

Regarding Noise yes i had done some PP in Intensify and i think i over did it so the noise is visible. there wasnt much noise in my original raw file

Definitely i need to practice alot.. Hope you guys will help me to show me the path about dos n don't

[ionian]

Hey Amit, and welcome to CiC. My advice, for what it's worth: keep taking the pictures, keep looking at pictures, keep finding photos that inspire you and try things out. Do not expect to take perfect photos but be happy when you get good results, as you will. Don't expect a better camera or better lenses to take better pictures for you.

The internet is amazing and full of free resources to help you learn and improve. The amount of info available can be overwhelming but keep reading about things that interest you.

Here are a bunch of free websites that may help you get started - if you feel they are too basic then there are plenty of specialist sites as well: http://designinstruct.com/photograph...ers-tutorials/

Lastly (wow I didn't expect to type this much) post processing is hugely important. If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, spend it on the Lightroom and photoshop monthly subscription and learn slowly. I like watching YouTube vids which show a photo processed from start to finish, it helps me organise my workflow and learn new techniques. Infuzedmedia is a particular fave channel of mine, but there are loads out there that offer the same.

[rpcrowe]

the weather was not so good as it started to rain so had to rush during these photo shoot. these are all from the same day..

It seems to me that there might have been considerable dust/dirt on your sensor. I cleaned a lot of spots off the sky and some off the water.

I also used NIK Viveza to globally add structure, contrast and reduce brightness. I also played a bit with the perspective...

This was the result...



I use a pair of Canon 7D cameras with 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and 70-200mm f/4L IS lenses for my shooting. I also have a Canon 5D Mark 2 which I purchased used and the jury is still out whether I will keep it or resell it.

I shoot a lot of formal dog portraits and just about anything else that strikes my fancy. My most recent attempts have been shooting the Blue Angels practice at El Centro, CA. I used my 7D cameras for this task and mostly shot using a 300mm f/4L IS lens with some images shot using my 70-200mm f/4L IS lens...

Blue Angels Smugmug Portfolio
https://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Blue-Angels/n-4kgqg9/

Here is my take on the parameters for achieving the best imagery...

In order of importance:

1. Shooting technique
2. Post processing technique
3. Lens or lenses
4. Camera body

However, #3 and #4 can become a bit more important in the hierarchy of quality factors when you are stretching the envelope of shooting such as shooting in very low light levels and shooting very fast moving subjects and especially when combining both...... Neither of your lenses is a particularly stellar performer in those areas of shooting...