First Pics

[milso]

Hi Everyone,
I'm fairly new to photography, but have been following the forum for quite some time. I have learned quite a bit from everyone, but putting those learnings into action seems to be the difficult part

So this is my first post with pictures and I was hoping for a few comments on composition, exposure, post-processing, etc. Please don't hold back, I can take it

#1


#2


#3


#4


Thanks in advance!
Matt

[Dizzy]

Hi Matt,

First, welcome to the site, and thanks for sharing your first images...

I am very non-technical, so please don't take my comments as being technically analytical. For me, the first two images are nice, but I just love the expression on his face in the third one, plus he has a handful of sand/dirt, meaning he's having a grand time playing...

Mike

[Donald]

Matt

What is your own view of the images in respect of composition, exposure, post-processing?

[jiro]

Hello, Matt. On pictures #1, 2 and 3 always aim your camera focus on the eyes. When the eyes are in focus you have already won half of it. When your background is a bit busy (like in #1 and 2) this is were a shallow depth of field or the use of a wide aperture will help you blur them out to make your subject stand out. On #1 the blown window highlights doesn't help much on the composition so I suggest you go crop them to a square format. On #2, the framing is a little bit tight so next time I suggest you have some extra headroom and foot room for a more balanced composition. #3 is great, just a little bit soft on the focus and the hand of the child was cut off. #4 is funny and nice. In here, I think some reflection from that glass would make the shot more realistic. You're off to a good start. Hope to see some more from you. Good job.

[milso]

Hey Donald, that's a good question. Here are some of my general thoughts:

#1
I like the idea of the wider view showing his size, but it feels dark (except for the window) and I was having a hard time getting all of the vertical lines actually vertical (distortion in my lens?). Also, I feel like the window may be a bit distracting...

#2
I feel like I missing some sharpness here, it may some camera shake, it may be because it's a crop. Like the others, I feel like the background may be a bit busy (it's tough to corral a 1 year old) any suggestions?

#3
Probably my favorite too (like Mike). I like the slight glow around the edges, but I'm wondering if the foreground needs to be lightened more? Maybe the sky?

#4
For some reason this reminds me of the iconic JFK picture (not the one where he looks dead), but I feel like something is off on this and I'm not sure what it is.

Anyway, I guess my original problem is I picked up a camera, enjoyed some basic shots, decided to read some books and websites about photography, and then realized all the things wrong with my pictures

[milso]

Thanks Jiro,
It's nice to see that we seem to be on the same page on some of the improvements (I missed your post before I posted mine so I promise I didn't copy). And thanks for the insight on #3 and #4, as a quick question, how would you have gone about getting more reflection on #4?

[jiro]

Thanks Jiro,
It's nice to see that we seem to be on the same page on some of the improvements (I missed your post before I posted mine so I promise I didn't copy). And thanks for the insight on #3 and #4, as a quick question, how would you have gone about getting more reflection on #4?

As for your question, we can't. You have to change your camera angle to get the necessary reflections from the glass. Hope this helps.