Snowy Egret ( I think?)

[lindalee]

I am New to the world of "real" Photography and not just picture taking. I am learning more everyday and today was blessed with a show from several Birds but the one with the most charachter was the snowy egret,( I think that is what the Bird's name is, new to naming them also..lol). I have only had my entry-level Nikon D3200 for two weeks and cant seem to put it down. So here is my first attempt to share a Photos and get feed back on everything from framing to exposure and so forth. I used a nikkor 55-200mm lense which came with my camera as well as a 18-55 mm one also but these Pictures were taken with the 55-200mm one .

[Otavio]

Hello, Linda, and welcome to CIC! You acquired a very good camera, with good lenses. If you intend to do bird shots, the 55-200mm will never come out of the body, but the 18-55 is great for portraits and landscapes.

Your bird is a snowy egret.

Regarding your picture, it is a little over exposed. That happens usually when shooting fully white birds. So, when shooting these birds, you might want to bring down the exposure at least one point (EV-1); then take a picture and check the result on the LCD. If necessary, bring the EV down a bit further, until you get the expected result. You can use the histogram to help you on this adjustment. Basically, you should not have peaks on the right side of it.

Finally, in terms of composition, next time you might want to try a different angle, so that you would have the 2 birds showed (although birds are not easy subjects, as they dont talk to us and usually fly away when we approach them ).

I hope this might be of some use...

Cheers!

[lindalee]

Thank you for the feedback it is greatly appreciated. Question when shooting Photos on a beach is there a trick to be able to see the LCD better for with the Brightness of the sun my LCD is almost invisible from too much glare .. Thanks

[davidedric]

Hi,

is there a trick to be able to see the LCD better

There is an adjustment on your set up menu called "monitor brightness" that allows you to make the lcd brighter, so that is the first thing to try if you haven't already. If not, the only other way I know is to buy something like a "Hoodman Hoodloupe) but they are quite expensive, at around $80.

I don't think you should complain too much about Florida sunshine

Dave

[kdoc856]

Thank you for the feedback it is greatly appreciated. Question when shooting Photos on a beach is there a trick to be able to see the LCD better for with the Brightness of the sun my LCD is almost invisible from too much glare .. Thanks

Exactly right. Can be virtually impossible to see. As Otavio said, that's a great time to either use the histogram, or to look for the "blinkies" on your display highlight warning (my personal preferred method because it's quick).

Also, although it makes perfect human sense to plant your subject right smack in the middle of the visual bull's-eye, it comes across as boring on monitor or print. So you'll see that most often the primary subject placement follows the "rule of thirds". Any tutorials on composition will discuss it in agonizing detail, but it really does help.

You're off to a good start. You certainly didn't pick an easy setting to embark with, but it's a good one to learn from. Welcome to CiC