Where to start? Part II - The adventures of a newbie

[Mario Xavier]

Hello, I am Xavier the enigma.

It's almost been a week since I joined this site and 2 days since I received my camera. I'm still very much a novice of course but the things I've learned so far have to be applied so I can understand them better. So today I shook off the fears of manual mode and forgot about trying to be a prodigy. I romped around downtown snapping pictures to the best of my ability.

I'm going to need a tripod sooner than I thought because I'm not very steady, especially when I'm freezing. If I may ask again for your guidance and criticism, tolerate me uploading 4 resized images of what I think are my best (out of 150). What would you have done if you were the one capturing that scene?

[pwnage101]

I think the second and last images need a bit more contrast. Using the last image as an example, here's how I would approach it:



Bring the leftmost and rightmost vertexes towards the center until they intersect the graph. Then add vertexes in the center that form an S curve, but keep it subtle.



Increasing contrast often makes the colors more vibrant. If this is a good thing, then you've hit two birds with one stone. Otherwise you can decrease saturation with another adjustment layer.

[Shadowman]

Except for the first photo it doesn't look like you have a center of interest in any of the photos. So it's hard to really comment except to say most are out of focus. Maybe you should start inside and photograph a few household items under one particular light source or even use window lighting. This would help you on your focusing techniques and if the photos still come out blurry try putting the camera on a firm surface. Still life photos are just as much fun to shoot and just as challenging as landscape and cityscapes.

[Dave Humphries]

Another piece of advice is before you take a picture, look at both sides, top and bottom of the viewfinder frame and 'level up' the camera, then very gently squeeze the shutter button (so as not to tilt the camera).

I like the composition of #4, definitely better with Troy's PP to enhance contrast.

Take it one step at a time, and you'll make improvements,

[Geoff F]

Well I can't see any serious errors there, Xavier, but those subject angles would be very difficult for an experienced photographer to work with. So, like Dave said, I would suggest taking a lot more time thinking about the shot before clicking the shutter.

A tripod can be a great help in the right circumstances, but they can also be fiddly and time consuming to set up, and you can't easily carry them around when fully extended.

So I would also suggest watching your shutter speed and trying hand held shots at a reasonable shutter speed, say 1/200 or more, depending on lens. But don't forget the aperture, either. You may need to adjust your ISO to get a good balance between aperture and shutter speed.