Critique Some of My Shots Please

[Geniusdog254]

Ok, I just picked up my higher end P&S earlier this summer. It is a Kodak Easyshare Z1015IS. They are the higher end of the P&S category, they are mega-zoom (15x), have full manual controls as well as automatic, 10MP, & shoot 720P video. I am still learning to ropes of advanced photography & theses are a few of my best shots. Can you guys please tell me what you think & what I need to do to improve?

This is one of the 4 rabbits my family is currently raising.
It was shot at:
ISO: 125
Exposure: 1/60
Aperture: 4.7
Focal Length: 20mm

Here is a flower growing outside my house, if anyone can tell me what kind it is please do because I can't figure it out lol.
It was shot at:
ISO: 80
Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: 8
Focal Length: 9mm

Yesterday we had a thunderstorm here & I saw water dripping from the gutter onto the porch rail. I grabbed my camera and caught these, the first one looks rather like a firework going off dontcha think? lol. The second one I had just about perfect timing & it turned out perfectly.
They were both shot at:
ISO: 320
Exposure: 1/50
Aperture: 5.2
Focal Length: 33mm

Note that all of these are completely unedited in Photoshop, all I did was compress them to save bandwidth on my Sprint Aircard. Also, these are not full size, this is just the largest Picasa will let me post. There are really 3648×2736 instead of the 800x800 Picasa lets me link to.

EDIT: Some people said that the exposure in the first 2 pics was a little low. I just ran some post production on them in Photoshop to up the exposure & make sure this is what you guys meant.

Edited bunny

Edited flower

 

[anubis]

Not bad for a P&S. I would recommend picking up the books "Understandnig Exposure" and "Learning to See Creatively" by Chris Peterson (I think).

 

[clams]

^^^The author is Bryan Peterson. Good recommendations though

 

[Geniusdog254]

Thanks, I'll definitely look into those. And by the way, I looked at some of your shots on your website (the one in your sig) and they are amazing! I would love to master it & get shots like that.

EDIT: Haha clams posted the same time as me, I was referring to the shots on anubis' page.

 

[compuwar]

The first ones would benefit from either some light fill flash or a reflector.

Paul

 

[anubis]

Thanks

I spent a LOT of time reading books and just practicing taking lots and lots of pictures. I started wedding photography by finding some very brave aquaintences who were willing to let me "try out" my photography skills at their weddings in exchange for not being charged.

Also, check out the "Photo of the day" threads here on Macrumors. I got tons of inspiration and ideas there.

Good luck!

 

[davegregory]

I would have to agree with compuwar. The subject is underexposed in the first two images. Anytime you're photographing something that takes up a lot of white in the scene, you need to use exposure compensation and over expose between one and two stops. (Your in-camera meter tries to meter everything to 18% grey, thus telling you to underexpose things which are brighter than that and take up most of the frame, the opposite is true as well, blacks will trick your camera to tell you to overexpose). So definitely need something to fill in the subject since your background is bright. Your viewer's eyes will always go to the brightest thing in the frame.

Also, avoid putting your subject dead centre in the frame. Generally, it doesn't work. (It's human nature to do this, don't worry you're not the first to do it and you won't be the last). Here's a good link on the Golden Rule of Photography, it ties in with the Rule of Thirds. http://photoinf.com/Golden_Mean/Edwin_Leong/Camera_Hobby_-_e-Book_on_the_Golden_Ratio.htm

In your photos of the water droplets, good use of a slower shutter speed to demonstrate the motion of the water. However, the lines cutting across the frame from the railing are distracting. Next time, try shooting down the line instead of across it. Or, tilt your position to remove more of the railing from the frame.

Anubis is right as well, looking at other's photos is inspiring and helps you understand what works compositionally. Study the photos, try to figure out how the subject is being lit. What works in the photo? What doesn't? I applaud you for seeking critique, it's not easy to do at all.

PS - Cute bunny, reminds me of Bugs' girlfriend on Looney Tunes.

 

[Geniusdog254]

I would have to agree with compuwar. The subject is underexposed in the first two images. Anytime you're photographing something that takes up a lot of white in the scene, you need to use exposure compensation and over expose between one and two stops. (Your in-camera meter tries to meter everything to 18% grey, thus telling you to underexpose things which are brighter than that and take up most of the frame, the opposite is true as well, blacks will trick your camera to tell you to overexpose). So definitely need something to fill in the subject since your background is bright. Your viewer's eyes will always go to the brightest thing in the frame.

Also, avoid putting your subject dead centre in the frame. Generally, it doesn't work. (It's human nature to do this, don't worry you're not the first to do it and you won't be the last). Here's a good link on the Golden Rule of Photography, it ties in with the Rule of Thirds. http://photoinf.com/Golden_Mean/Edwin_Leong/Camera_Hobby_-_e-Book_on_the_Golden_Ratio.htm

In your photos of the water droplets, good use of a slower shutter speed to demonstrate the motion of the water. However, the lines cutting across the frame from the railing are distracting. Next time, try shooting down the line instead of across it. Or, tilt your position to remove more of the railing from the frame.

Anubis is right as well, looking at other's photos is inspiring and helps you understand what works compositionally. Study the photos, try to figure out how the subject is being lit. What works in the photo? What doesn't? I applaud you for seeking critique, it's not easy to do at all.

PS - Cute bunny, reminds me of Bugs' girlfriend on Looney Tunes.

Ok, thanks. I'll definitely remember all that next time.

And about the rail lol. That is about the only angle I could get. I looked for a better one but to get the shot straight on there was a shelf on the garage wall blocking it, then to shoot straight down the rail I couldn't get it cuz there was either the garage wall or a pole holding up the roof

Either way, I thought the water ones were the best of the four, & I'll definitely keep working to improve. Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[Cheffy Dave]

You have the eye, the talent, now go get a real DSLR and some lenses, and
make your mark in the world
Get a camera that can catch what is in your minds eye! When you have done that, post your first 50 here-I'm watching

 

[Geniusdog254]

You have the eye, the talent, now go get a real DSLR and some lenses, and
make your mark in the world
Get a camera that can catch what is in your minds eye! When you have done that, post your first 50 here-I'm watching

Haha thanks, thats quite a compliment. I wish I could afford a DSLR & some lenses but I'm starting college this fall going for a major in architectural engineering & it'll be a while before I can afford to blow at minimum $600-$700 for a good DSLR