New to the forums, and wanted to get opinions on my work

[FunkayTeaParty]

Hey guys, I have been a lurker here at macrumors for years now, and finally decided to join up, mostly because of this forum actually. I wanted to show some of my work over the last few months to get others opinions on it, from more of a critical standpoint.

I used a D50 with a 28-80mm lens for all of these shots, none of them have a flash (well, some of them may have a bounce flash used for them, but those would be more the portrait shots. My photoshop skills are no where near great (i know the basics, but have a lot of tuning to do, any tips appreciated!) but they get the job done in some cases.

I would really appreciate feedback, this is just a sample of some of the things ive done, and if so il post more up!

Thanks guys, and looking forward to being an active member of the forums

 

[FunkayTeaParty]

oh also, if anyone knows good software (freeware or pay for a license) to watermark your pictures, just the corner so I can label them as my own for the mac, id be grateful

 

[mkrishnan]

Hi, welcome. I think you have a great sense of style, and from that set of photos, you definitely do your best work when you're experimental. These are the ones I like and why:

1 - The colors and composition is great. A general comment that I think applies to this one in particular is that you are a good artist, but you need to learn to take your time. A lot of the shots are excellent concepts, but then I think you don't take your time to square your shoulders and align yourself properly. In this case, the image is somewhat too high. You might consider fixing this with a crop.

2 - I really enjoyed this. I'm not sure if this is an HDR collage or a multiple timepoint collage or what, but I think you could go even strong with purifying the three segments of the image so that the three color casts come out even more purely. The things about this shot... I think you shot it from a standing position. It probably would've worked better from hip level / kneeling. Also I would try rotating it so that the street and cable are more or less horizontal (or shooting it this way). Also in terms of perspective, I think this is a good place to remember the rule of threes in your composition, meaning you might've shot this so that the lights were higher in the image.

3 - This one is really great, too. It has a very ethereal feel through what you did with the lights. The only comment is, like above, I think it would've been better if the house were higher and there were more water, although that certainly depends on what the river / brook looks like.

4 - Fun, something different. I liked this a lot. You did a great job of capturing the lights on the car.

6 - This one is a very nice composition. I think the BW conversion is generally good, although you might play around with some things to give it more punch.

Hope you post more.

P.S. regarding watermarks, no suggestions, but if you use CS, you might look at the actions people use on FredMiranda.com....

 

[compuwar]

Hey guys, I have been a lurker here at macrumors for years now, and finally decided to join up, mostly because of this forum actually. I wanted to show some of my work over the last few months to get others opinions on it, from more of a critical standpoint.

I used a D50 with a 28-80mm lens for all of these shots, none of them have a flash (well, some of them may have a bounce flash used for them, but those would be more the portrait shots. My photoshop skills are no where near great (i know the basics, but have a lot of tuning to do, any tips appreciated!) but they get the job done in some cases.

I would really appreciate feedback, this is just a sample of some of the things ive done, and if so il post more up!

Thanks guys, and looking forward to being an active member of the forums

I like the first shot and the pool shot, though there's a slightly distracting bright diagonal line in the background on the left that I'd probably clone out.

Great Falls needs a polarizing filter or a non-hazy day- though that's a rarity except in the winter when it's all iced up. Maybe a touch more contrast would help?

The portrait is nice, but the background is a little too distracting.

Coloring the lights on the long exposure is an interesting idea that's worth exploring further.

Shooting off-center and from a low perspective might help the building (gazebo?), but I'm not usre that there's a "clean" enough subject there to generate an interesting picture. Getting away from the center in general would be a good thing.

The daffodil looks like a mid-day shot, the light's harsh, but then it's really difficult to get a good "normal" flower shot.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Kamera RAWr]

Great shots... I particularly like the 1st and 3rd and also the pool shot. I agree with compuwar about the pool pic though, the diagonal line is distracting. You have a good style. Welcome to the Forum! Looking forward to seeing more of your pictures

 

[Kirbdog]

If you need an application that adds a watermark to your photos. With Aperture you can add a watermark to your photos when you export your them. You can download a free trial of Aperture from Apple

As far as your photography goes just keep trying and learning. When I go out to shoot my only real goal is to learn something new.

Enjoy it, its a great hobby

 

[absolut_mac]

Some excellent compositions.

As others have pointed out, the portrait is a great pic, but the background should be more out of focus - use a larger aperture - to make it less distracting.

If you're familiar with PS you can use that to both blur the background and tone down the brightness a bit.

 

[arogge]

There is too much of an orange colour cast in the house-by-pond shot. Decrease your exposure by 1/3 of a stop and lower the camera's colour temperature.
The pool table shot could have a 1/3-stop exposure increase.
I recommend using a polariser for water shots, and also consider using a neutral density filter which can enable you to shoot with some slower shutter speeds and show more water motion.

Your shots look really good overall.

 

[compuwar]

The pool table shot could have a 1/3-stop exposure increase.

I think that'd bring out too much brightness in the player, and alter the contrast of the scene enough to make the player distracting.

 

[FunkayTeaParty]

Thanks for all the comments guys!

yeah, ive been debating getting a polarizing filter for awhile, and I think I may just go get one now.

il try to post up more later on when I get off work

 

[gphoto]

oh also, if anyone knows good software (freeware or pay for a license) to watermark your pictures, just the corner so I can label them as my own for the mac, id be grateful

Adobe Lightroom can watermark your pictures on export from the library with ease, but I don't know about Aperture.

 

[jamesW135]

I love #3 and #6 The rest are good to. Good luck.