Some of my pictures... Constructive criticism welcomed

[DanGTiT]

Hi guys,

I've lingered on the site for a long time now, for both my interest in photography and all things Apple, but thought it was time I posted a topic and got your experts opinion of my work. I've been interested in photography for about a year now and have started to take it quite seriously. I've had good comments of friends and family but wanted to see if I could improve my pictures. I have attached some examples... please be nice! These are all pictures I have taken at various locations and with a little bit of touchup in photoshop. These were taken with a Nikon D3000, with a Sigma 70-300mm lens and a 15-55mm Nikon lens.

Cheers,

Dan

 

[pakyooh]

great set. I really like the 2nd photo, it would be great if the sky was brighter but good shot nonetheless. where was this?

 

[sportster]

Over all very nice! I like them, on some of them the colors looks a little to enhanced (but, it may just be me or my screen)

 

[DanGTiT]

Thanks guys. The first, second and eighth photograph were taken at Keswick at the Lake District in the UK. Good to hear some positive comments, keep the suggestions coming.

 

[acearchie]

Really nice set of images.

Love the boarder too! Really nice addition!

 

[DanGTiT]

Yeah I think the borders really set the pictures off. Any other hints/tips to improve my images?

 

[Doylem]

Any other hints/tips to improve my images?

You've obviously got an eye for a pic... so just keep going. I like the shot of Keswick from Crow Park, with the light on Blencathra (familiar territory ).

Hints? I'd maybe tone down the PP a tad. Less manipulation (the clouds against the blue sky look kinda nauseous...). Look to get each shot right 'in the camera'... so PP is minimal...

 

[compuwar]

Your shots are obviously good examples of "it's not the camera."

Overall, very nice shots- but I agree about the nauseating sky. The other thing I'd say is try to get away from just using the center focus point. For most you could simply focus and recompose. So try moving the elements of the image around the frame a bit too.

Paul

 

[a.jfred]

The other thing I'd say is try to get away from just using the center focus point. For most you could simply focus and recompose. So try moving the elements of the image around the frame a bit too.

Paul

This was pretty much the only criticism I had - When your subject is filling (most of) the frame (Meerkat, close-up of the bird's face), center-focus is fine, but play around with composition - you'll find it makes for some much more interesting photos.

Gorgeous work, though!

 

[Eaton Photos]

Dan,

The transitions in the sky are too much for me. I agree with the other post about it creating a nauseous feeling. You've got too much saturation, in the aspect of light blue to deep blue within the same field of view. It looks like you did too much shadow recovery, and thus its making your clouds look gray/ green, instead of white.

Numbers' 1, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, & 12, all appear over-saturated in my opinion.

Your Townscape/ Landscape in #2 is awesome. From a detail perspective, I would prefer to see a bigger version, say around 1024 or 1100 pixels on the long side.

Aside from the saturation aspects, your images, definitely show you have good PP skills, w/o the images having the over-cooked look to them.

HTH.

 

[CrackedButter]

Ditch the ugly borders. They cheapen your photography, as does your signature.

 

[Abyssgh0st]

I really like #'s 1,6,7,8. The rest just didn't catch my eye or seem a bit over-saturated (unless you were going for that look). But #1 is phenomenal, I really like it. Where was it taken? And also, what did you do to the sun in that photo?

 

[broncopde]

#2 really caught my eye, and I was just skimming through. It really makes me want to go to the UK, and that has to be a complement.

 

[Phrasikleia]

I really like #'s 1,6,7,8. The rest just didn't catch my eye or seem a bit over-saturated (unless you were going for that look). But #1 is phenomenal, I really like it. Where was it taken? And also, what did you do to the sun in that photo?

I can't resist poking fun at your signature: a "gripped" 1D Mark II? As opposed to...what? LOL.

 

[DanGTiT]

Excellent. Thanks guys, those were exactly the type of tips I was after and I will bear them in mind going forward. It's good to know that you like the pictures too, I sometimes doubt my own ability but it's always nice to get positive comments.