Your worst photos, and what did you learn from them (Teach others)

[840quadra]

I spotted a similar thread for an audio forum I frequent, and thought it may be a good idea to have something similar posted here.

Sometimes the easiest things to learn from are either mistakes made by yourself, or from other people doing something similar. This is a chance to be a bit less embarrased ( ) by your photos, and to explain what you learned in the process of taking bad shots.

I don't expect this thread to be huge, but I hope it does slowly grow over time.

This is also a great opportunity for others to critique your photos, and offer suggestions and tips to make the images look better overall!

My poor shooting example

larger imge

Horizontal Resolution: 72 dpi
Vertical Resolution: 72 dpi
Image Created: 2007:01:03 15:52:49
Exposure Time: 1/1000 sec
Exposure Program: Shutter Priority
ISO Speed Rating: 1600
Lens Aperture: f/11.0
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Metering Mode: Spot
Flash: No Flash, Compulsory
Focal Length: 70.00 mm

The lesson I learned from this image was how to correctly set both my ISO and shutter on dark days with interference between the subject and my camera. The other issue was the overall distance I was trying to capture in these conditions.

The biggest issue was the noise on the image. I had the ISO set high to avoid using the flash, and to get a bright image. This high ISO setting wasn't doing anything for me, as I was both too far away, and had too much going on between the camera and the car I was shooting.

After some practice, I was able to figure out how to improve upon that shot by changing my ISO setting to a lower number, and moving a bit closer to the image itself (in this case my car as opposed to my moms (hey I was putting her snow tires on for her ) ) .

I was able to capture both the snowflakes in the headlights, and a clear image of the car itself. The snowfall rate between these pictures was relatively the same, with possibly a little bit more falling on the 2nd shot, but it was close (despite what the images show) .


My better shooting example

Larger Image

Horizontal Resolution: 72 dpi
Vertical Resolution: 72 dpi
Image Created: 2006:12:31 18:31:54
Exposure Time: 1/1000 sec
Exposure Program: Shutter Priority
ISO Speed Rating: 800
Lens Aperture: f/4.0
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Metering Mode: Spot
Flash: No Flash, Compulsory
Focal Length: 35.00 mm

 

[xrays]

I spotted a similar thread for an audio forum I frequent, and thought it may be a good idea to have something similar posted here.

I like the idea... But I thought I'd try simply adjusting your sample image a bit because I found it too dark and low contrast for my likes. I just loaded it into PhotoShop and adjusted the colour balance and levels a bit, and got the result below. Your final picture probably could have used another 1-2 f-stops of light and a colour balance as well, but generally these types of shots can be reworked to get various kinds of emotion depending on what you're looking for - and my adjustments are merely one of those ideas.

x.

PS> A thread similar to this but where someone posts a pic and others feel free to either manipulate it for better/different results or go out and shoot the same concept differently would be interesting as well.

 

[xrays]

Poor Night Photography: Great Idea

Here's one of mine that I kept simply to remind myself of what I did wrong, yet I have not been able to recapture the same emotion and simplicity again - nor have I had the chance with the same dog, which is key in this image.

The idea was simple. Dog on dock at sunset. The actual image is approx 30 second exposure @f/1.8 ISO-400 with a Sigma 24mm lens on my Canon 20D. Unfortunately, that lens is a b*tch to focus at night, and so I didn't get it focused correctly. Of course, there was no way to know this until I got back indoors, and by then it was too late to get the same image again.

Lesson learned: Unfortunately, it's simply getting proper focus before shooting, but in my case that was very difficult due to my lens selection.

As you can see, the image is pretty cool, but the focus problem destroys it for me. Alas, I will be trying this one again and again until I finally get it to work.

x.

 

[coldrain]

I would not be able to choose between bad shots... but this one made me giggle.

Canon EOS 350D, EF 70-200 f4 L, 180mm, 1/1250sec, ISO 200, f10. And lens cap.
I have NO idea how this photo happened. Oh well...

So what to learn about this? No idea... just not to do it.

 

[iSaint]

I'm no professional. But, I have learned that whenever I take a picture of a person or people, that I should frame it up as close as possible to the subjects. If there's one thing I can't stand is a picture with people in it who you can't identify. Also, take more than one!