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Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM

10/07/2009 12:07:53 PM · #1

Ok as everyone knows, DPC is here to help and is a great learning environment and I love the site. So far I have learned a ton. So what am I doing wrong?? I understand that my

is nowhere close to

dougi555

fshiis

or even

IreneM

But really I am just curious what I am doing wrong. Is it the over all quality of the actual pic...i.e.focus, or lighting. I know I have problems with lighting and I am trying to work on that one. Or is it my experience with photo editing software that is getting me. Or is it my subject matter that I use. I atleast need to know what to work on so that I can improve. It seems that my scores are still staying fairly low and I would like to be able to take some shots that eventually will score in the 6 range or even better. Thank you in advance for any comments that I recieve.

Message edited by author 2009-10-07 12:08:22.

AJSullivan

10/07/2009 12:13:45 PM · #2

Was this a dark image that you lightened? The overall color seems funky, it also looks very grainy too. Composition wise, its just not all that interesting, to me. Why did you shoot this at F/22? I just has the look of an image that was very dark, and that you bumped up the levels.

I think the composition would be helped with a crop as well, if you were to cut off some of the left side of hte image, so the row of stones goes from one side of the image, right off the other.

Lighting wise, its natural light obviously, but its just bland.

Sorry if thats too scathing.

Message edited by author 2009-10-07 12:14:32.

Steef

Canon EOS-40D

10/07/2009 12:17:00 PM · #3

just a couple thoughts: you certainly met the challenge with that shot, even without the clever title. the headstones are all perfectly aligned, so very nice job there.

it seems to me that your image is lacking some contrast and looks a little foggy. maybe a levels adjustment or adding contrast/playing with curves could help a bit. even the "auto" buttons in PS would help if you don't feel comfortable playing with those things. no photoshop? try picasa's "i'm feeling lucky" button :)

for me, the shot isn't very compelling. there's a lot going on in the background. maybe shooting from a different angle or height would help? i've never been very successful at taking photos in a graveyard, so i'm interested to see what others have to say.

just keep at it, i'm sure your scores will turn around soon. don't forget to check out the tutorials this site has to offer, a lot of them are top notch.

10/07/2009 12:19:13 PM · #4

I think some simple adjustments would help tremendously. Here is the levels adjustment in Paintshop Pro. You can see the huge difference it made on your shot:

Here is the shot with the above levels adjustment, the clarify adjustment with a value of +3, and some sharpening:

If I recall correctly, you are also using PaintShop Pro?

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

10/07/2009 12:19:26 PM · #5

I'm not really just talking about this pic...I'm talking about all my pics in general. I understand there were some serious problems with my graveyard shot. I was not really happy with it when I submitted it but I chose to anyway. I am mainly just speaking about overall.

Bebe

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

10/07/2009 12:19:30 PM · #6

what are you using for editing? many images from digital camera benefit from a little contrast boost - in 2 seconds I took yours and adjusted levels & added a little s-curve. the result wasn't great, but I think the contrast helps.

eta - wow, I'm slow! and yospiff's is better ...

Message edited by author 2009-10-07 12:20:27.

10/07/2009 12:22:45 PM · #7

I use paintshop pro...it is the 1st editing software that I have used so I am trying to teach myself the ins and outs. I am about to upgrade to photoshop though thanks to my student discount...

10/07/2009 12:25:08 PM · #8

Originally posted by cowboy221977:

I use paintshop pro...it is the 1st editing software that I have used so I am trying to teach myself the ins and outs. I am about to upgrade to photoshop though thanks to my student discount...

Not using Photoshop is not hurting me any. All the basics are the same. The student discount in attractively priced, though.

AJSullivan

10/07/2009 12:27:05 PM · #9

Originally posted by cowboy221977:

I use paintshop pro...it is the 1st editing software that I have used so I am trying to teach myself the ins and outs. I am about to upgrade to photoshop though thanks to my student discount...

You should go to adobes site and snag a 30 day trial of CS4, and see if that helps.

I think a lot of your shots are cool subjects, but executed poorly. I think a lot of your challenge entries rely to much on titles...such as that inspriational poster. I rarely title anything I do, because I want it to speak for itself. I would partly suggest you try the same. If an image doesn't convey what you want without a title, then you know what to work on.

10/07/2009 12:30:37 PM · #10

OK AJ that does make sence. I have already gotten CS4 I am just waiting to install it until I finish building my super computer...lol My laptop is pretty slow so I am building a fairly high powered desktop.

10/07/2009 01:48:54 PM · #11

Originally posted by AJSullivan:

You should go to adobes site and snag a 30 day trial of CS4, and see if that helps.

I think higher end software can help one in the same way as a higher end camera can.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

10/07/2009 01:53:09 PM · #12

I feel these are the basic image quality adjustments that should be learned first:
-Levels
-Curves
-Saturation
-Contrast
-Sharpening
-Topaz (Ok, just kidding on that one)

Lots of other skills of course, most of the important ones being located at the camera side of the process.

chromeydome

Nikon D7000

10/07/2009 02:31:19 PM · #13

So there are other aspects to be considered in addition to the technical things being discussed already:

Composition
Visualization
Communication
your "way of seeing"

There are some "rules" of composition worth learning, applying, and then utterly breaking with deliberate, informed intent :-) I noticed in your port here that many images tend to have a dead-center subject. It is a natural tendency to do this--try working compositions where you refuse to center the subject. Read up a little on composition, or study images specifically for their composition.

Visualization is critical--if you can imagine the 2 dimensional image you wish to produce (even down to the 'treatment' like b/w, etc) at the time you are shooting, this can be very helpful. Naturally, the intended purpose of the photo matters: walking around San Francisco last week on vacation, I did lots of shots: many were "documentation - I was here and saw this - snapshots" and many were intended to be artistically composed and presented images. If you know what you intend to do ahead of time, you'll succeed more often. "Begin with the End in Mind" I have some snapshots from SF that could not ever be manipulated into a successful "art shot" because I didn't purposefully shoot them that way at the outset.

Spend time with images (of masters, of others, of yours) and study/contemplate them. When an image "sings" to you, enjoy it, but then start asking why and how it sings to you. When an image bores you, don't just look away immediately, but ask why and how it bores you, what you might have done to make it work better for you. This sort of exercise on an ongoing basis (we are inundated with imagery all the time) can become a habit, and will greatly enhance your "way of seeing" and your own self-awareness of your taste--not just that it "tastes good" but exactly Why it 'tastes good'. You can apply it in your own work.

Communication: this is actually (in my opinion) the most complex and difficult thing: We all have such a connection to our own shots that we often cannot see them as others do. We were There, we Saw this/him/her in person, we Felt the sun/wind/rain, we Heard the sounds, we spoke with the person(s), maybe we know them really well. So, for us, a simple 'snapshot' will trigger all that for us. Finding a way to trigger something like that in others is the real challenge--which is why I value a comment on a shot here that lets me know the communication worked so much more than a score. Of course, a super high score probably indicates that it all worked well, too :-)

Message edited by author 2009-10-07 14:36:47.

prperold

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35 f/4 ED VR

10/07/2009 02:47:01 PM · #14

Another thing that might help: since light is the language of photography, you must learn to use it when it's at it's best, or in some cases manipulate it to enhance your scene. For shots like your grave yard shot, or my favourite genre (landscape), the best time of the day is around sunrise and sunset. Some days the light is just magnificent, which adds so much to a shot. Flat mid day light in comparison to warm sweeping light makes the difference between a snap shot and a master piece. When it comes to genres such as still life, macro or portraits, it's another ball game, where you manipulate the light to create an engaging shot.

For me the hierarchy of importance is light and composition at the top, and then editing. You have to get the first two right before the editing even starts. On the other hand though, it is possible to stuff it up with the editing, even if you have a brilliant composition in terrific light. So all in all I think it's a fine balance. Well, that's my two cents.

Message edited by author 2009-10-07 14:48:03.

10/07/2009 03:01:32 PM · #15

Originally posted by chromeydome:

Spend time with images (of masters, of others, of yours) and study/contemplate them. When an image "sings" to you, enjoy it, but then start asking why and how it sings to you. When an image bores you, don't just look away immediately, but ask why and how it bores you, what you might have done to make it work better for you.

May I add the suggestion that the easiest way to do this is by commenting on others entries in the challenges here. Especially the ones you give 4's and 5's to. You will learn the most from making yourself figure out why they are just "Meh" for you.