complete noob

[reedy]

hi all im a complete noob to photography, other than random pics of friends and family usualy when drunk so you can guess at the quality of them lol.
I have recently discovered photography of nature and wildlife i have attached some of my first efforts, i dont have any good equipment at all, ive got a panasonic sdr-h20 camcorder, a jentopik c3.1 lcd camera and my mobile phone, if anyone has any tips or hints to go with the equipment i have that would be useful it would be greatly appreciated. i would get better equipment but a new addition to the family prevents it.

cheers
reedy

[AgingEyes]

Here's my 2 cents:

The first photo I assume you wanted to photograph the flower and wanted it to look sharp. As you can see, now the background is sharp but the flower is not. I'm not familiar with the camera(s) that you use so I can only guess my be you were too close for the camera to get a focus lock? The other photos look a bit too busy to me, quite a few distracting elements in the photos that could take away the attention of the viewers from what you wanted to show them. If you don't mind doing some post-processing or crop, the second one seems to have some room for improvement. If you don't know much about composition, just try to keep the image simple (something like what you did for your first photo). Many strong images are also simple images. But I'm guessing what you can do may be limited by what tools you have here. Good tries anyhow.

[reedy]

cheers, good stuff
I think with the first one i didnt leave it long enough to get the focus right, they were all taken on my mobile phone at my folks house.
At the moment im more interested in getting the content and shadows etc right then when i get pretty good at it then hopefully her indoors will allow me to get some decent gear, but the way i see it there isnt any point in going out getting top notch gear if i cant get the billy basics right.
I have had a little play around in photoshop, ive never used that before but am i getting the right idea?

[reedy]

another play around with photoshop

[reedy]

any tips will be greatly appeciated.

[pweb]

Hi Reedy,
Yes, the close-up of the bee on the blue flower is going the right direction -- get as close as possible to your subject, leave out the extra stuff. Read up on composition, such as the rule of thirds, for more effective images. Balance warm and cool colors. You're right that fancy equipment isn't the only answer -- some of the best images on this site are from simple equipment. It's mostly about your eye and understanding light and how to use it, such as early morning and evening ("golden hours"). Once you've discovered photography, you just may start seeing most of life through a viewfinder...and be patient.
-Pam

[Loupey]

Hey, reedy - welcome to the club

Pam gave you excellent advice. I would just add - look at images in magazines, etc. and see what works. And more importantly, why.

Mentally break down images of others. Then criticize you own work even harder.

[reedy]

awesome thanks peeps.

[Grandpaw]

Welcome to our site! I would like to direct your attention to the top right section of the page you are looking at. Find the tab that says learning and go down to the "HOW-TOS" and click on that. Look around here and you will find a lot of helpful information. Explore the whole site along with the many forums and you will learn many useful tips. Good luck on your photographic adventure, Jeff

[reedy]

sweet cheers mate, hadnt noticed that

[reedy]

how about these? any better? any hints or tips always appreciated