new photographer :) critique welcome

[Kalen]

well, i've always felt like i had an "eye" for photography - for angles & lighting & capturing specific moments... but i've never had the equipment to do so. i did what i could with a point & shoot, but as you all know - that is pretty limited.

for christmas & my graduating college present, i received a canon rebel XSi from my husband, and i've been shooting ever since. i'm learning a lot about lighting, customizing a photograph, and just... all of it. it's a lot. i don't want to be a beginner that relies on a lot of default settings, so i'm trying to educate myself as quickly as i can.

here are a few recent shots. i tend to really, really like close-up photography - just something about the way the detail is captured. and i'm in love with natural lighting... this is unedited

critique as you wish

http://flickr.com/photos/ka1en/3151018933/

[jetrim]

Rather than jumping right into the critiquing I thought I'd welcome you to the forums and maybe point you toward some inspiration. In the viewfinder section is a thread called "camera around the world" http://forums.photographyreview.com/...ad.php?t=30861 where you can follow the exploits of a small doll named Rufus as he gets mailed from member to member, and they take him out to capture the sights of their local areas. Your doll might not be that adventurous, but you never know

[Kalen]

fun - love it! i plan on taking her some different places for sure - i can't wait to see how my photography matures as i do it

[Ron Kruger]

Welcome to this site, Kalen. I've been taking photos for over 30 years, and I've found this the most informative and helpful photography site on the net.
There are no "dumb" questions.

[Frog]

Welcome, Kalen.
Since you did post in critique, I would assume you want to know.
Its better to post one photo or on occassion 2 or 3 for comparison.
The one thing I notice in all of yours is that there are heads, and ears being chopped off and in the first one the bottom of the doll is sitting on the frame..
The backgrounds are distracting in the first two.
You have some good subjects and I can't wait to see what you do with that little doll thingy.
Again welcome aboard......I've learned more from these forums than anywhere else.

[stringfieldphotography]

Agree. Definitely look up "The rule of 3rds" wikipedia helps with that, and also, fill the frame with your subjects. Sometimes there is too much background and it's distracting.


www.stringfieldphotography.com

[dwaugh]

As you may already be doing as somewhat implied by you saying that you dont want to use default settings, I suggest ONLY using manual mode. That way, you have to learn fast or else things won't come out right, and it forces you to figure those techniques out as you go. That's what I did right after I got my first dSLR in December 2005.