Finding my way on this site!

[trulight]

I am new to the site and to the PP course. I've been looking through some of the forums and galleries and really appreciate all of your work. I hope that mine will be worthy of sharing. I must admit that I feel a bit intimidated, and being a bit of a perfectionist, hesitate to post what isn't already great - it'll be a while if I don't snap out of it, right?!

I've been taking pictures with a Canon DSLR for almost a year and reading everything I can to learn how to take the "great" photos.

I look forward to getting to know you through the forums and thank you, in advance, for your feedback and insight and sharing!

[LensBaby]

Welcome Tru! What kind of Canon do you shoot with? Please do not be intimidated at all by anybody. We are all here together on this learning adventure. :D I would love to see some of your work. This is a group that I can honestly say, the members will critique if you ask, but they also point out the things the like in the photo...so it is a win/win situation.

[julimucca]

I am excited to see some of your work too! I feel the same way about being a little intimidated, and worried about it not being perfect, but I figure, how will learn if I don't share and allow feedback right? Welcome!!

[coffee]

I am new to the site and to the PP course. I've been looking through some of the forums and galleries and really appreciate all of your work. I hope that mine will be worthy of sharing. I must admit that I feel a bit intimidated, and being a bit of a perfectionist, hesitate to post what isn't already great - it'll be a while if I don't snap out of it, right?!

I've been taking pictures with a Canon DSLR for almost a year and reading everything I can to learn how to take the "great" photos.

I look forward to getting to know you through the forums and thank you, in advance, for your feedback and insight and sharing!

HI trulight.

You will never get anyone here that will "tear down" your photographs. As far as I'm concerned, and most everyone else here as well, every photo has some good in it.

My most cherrished photo I have is one that was taken almost 50 years ago of my Grandmother. I don't know who took it. It was out of focus, composition was bad, and is ripped and yellowed from years of abuse. But it's the only photo I have of her where she was smiling and happy. Is this concidered a bad picture? Not as far as I'm concered.

I blew it up with all of it's flaws, made it into an 8x10, and hung it on my wall. When I look at it, all I see is a beautiful smile from a Mother that raised my Father in the most difficult times.

Don't be afraid or intimidated to post and share with the rest of us your photos that you are most proud of. Take a few minutes and share with us a photo you took that you are most proud of, and why! We would love to see some of your work.

[laura]

Hello. Please don't feel intimidated, we are all learning. I have found that the help here is making my pictures better all the time. Looking forward to ssing some of your photos. :)

[coffee]

Hello. Please don't feel intimidated, we are all learning. I have found that the help here is making my pictures better all the time. Looking forward to ssing some of your photos. :)

What Laura said is true. We are all learning. With photography you will NEVER stop learning.

[trulight]

Wow - thank you so much! OKay, so how do I post a photo?!! Would that be through the Gallery? My husband's favorite photo is one I took a year ago, but it was with all automatic settings - is that cheating? I'll go to the gallery and put it up and see what you think. We just went on a MeetUp in DC and I'll post a couple of the Capitol too. So, here I go - you've created a monster...!

[trulight]

LensBaby - I just got a Canon XSi. My husband convinced me to upgrade so he could have my XTi! It's fun to go out together now, although he has a much more creative eye. He sees things I walk right past!

Thanks Julimucca - your intro inspired me to do the same!

Coffee and Laura - I've been following your posts and enjoying your gallery photos.

Thank you all for your encouragement! I look forward to learning from all of you and hope to inspire you too!

[julimucca]

There is an upload button after you go into gallery on the right side of the page. :)

[trulight]

Found it! I just posted a couple. Tell me what you think! Does it seem like the statue at the top of the capitol dome is blurry? I had only the center focus point on, as suggested in something I read. Maybe I should ask this question with my photo on the gallery?? I'll get it!

[coffee]

Wow - thank you so much! OKay, so how do I post a photo?!! Would that be through the Gallery? My husband's favorite photo is one I took a year ago, but it was with all automatic settings - is that cheating? I'll go to the gallery and put it up and see what you think. We just went on a MeetUp in DC and I'll post a couple of the Capitol too. So, here I go - you've created a monster...!

No. The only cheating in photography is taking someone elses photos and passing them off as your own. If you take a photo, whether it be in full auto or full manual, this is your own, and there is NO cheating involved.

You have to understand that taking a shot in and of itself is a dedication to your photograpy, and wanting to capture a moment. If you take a shot in full auto mode, does this take away from the feeling you get when you look at it? Does it take away from the shot itself? No it doesn't. Is it a way of getting a great photo that you may otherwiae miss. Yes. Would you rather get a great shot in auto, as apposed to not getting a great shot at all?

I ALWAYS put the camera in auto mode when I put it away. I learned this many years ago when I started missing shots. The reason for this is if there is a fast opportunity, then the camera is ready even if I'm not. Does that make the photo less of a photo. It does NOT! This actually make you a better photographer because you plan ahead. That's the way I see it anyway.

With that said, I never shoot in auto mode, unless I'm trying to pull the camera out of the case quickly to get THE shot, that I may otherwise miss if I try and set the camera up. Can the photo be better if you have the time to set it up. YES maybe, it depends on the level of photography you are at. But if you don't have the time, and you, as the photographer's eye, take a shot in auto, then do it. There aren't rules set for this. YOU ARE THE PHOTGRAPHER, and being ready for a shot, even if it's in auto for a fast shot, is what makes you get a shot you may miss otherwise.

Listen, many my say that unless you take a shot in something other than auto, you aren't doing your job as a serious photographer. OK lets assume they are right. Does this mean that you should miss some wonderful or a spectacular photo becasue you don't have the time or energy to set the camera in a manual mode? THIS IS NONSENSE. DON'T LISTEN TO THIS CRAP.

You will find that as you learn more about your camera, and photography in general, that you won't want to ever be in auto. But auto is a GREAT way to get a shot you may otherwise miss. You don't want to miss an opportunity. So do what you have to do to get THE shot. THEN, you will know you are a true photographer.

Photgraphers GET.... "THE" shot. No ones askes if they were in auto ot manual unless they are making a 6 digit figure.

Enough from me. I'm curious to hear what the other photographers on this forum have to say on this.

[trulight]

Coffee - thanks so much - I feel much better now! All that you say makes sense. You are very philosophical and I appreciate that. I understand what you mean about the photo of your grandmother as well. It invokes the "essence" of the person you knew. So, I've posted it - let me know what you think!

[coffee]

I'm glad you found the way to your gallery. Well done.

Here is my take on your first 3 photos.

Since these are your first photos uploaded, you will find, in time, that they won't messure up to your most recent photos. This is the way it always is though. Your most recent work will always be your best.

Your first, National Capital Done: It's hard to find anything wrong with this. It is well composed, good focus, and generally a very good photo.
I wish the background colors, which are great pastels, would be a little more promenent. More dymamic and vivid. I would not change the forground. Very nice shot!

The second shot, National Capital Building, DC is also very well done. The background is a little over exposed. I would love to see this in post where you can stack 2 exposures where the background is correctly exposed, and the forground is correctly exposed, and combine them. Crop a little more of the dome so it sets more to the right.

Christiansted, St. Croix: What a great photo this is. Dynamic. Wonderful contrast of lights and darks. Very colorful. Lighting is VERY well done. An all around wonderful capture and a great find. The horizon at the top should be cropped out because there isn't enough of it, and because of this the photo is unbalanced. I would get rid of the very little light blue sky you have there. It just dosn't help the photo at all. I would balance it better by cropping out the top, give it a more "Rule of Thirds" feel, and also straighten the overall landscape so that the shoreline is paralell(sp) to the overall composition and the bottom of the frame. I think this is my favorite of the three. Very Very nice photos trulight. Post more if you can. And if you change these photos at all, I would love to see the changes. Do you do much post work trulight? As good as these are, I would love to do a little post process with these so I can show you my examples. let me know and I can PM you. Thanks for posting. You have a good photo eye.

[laura]

These are some really great photos :)
I have to agree with all Josephs CC. First one is great, fits perfectly in the frame, I like the pastel colours in the sky. I like how the trees frame the dome in the second one, but it would benefit from positioning it more to the right. The Third one simply needs straightening out and cropping.
Joseph is right when he says as time goes on these photos won't measure up to your new ones, I cringe at my first photos in my gallery. I was going to delete them but I am able to look at them and see my improvement.
Looking forward to seeing my pics.

[trulight]

Coffee and Laura - thanks so much for your feedback. This is exactly what I need to improve. My instinct tells me what you have put in words. My husband wants to frame the Christiansted photo, but I'm not satisfied with it. I told him to wait until I take another one! I have also thought that there should be a little more water and less of the mountain in the shot and the slanted horizon really bugs me!

I know I need to think about the "thirds" before taking the shot and notice it after the fact. Thanks for pointing it out - helps me see it so that it will be become more automatic!

So, to answer your question, Coffee, I have no idea how to do any post processing and also thought that was "cheating"! I have an old version of Photoshop (v. 7, I think) but don't know how to use it. I'd love to see your examples - sorry what do you mean by "PM"?

[LensBaby]

I actually knew a girl who shot with a pro at a wedding, and guess what? The lady shot 90% AUTO. Not Tv or Av, or even program - Auto. Her photos were still nice. I would not say she is not a PRO because she shot those photos in auto, but she may not have had the control that she could have had with manual. Some people do things different than others. I do not think it is cheating. I do however see people who take several photos and photoshop them together not as cheaters, but as artists. To me that is more of an artwork than a photograph.

[julimucca]

I agree that it is not cheating. Cameras and technology have changed so much in the last even 30 years, and as technology changes its way of doing thing, we can too!

[coffee]

Coffee and Laura - thanks so much for your feedback. This is exactly what I need to improve. My instinct tells me what you have put in words. My husband wants to frame the Christiansted photo, but I'm not satisfied with it. I told him to wait until I take another one! I have also thought that there should be a little more water and less of the mountain in the shot and the slanted horizon really bugs me!

I know I need to think about the "thirds" before taking the shot and notice it after the fact. Thanks for pointing it out - helps me see it so that it will be become more automatic!

So, to answer your question, Coffee, I have no idea how to do any post processing and also thought that was "cheating"! I have an old version of Photoshop (v. 7, I think) but don't know how to use it. I'd love to see your examples - sorry what do you mean by "PM"?

PM is a private message you can send any other member. Similar to an email that only the two of you can see. You click on a members name and that gives you the option.

[LensBaby]

Is that an example of an "auto" photo? It is a gorgeous photo.

[coffee]

Thanks for the PM Virginia. Here are a few changes.
I played with a couple of them. These are small changes like some sharpening and color changes, and a little straightning. I worked with the very small files, so they might not come across the best, I don't know.

[vickig]

Welcome! I'm brand new here myself - and also finding my way on this site. ;)

[trulight]

Coffee-thanks so much - I see what you mean. I'll try to mimic what you've done without ruining them!

[trulight]

So what is the color-coding on the far left of the posts? I am wondering why the one next to this thread is RED!! Is it getting too long?

[LensBaby]

So what is the color-coding on the far left of the posts? I am wondering why the one next to this thread is RED!! Is it getting too long?

I'm trying to find out what you are talking about. Where is it at?

[jerryph]

It is a small square that does nothing... but the info next to it does show the date of the post.

The 3 links to the RIGHT are: The post number, to open this post in it's own window, a reputation window... not something that I use... and a REPORT button, so you can report a post to the administration here as an undesirable post.

[LensBaby]

OH that little orange red looking square? They change colors I believe to show you what you have already read and have not read. They are blue after I have viewed them.

[trulight]

Thanks - I'll keep an eye on it to see what happens!