Poll: What do you think?

[Starke]

I voted 'pretty good', because while the camera work is all there, the pictures themselves are a little... cliché.

You're a great photographer, now use that potential!

Thanks, I'm kinda restricted to nature for the duration of the project, but I definetly want to keep taking pics, and thanks for the compliment, I have a really good teacher.

In that case look for layered shots. You don't need to have a fore, middle, and background, but it does help. Honestly the best shot you've got up there is probably the path/road shot, though it has a little bit of a technical focus issue.

If you can, go with a 35mm SLR, preferably with replaceable lenses, you'll want a 35mm (wide angle), and a 50mm (standard) lens. If you have the money a +100mm (telephoto) lens can be fun to play with. (I personally worked with a 75mm - 150mm adjustable and a 200mm lens.) Remember, heavier lenses require more light, and conversely a 35mm lens may create some distortion at the edges, but it will require less light than your 50mm.

If you can't, you will need a digital SLR. Basically for serious photography there's no ducking this, you need to be able to manually control the focus. Not should, need. Control over shutter speed and f-stop are also vital.

Don't be afraid of black and white film. It's really useful for a couple reasons, it gives you a lot more control of the light, it changes the subject to texture, it works with a lot less light, and you have much better control over it in the developing room should you screw something up.

Learn to bracket your shots, this involves setting the F-Stop where you think you want it, and then bumping it up by one, shooting, and bumping it down by one, shooting. You should have three shots, and one of them will be good if the light meter spazed on you.

Keep a shot sheet. I know it's a pain, but do it anyway.

And again, a shot isn't about what's in frame, it's about what is in frame in multiple layers. Photography tends to flatten your subject out. So you need to analyze what you're shooting in layers of depth. Remember you control the focus, so you can set which layer will be the subject, but things in front and behind it can improve the image massively.

On that subject, get comfortable with your depth of field at each f Stop you use regularly, you can use this to control where your focus is.

Don't be afraid to close down your FStop just to flatten your depth of field out.

Conversely, get a tripod so you can open your fstop up and lengthen your exposure if you need a greater depth of field.

Always carry your camera.

Note that 4 and 5 would be much better if you turned the camera on its side and shot those in a single shot. Without it they're kinda bland, but that kind of mirroring would have added a nice touch. Don't be afraid to turn the camera 90 degrees. There's a lot of shots up there, particularly 11, 12, 14 and 15 that would have benefited from a vertical frame.

 

[Arrogancy]

Alright, I voted Damn! (bad). Your pictures were quite bland, it struck me that you just began snapping at anything that looked nice on a nature walk. Your scenes were just that, scenes. A picture should capture a moment in time, not just a setting. To sum up, I didn't like them, although that might have less to do with the fact that I didn't like your work than the fact that I am opposed to most art in general. I enjoy saying as many negative and derogatory things about any type of art that I can. So do with my statement what you will. If you choose to ignore me then I won't blame you.

 

[Outright Villainy]

Yeah, focus is good. Very clear shots, good framing.

It'd be better on more interesting things.

So yeah, overall, pretty good.

 

[DuplicateValue]

I think all photography is a bunch of crap...

But...sure?

There's a photographer behind every picture you've ever seen, things would be quite dull without them.

OT: I agree with the general consensus here - the pictures are pretty, but a bit on the boring side, and though macro mode is awesome, there's plenty of other things you can do with a camera.

One thing I'd suggest is this: all of the subjects of your pictures and big and orientated towards the centre. Make use of negative space - you'd be surprised how having less going on in a picture can make it much nicer.

 

[Soluncreed]

I voted meh.

It's not that the pictures are bad, it's just that it is nothing I haven't seen before. It feels like each of them is something that has already been done and that you took them only as an attempt to take a picture of what people want to see. There is little creativity in them.

That being said, as a photographer, you're pretty good. The pictures themselves are good, but without proper expression they will mean nothing.

 

[LogicNProportion]

I think all photography is a bunch of crap...

But...sure?

There's a photographer behind every picture you've ever seen, things would be quite dull without them.

OT: I agree with the general consensus here - the pictures are pretty, but a bit on the boring side, and though macro mode is awesome, there's plenty of other things you can do with a camera.

One thing I'd suggest is this: all of the subjects of your pictures and big and orientated towards the centre. Make use of negative space - you'd be surprised how having less going on in a picture can make it much nicer.

I don't much like photos either, especially those that try to 'capture a moment.'

If the moment was so special and awesome to you, then you should be able to remember it. I think I just find photos to be a crutch like that. And if you were to say it's to share great things with others...well...those people should try to participate in their own great things, right?

I'm a little pissy today, I'll admit. ^^;

 

[ajemas]

These are really good. Now, what I know about photography could barely fit on the head of a needle used by a quark, but do you think you could brush up some of those leaf pictures, or is that not allowed? I think that they would look a lot better without the discolored parts, but I don't think I have the authority to say so.

 

[Nannernade]

Your photos are pretty good, the things I can tell you, try to avoid those water reflection shots, it's not exactly appealing to see a rippling image, also try to follow the rule of thirds. Good luck to you. =)

 

[LarenzoAOG]

I voted 'pretty good', because while the camera work is all there, the pictures themselves are a little... cliché.

You're a great photographer, now use that potential!

Thanks, I'm kinda restricted to nature for the duration of the project, but I definetly want to keep taking pics, and thanks for the compliment, I have a really good teacher.

In that case look for layered shots. You don't need to have a fore, middle, and background, but it does help. Honestly the best shot you've got up there is probably the path/road shot, though it has a little bit of a technical focus issue.

If you can, go with a 35mm SLR, preferably with replaceable lenses, you'll want a 35mm (wide angle), and a 50mm (standard) lens. If you have the money a +100mm (telephoto) lens can be fun to play with. (I personally worked with a 75mm - 150mm adjustable and a 200mm lens.) Remember, heavier lenses require more light, and conversely a 35mm lens may create some distortion at the edges, but it will require less light than your 50mm.

If you can't, you will need a digital SLR. Basically for serious photography there's no ducking this, you need to be able to manually control the focus. Not should, need. Control over shutter speed and f-stop are also vital.

Don't be afraid of black and white film. It's really useful for a couple reasons, it gives you a lot more control of the light, it changes the subject to texture, it works with a lot less light, and you have much better control over it in the developing room should you screw something up.

Learn to bracket your shots, this involves setting the F-Stop where you think you want it, and then bumping it up by one, shooting, and bumping it down by one, shooting. You should have three shots, and one of them will be good if the light meter spazed on you.

Keep a shot sheet. I know it's a pain, but do it anyway.

And again, a shot isn't about what's in frame, it's about what is in frame in multiple layers. Photography tends to flatten your subject out. So you need to analyze what you're shooting in layers of depth. Remember you control the focus, so you can set which layer will be the subject, but things in front and behind it can improve the image massively.

On that subject, get comfortable with your depth of field at each f Stop you use regularly, you can use this to control where your focus is.

Don't be afraid to close down your FStop just to flatten your depth of field out.

Conversely, get a tripod so you can open your fstop up and lengthen your exposure if you need a greater depth of field.

Always carry your camera.

Note that 4 and 5 would be much better if you turned the camera on its side and shot those in a single shot. Without it they're kinda bland, but that kind of mirroring would have added a nice touch. Don't be afraid to turn the camera 90 degrees. There's a lot of shots up there, particularly 11, 12, 14 and 15 that would have benefited from a vertical frame.

Wow, that is a lot of information, thank you. I will imediatley look up fstop, because I don't yet know the meaning of that, thank you though.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

Alright, I voted Damn! (bad). Your pictures were quite bland, it struck me that you just began snapping at anything that looked nice on a nature walk. Your scenes were just that, scenes. A picture should capture a moment in time, not just a setting. To sum up, I didn't like them, although that might have less to do with the fact that I didn't like your work than the fact that I am opposed to most art in general. I enjoy saying as many negative and derogatory things about any type of art that I can. So do with my statement what you will. If you choose to ignore me then I won't blame you.

I actually was just snapping pictures as I walked the nature path, again, I'm very new to this, and as far as I'm concerned, you're only being mean to art because you care.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

-snip-

A generic "rule" to follow is the rule of thirds. It's a guideline where if you divide your picture into three rows and three colums, your subject should be on one of those lines. If you put your subject in the center it just looks boring. Also people know what a leaf looks like, you have to make it look different than usual too, find different lighting or an interesting angle to give it a new perspective. Same with the scenery, you can take some at eye level, but lay on the ground and it will completely change your surroundings. Of course being an artform you can do whatever you want too...

Spoiler: Rule of thirds

I didn't take it I googled it...

Thank you very much, I was actually doins some research today and ran across the Rule of Thirds and took some notes.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

Lovely work! They look just like something you'd find on a professional wallpaper site or something...

I'm going to take that as a compliment, being that this was the third time I had ever picked up a camera that is high praise.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

I think you have a bit of a knack for photography. However, might I suggest that you try to get more perspective into your work?

A brief example would be to have say a flower in the foreground and a field/wood/lake/whatever in the background. It's pretty hard to explain, so allow me to try and back up my point with the following images courtesy of a quick Google search.

[Edited]

ahh I found a photography site that has images that reflect what I meant

Spoiler

Images referenced from [link]http://www.perspective-images.com[/link]

Keep up the good work, I look forward to seeing more of it in the future if you share any in the future

I look forward to taking more pictures.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

Meh, i've done photography my self and your mostly just doing macro focus of plant life, in my last semester i can match most of those photos and have quite a few better ones. So really nothing to get exited about for me.

I'm glad you can out-photograph the high school senior who just a few days ago started photography! If you couldn't you probably wouldn't be a very successful photgrapher

 

[LarenzoAOG]

I'm no artist but I'm bored... so yeah... put a bear in.

I will put many bears in it, first I need to know what that means.

 

[Nouw]

Seems kinda cliched but otherwise pretty good. I don't know anything about Photography but if they're pretty good in my standards, I guess they could be for others.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

I like them, but they're a bit clichéd. I would have liked a bit more experimental lighting, maybe try going out at a different time of day?

Pretty good. Consider me impressed.

But wow, does that place ever look cold in the pictures. Wouldn't want to be there.

Nothing compared to Bavaria in the winter.

Wouldn't know. I live in northern Japan, which has ridiculous amounts of snow, but isn't that cold. Been to northern Sweden in february, though. That was... unpleasant.

I bet, I assume that being in Northern Sweden in the winter is akin to being one level lower in hell than the rest of the damned, those pansies in southern Sweden had it easy huh?

Well, I've been to southern Sweden too, as opposed to Jamtland (no, my keyboard can't put fancy dots and lines over stuff).

The difference, more or less, is this. In the south during winter, you'll be fine if you dress properly. In the north, nothing will save you.

I live in the middle of Sweden, and it's starting to get a bit chilly if you don't dress properly. It's a very dry and windy cold, and therefore, very painful. Maybe I should start wearing my overcoat...
But we usually get around -40 degrees Celcius up north. I've skied, fast and in a blizzard, at that temperature without anything protecting my face, and it almost fell off.

Holy shit, what you described is entirely too cold!

 

[FallenTraveler]

snip

As a fine arts major I have a couple of tips

1. Use the rule of thirds, I noticed these photos were mostly centered, which makes them much less interesting, if you would capture the object and it was set off to the left or right, it would make a lot of these much more visually appealing.

2. Cliché as others have said, a lot of these are pretty clichéd images, you need a bleeding rose now and it's an example of high school art (no offense, my stuff was like that, it's something artists have to overcome)

3. This is just me, and I am sure a lot of people disagree with me, but I find that plain photography is just NOT an art, it is too simple a technique to truly count as an art, my advice is to try and learn photo manipulation as well. Or at least play with filters

Nice stuff though, what kind of camera?

 

[LarenzoAOG]

snip

As a fine arts major I have a couple of tips

1. Use the rule of thirds, I noticed these photos were mostly centered, which makes them much less interesting, if you would capture the object and it was set off to the left or right, it would make a lot of these much more visually appealing.

2. Cliché as others have said, a lot of these are pretty clichéd images, you need a bleeding rose now and it's an example of high school art (no offense, my stuff was like that, it's something artists have to overcome)

3. This is just me, and I am sure a lot of people disagree with me, but I find that plain photography is just NOT an art, it is too simple a technique to truly count as an art, my advice is to try and learn photo manipulation as well. Or at least play with filters

Nice stuff though, what kind of camera?

Thanks for the advice, I'm actually in high school though, so i guess my stuff is par for the course. I'm using my dad's Nikon D3000 SLR.

 

[Whitenail]

As a fellow high school student of photography and digital media I must say I enjoyed your focus, the clarity and the subject matter.

If I were to suggest anything you might wanna play with the rule of thirds a bit more (an example can be found here) and it wouldn't hurt to tweak them a tad in photoshop (for example, whilst I did film a friend of mine did photography for his body of work, he took pictures around Sydney that were impressive in of themselves then improved them tenfold with a really glossy sepia-tone effect).