Sir Laurels and Dash Photos (Flickr Photostream)

[Zeealex]

They have been edited, just a slight level change and red eye removals.

Mode: Aperature Priority.

F5.6 1/40 shutter, Flash fired. (a majority of them should be that.)

Sir Laurels:
Sir Laurels (Larry) - a set on Flickr

Dash:
Dash! - a set on Flickr


you've all met larry, i hope, and dash, is the latest family member, a little houdini syrian hamster.

please feel free to comment on any of the photos any criticism is welcomed.

[Zeealex]

and my friend is holding the hamster in case you are wondering.

[Zeealex]

yeah, really need some critique and help with this.

[Paul]

Why not just post them here mate, sometimes people are a little worried about clicking links.

[Hoogle]

didnt see it I was busy I guess some threads slip by.

1st quick glance and impression general quality of pics good however would slightly speed up you shutter speed maybe 1\60th as it appears you have some blurriness beyond DOF. Are you using your flash in full TTL mode unless you are using the on camera flash (shudders)

[Zeealex]

didnt see it I was busy I guess some threads slip by.

1st quick glance and impression general quality of pics good however would slightly speed up you shutter speed maybe 1\60th as it appears you have some blurriness beyond DOF. Are you using your flash in full TTL mode unless you are using the on camera flash (shudders)

Thanks Hoogle and no worries, and i'll try do that in Tv mode as (obviously) i can't change my shutter speed in aperature priority. but i know what aperature it needs and whatnot. and i'm using on camera flash at low power, have to use the flash or i get really blurred photos (slow shutter) or really dark ones (fast shutter) but i'll try that definitely


@Paul, suppose i could, but theres allot of fuss, because i have to open photoshop (which takes ages) find and open all the images, downsize them to a decent size (which takes even longer seeing as my computer has slowed down) then upload them in the attachment manager, (and i can't do them all at once) and i'll probably go over the image limit that way as if i upload them all on flickr and post a link to them it's all done quicker. Flickr surely is a well known site, and i don't think i'd be spamming this late on into my membership XD

but I'll post a few up when i'm home. I suppose it wouldn't hurt.

[Hoogle]

Posted without even finishing what I was saying lol. on camera flash gives a very hard light and unflattering look if it is daylight then you should be able to compensate for no flash quite easily or if you like using flash then invest in a speedlight I think Jessops do 1 for around £60 which is reasonably priced considering the Nikon equivelant is about £250 -£300 it may not have quite as many functions but will be more than enough to see you through your 1st year as a photographer. Yet again speedlight attached to camera is still classified as a only in emergency scenario. Even if it means spending £5 on ebay for an off camera flash sync cord do it even holding the flash at arms length will give you a much more flattering picture. It will take you a while to learn how to use speedlight but definately worth it especially if you buy 1 now from jessops as it comes with a free diffuser kit and bounce cards.


Ok so Picture quality discussed, Flash discussed. Now we need to discuss composition and for that I suggest in viewfinder turning on grid view



green dots highlighting central rectangle try to avoid having your subject there 9 out of 10 times that is what every man\woman\boy or girl with a camera tries to do this is flat and boring. Not in all cases this grid will be the same as the option in your camera I am sure. split the scene up in the rules of 3rds 3 up 3 across and have the picture tell the story if you photograph a bir for example and it is looking up to the right try and composite your frame so the bird is in the bottom left section so the picture tells the story of the bird looking up to the right your viewers will see what the bird is seeing etc.

[Hoogle]

RE last post just go to google image search page and type in rule of thirds photography there are some good examples there.

[Zeealex]

Ok so Picture quality discussed, Flash discussed. Now we need to discuss composition and for that I suggest in viewfinder turning on grid view



green dots highlighting central rectangle try to avoid having your subject there 9 out of 10 times that is what every man\woman\boy or girl with a camera tries to do this is flat and boring. Not in all cases this grid will be the same as the option in your camera I am sure. split the scene up in the rules of 3rds 3 up 3 across and have the picture tell the story if you photograph a bir for example and it is looking up to the right try and composite your frame so the bird is in the bottom left section so the picture tells the story of the bird looking up to the right your viewers will see what the bird is seeing etc.

i have tried getting into the rule of thirds it's been quite a bugger (oops, pardon me) to get right.
this is all i have on my viewfinder




I have the grid on live view, but live view has a delay as to what is seen and quite noisy at the best of times.
i can see where the thirds rack up and whatnot, but my focus tends to disagree :P i'll have to manually selct my focus points. i will definitely look into the speedlight when i next get money, as it seems pretty cool and looks like a must for me. Larry, is quite the mover so it's hard to get him into the sort of composition, Dash is the same, a right little houdini and all, but i'll DEFINITELY try and get into the spirit of the rule of thirds.

I tend to be a bit odd, with how i compose my photos, i think the rules and regulations photographers have to learn is sometimes a bit much and leaves barely anything to be unique about in my eyes. seems such a frustrating hobby to take up but i suppose i'll have to suck it all up and live with it XD

[Hoogle]

Rules can be broken but for you to break them effectively you need to understand them. composition key factor is leading the eyes to how you want to lead them for example you follow from left to right you could have a leading line of a river for example leading you to the area of interest .
You Should be able to have it on view finder view the grid that is. Also you may need to change your focus from center weighted to spot or whatever your make of camera calls it. When you half press the shutter release button you get little squares pop up around all those little squares in your viewfinder indicating where the cameras focus point is. well with the shutter button half pressed you should be able to use your menu direction pad to change your focus point until a focus hot spot is on the subject you are photographing, YOu have to excuse the fact I am not using any Nikon terminology as they tend to have different names for stuff and dont want to confuse you.

But you should have a shoot or capture menu have a play and see what focus modes you have. center weighted is probably the default and the 1 you need to change to have custom focus points