Here are some old pics with my Canon Powershot G9. As you can tell, I'm sure, there is no post editing done. I can't wait for my Canon 40D to get here and experiment with it and hopefully become a better photographer (I use that term loosely). I'm hoping to learn much, much more! I know I have a long ways to come, but that's why I'm asking for some critiques. It's a bold move, I know, but let me have it haha. It's the only way to learn.

DC

 

anything?

 

G9 is pretty nice! I still use mine when I don't want to lug all my gear around. The shots are good for what they are. I think people may just be quiet because they overall aren't that interesting. Compositionally, you'll want to consider the rule of thirds, but l it is apparent that you know how to operate the camera.

Subject/background separation on #1 is good, just a hair more DOF and you would have had the entire subject in focus while it stands off from the background.

#2 is the weakest of the set. I think if you give it another solid look you may see that. There's just no where for your eyes to be drawn to.

The next two aren't so bad, but I think rule of thirds would have helped them.

 

Other than your first shot, i am having difficulty trying to decipher what the photo is supposed to be about. Try to compose your shots to let the viewer know what exactly your trying to show them.


As far as cameras it does not matter what you use. good cameras bad cameras can all result in bad photos. Its not the camera that makes the photo its the person pressing the shutter.

 

1. No bad, no great. It's a well executed picture of a strange looking plant, and I think most of us are guilty of doing this from time to time. As best I can tell it's at a store/nursery, which isn't bad, but means that none of the story about this plant comes through. Again though, a plant as interesting as this, sometimes just a straight forward crisp shot can work, though if the background lends nothing, and if the plant is repetitive such as this one, why not crop in even closer for more detail.

2. No idea what the subject is here. Is it blue cold stones, the rust nail you can barely see? If you are trying for more of an abstract approach, then I would suggest more dof, and an angle that would flatten the image into shapes and colors, instead of objects that seemingly have no meaning.

3. Almost a really interesting picture. Judging by the next image, you could have gotten a little closer still and cropped out some of the dead space to the left and lower right. Also your plane of focus wasn't exactly parallel as you can see the left side of the image was out of focus slightly. Again with this type of shot, part of the interest is in the minutiae, the colors of the grains of sand, the texture of the seaweed, so be sure that every part is in sharp focus.

4. Smaller aperture (larger number) again could help you here. Since you have a single main object, if you are unable to get even closer, you may want to leave just a little more repetitive space around it (the sand) and move it off center. While 99% of photos can be improved by moving closer, there are always a few that benefit from moving back. The contrast between the flat plain of sand and the single shell could work nicely if the sand was given more room to repeat. (bad wording but I hope you get what I mean).

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All in all they're pretty good, you obviously have learned to move closer to your subject. The next, and much harder step, to transition to is to have every picture tell a story. Stop and think about what you are taking a picture of, why you like it, why it is worth taking a picture of, what made it that way, etc.

 

Thanks guys, this is the kind of feedback I was looking for. With every mistake, a lesson is learned.