Hello Everyone. Help needed.

[Paul_B]

Hello. I found this site while looking for information on Digital Photography. I like the photo's and the advice sheared around So if you can help this beginer by looking at my pic's and give me some advice it would be appreciated.

[bytethis]

G'day Paul. Welcome to Byte.

I'm not affiliated lol, I just have the same name...

Firstly, you'll find this is a really good place to start posting and there's a goodly amount of photographers from around the globe with an interesting mix of experience and equipment ranging from beginners to expert. Lots of friendly advice and hints/tips etc...

It's good to see your interpretation of the Aussie 'bush'. We have a startling landscape and it looks like you travel a bit...you have some really nice images in your gallery...lots of potential.

Couple of tips that might help with loading/viewing speeds...Do you use post processing software such as Photoshop or Paintshop? (or similar) cos if you do, you'll find it much faster to load up, and particularly for others to view an image if it's all 'on screen' rather than having to navigate around the frame with scroll buttons.

Some peeps also still have dial up and also 15" - 17" monitors and so may be turned off by large, slow loading images. So first tip is to 'resize' and or 'optimise' the image to about 800x 600 (pixels) or perhaps 1024 x 768 max...you really want people to see the image pretty quickly if your thumbnail captures their interest. Optimising really means to make your image retain as much resolution and/or quality as possible, whilst minimising file size...around 300 - 400kb max (or less) are about the biggest you'd want.

This will also minimise the amount of 'noise' or soft focus that might be apparent in an image (even though you'd want to make sure these are reduced as you get better taking photos before you upload)

So on to your images...

I like your images...mostly they're classical Australiana, and actually I think you have a very good 'eye'...Something I notice with your images is that you tend to pop your subject directly in front of the viewer - centre of frame. Sometimes (quite often actually) subjects take on much more interest if they are off centre...not chopped in half by the side of the frame as such, but at an angle, or to the left/right/top/bottom 1/3 of frame, things like gnarled branches or creeks or angles tend to lead the viewer's eye to the subject...people like to explore lol...

You also want to watch focus and lighting levels...like the Desert pea, has some very strong highlights (being glossy) that detract a little from the image. To look at reducing these bright spots, you might want to try metering off the brighter parts or perhaps adjust shutter speed. If you find your images might be 'soft' due to being handheld, then maybe try a tripod (or support the cam on something solid like a branch or fence post or a mate lol) and perhaps use the cam's self timer...

Gawd that's enough for now lol...keep shooting mate. look forward to seeing more of your images.

Pop by the contest page for great examples of photography.

Cheers.

Graham

[Paul_B]

G'day Graham

Thanks for the reply and the advice. I have just recently purchaced my camera and am still trying to work out all the function. Such as shutter speed, white ballance and how they all work together.
My wife and I went for a trip to Darwin, which was a great opportunity for taking lots of photo's. Being a novice most of them will only qualify as happy snaps. It was still a good learning experience.

Thanks again.

[SMcEvoy]

Welcome to byte Paul - it's a great site.

I've been here for just over a year with a mid-range Minolta. Each week I enter two shots in POTW (Photo of the Week) competition looking for feedback. I feel the feedback I've received there has really helped build my skills and improve my photography both technically and artisitically in that time. Just going through the photos in there and reading the feedback is a huge learning tool.

Best way to get feedback is give feedback. Start commenting constructively on a few photos yourself. Most of our participants really try to comment on those who have taken time to comment on theirs. If you're worried about comments coming from beginners on more senior photographers - don't. Beginners have good eyes too and notice things others take for granted. A year ago I would virtually never have dreampt of offering a technical solution to a problem, but now I'm actually seen suggesting changes to apertures, white balances & DOF's! However at the time, I knew what I liked composition wise and was able to make suggestions that way.

There's a really good group here. Hope you get a lot out of it. Liked your gallery. Your gorgeous sunset shot I would suggest cropping 2/3 of the black off the bottom giving the sky the full weight. You've captured the colours and details beautifully in that one. Also really like Butterfly & Cocky. Olgers Panorama would be amazing with a little touchup in Photoshop or one of the other post-processing packages. There are cheaper versions out there e.g. Photoshop Elements, ACDSee, Pixel Studio (really cheap) and a few others, but the improvements they can make in your shots is really something. A tiny tweak in contrast and saturation levels and suddenly you have a fantastic photo instead of a great one.

Hopefully that's not too long-winded but helpful too!