# Photography thread (closed thread, see first and last post)



## redtailgal (Sep 29, 2011)

*Due to the nature of this thread, it is hard for me to keep up with each persons pictures and what they are needing to focus on all crammed into one thread.  ***If you want critiques or other information, please start a thread labeled as such >photography  (Your name)  (your topic Critique, question, discussion etc)*

One thing that I enjoy about this forum is the wonderful pics.  There are alot of very talented photographers in here.

I was thinking that, esp with all the contest going on and the pic of the week deal, perhaps it would be nice to have a thread for helps with photography in general.

Those of us that are more advanced could help others (and each other). 

If there is enough interest, I would be willing to type out some lessons and excercises to help the newer photographers in the mix.  If you are interested, please let me know a couple things. 

1.  What type of camera do you have (point and shoot or SLR)

2.  What do you want to learn? 

If we decided to have "lessons", I will make them on their own specific thread, and leave this one for "just questions" and photography related chat.


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## elevan (Sep 29, 2011)

EXCELLENT idea!!

1. What type of camera do I have? - My digital camera is MIA (missing in action) and so I'm stuck with a bad camera phone.
2. What do I want to know? - In looking for a new camera what should I be looking for?  Minimum MP...and anything else I should look for.


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## redtailgal (Sep 29, 2011)

elevan said:
			
		

> EXCELLENT idea!!
> 
> 1. What type of camera do I have? - My digital camera is MIA (missing in action) and so I'm stuck with a bad camera phone.
> 2. What do I want to know? - In looking for a new camera what should I be looking for?  Minimum MP...and anything else I should look for.


Well if you want a point and shoot style camera:

Get the highest amount of zoom that you can get.  Digital zoom does not count towards anything, you are going for a high OPTICAL zoom.  Most people can *get by* with 3x, I would recommend going with at least a 5x.

As far as Megapixels, more is better.  Bare minimum of 8, around 12 would be great. I wouldnt recommend going over 14, as you are more likely to have "noise" in your pics.

Those nifty little LCD screens are battery hogs, so I would recommend a camera with a rechargable battery, and get an extra battery so you are never without.

Make sure to HOLD the camera before you buy.  Is it comfy in your hand? Does the casing feel cheap? Is the size appropriate for what you want to do (large camera are harder to lug around)?

I highly recommend Nikon Coolpix series.

It's pretty much the same thing with SLR cameras, except you would not have to consider the zoom. Instead you would get the proper lens for your camera.  Any wide angle lens would be fine, but esp in the 18-50mm range.


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## Livinwright Farm (Sep 29, 2011)

*1. What type of camera do you have?  * Canon Power Shot S2 IS - Digital - not sure what SLR means...

*2. What do you want to learn?  * Anything and everything... I have already had some help form Chubbydog811.. she is a photography nut!   I am sure she will chime in here in no time. She helped me figure out what certain modes were,, which allowed me to figure out a lot more stuff on my own... progressively getting better.


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## redtailgal (Oct 1, 2011)

First, I am sorry it took me so long to reply.  For some reason this didnt show up in my new posts.  I promise I wasnt ignoring you!


SLR means single lens reflex.  Its one that you change the lens on.

You have a very nice point and shoot type camera that should give you some excellent pictures.

I'll give you some basic tips, and if you have more questions or something particular to ask, please let me know.  Dont hesitate to post some pics in here.

Some tips just wont work for a quick shot, dont miss a great pic trying to set up for it!
Tip#1

Use a tripod when you can.  If you cant buy one improvise, a chair and bag of rice works great. A fence post or a tree stump.  Even use someones shoulder.......anything.  That little bit of extra stability will go a long way in giving your pics a nice crisp sharpness.

Tip#2

Hold your shutter release button down for a second, to give the camera time to focus clearly and then take the pic. If you are photographing a person or animal, dont focus on the person or animal, focus on the EYES.  The face is where our eye will fall naturaly, so this needs to be the sharpest part of the photo.

Tip#3

Use natural light as much as possible. Dont be afraid of shooting on overcast days. Color is esp vibrant right after a rain.
Turn off that flash sometimes!  Middle day sun is harsh, but can still make some wonderful pics.  Mornings and evening offer a softer more attractive light.

If you need to use your flash, you can use an index card held at a 45 degree angle pointing upward to soften the effects a little (this works esp nice inside a room with a white ceiling, and will do along way towards getting rid of shadows)

Tip#4
Composition is EVERYTHING.   

Draw a rectangle, and then draw a tic tac toe board right thru it, extending it all the way out of the rectangle.  This will show you the "rule of thirds".  You want your main subject of the pic to fall along one of those lines, preferably where two lines intersect.  If you are photographing a landscape, try to get the horizon along one of the horizontal lines.  Using this method forces the eye to move around the whole picture, taking in the scenery as well as the subject, without losing emphasis on the subject. 

If you are photographing something that is moving....move the subject off to the side of the frame and allow them room to "go forward" in the shot. Of course, they wont really be moving in the pic, but it will make more sense to your eye and therefore be a more pleasing picture to look at.

Think outside the box, get down low for a shot, stand up high on something,  dont wait for your subject to be looking at you all the time.  Zoom in and get a close up.  Everyone else shoots at eye level, do something different to give your pics a little pizazz!

Pay attention to the background.  A beautiful horse is great! the dumpster behind him.....not so much.


Tip#5
If its something that you really like, be sure to take multiple shots from different angles (side to side and up and down), and take the pic at different times of the day as well. 

Questions? comments?

Can you use the rule of thirds? take a pic and show me!


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## kstaven (Oct 12, 2011)

Only camera I use now is my Hitachi Mv 380, DVD ram, 10x optical zoom, 240x digital zoom. Had it for quite a few years now. I like having the option of shooting video.


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## redtailgal (Oct 12, 2011)

I've never held a Hitachi, but have heard that they will work forever, lol.


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 12, 2011)

Okay, critique away!


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## redtailgal (Oct 12, 2011)

Nice job on catching the clouds and sky color.  I like the way you caught the shadows playing on the mountain, although it did take my eye a couple minutes to find them.

I also like the compostion........they way the horizon is laying in the bottom third.  For future reference, divide your screen into three and place your horizon on the bottom line (like this pic) if you want the emphasis to be on the sky and place the horizon on the top line for emphasis on the land. A horizon placed in the middle of the pic, kills the "energy" of the eye and deadens the photograph.  Excellend horizontal placement in this pic.

The things that bug me about this pic would be the little thing sticking out of the bottom left corner.  This could be cropped out easily, so not a biggie.

The other thing is that little tree at the bottom of the mountain.  That is a tough one.  You cant really run out there an move the tree for the shot.  It seems trivial, but that little tree cuts your scene in half and interupts the eye.  

The lighting in the foreground isnt great, but again not something you can control. It could have been darker in the foreground for a more dramatic play on the sky (this could be done by adjusting settings on the camera).  I think that a bright foreground would have washed the sky out and a gorgeous sky like that just needs to be shown!

One other thing that would help this shot, is something else in the foreground.  Perhaps a different angle to bring something in closer to the eye, or zooming out until that front little bit of trees had a sharper focus.  This gives the pic more depth, and give the eye a better way to scale and appreciate the size of the mountain and distance to it.

 I'd like to learn about the "journey" your eye takes on this pic.  And I would like to know WHY you took this pic?  What made you think that should be in a picture?  What exactly were you trying to "show" (my guess is the sky)?

All in all, you did a nice job.  


Go back and look at the pic again, but do it in stages
Where does your eye fall first?
Where does it go next?
where does it stop to linger?
And where does it go last, before going back to the beginning?
(I'll answer these for my eye in a minute, but answer these questions before you read my answers)

When you take a landscape pic, you are wanting the eye to take a journey on that landscape before drawing back to take in the whole scene.










First my eye fell on the large cloud in the upper right, then it goes along the sky taking in the shapes of the clouds.  After a few seconds, my eye notices that there is a mountain in there, and slides along the horizon to the mountain, and then gets "stuck" on that tree, and pulls over to the left bottom corner were that "thing" is sticking out.


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## Ms. Research (Oct 13, 2011)

Thanks Redtailgal for starting this thread.  DH is an amazing photographer and I get lots of guidance from him.  But I like to hear from other professional photographers (and you are one IMHO) and reading what you posted so far, with the critique of Livinwright's photo (beautiful picture by the way, Livinwright) gives me some excellent pointers.  

Haven't picked up a camera in a long time, but looks like I'm getting the "camera bug" again.  Got bunnies to shoot pics of.   Will post too to get your critique of the pics.


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 13, 2011)

LOL
Okay, the "thing" in the bottom left hand corner is the arm for a construction crane... there was no way to get the awesomeness of the clouds that day without having that blight down there... and I too wish that tree wasn't right there... once the people who live down there decide to take it down, or maybe this winter it will just come down, I will go back and take a new pic  



I just couldn't not get a picture, the cloud seemed to be surreal, like someone had them hanging by wire and if you could only get up high enough, you would be able to wrap your arms around one 

Okay, it's pretty self explanitory as to why I thought it should be in a picture by now, yes?

My eyes start at the top and slowly drift from cloud to cloud, reliving seeing them that day, slowly down and down until I see the mountain, and then because my brain doesn't like that scraggley tree, it just hits the shadows on the mountain and goes back to the top of the clouds  I have always been one to watch the clouds


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 13, 2011)

Okay lets see if I can answer the same questions... :/

WHY I took this pic?: The rare stillness of the lake that day... it was just perfect for getting mirrored images in the lake's surface. I could PM you or post some REALLY good examples of exactly how still it was that day.
What made me think that should be in a picture?: It just looked too beautiful to not capture it
What exactly was I trying to "show"? The majesty of Mt. Chocorua behind Chocorua Lake. 

Where does your eye fall first? The peak of the mountain.
Where does it go next? Down the mountain to the trees on the right.
where does it stop to linger? The reflection of the mountain on the lake.
And where does it go last, before going back to the beginning? To the reflections of the clouds and the top railing of the bridge.


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 13, 2011)

Okay, my mom wanted me to post her picture for critique


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## redtailgal (Oct 13, 2011)

You said:
"_Where does your eye fall first? The peak of the mountain.
Where does it go next? Down the mountain to the trees on the right.
where does it stop to linger? The reflection of the mountain on the lake.
And where does it go last, before going back to the beginning? To the reflections of the clouds and the top railing of the bridge."_

Ok, this is a really nice shot.  

Re-read your "eye journey".  See how with this pic your eye makes a complete loop, takes in the whole pic and then goes back to the beginning. There is nothing to interupt the eye.

Why is that?
Why does it start at the peak of that mountain?
Your eye goes to the peak, that is the focal point of this picture.  It may be different if there were more clouds in the sky, but since there are not, the peak is the "beginning".

Then it does to the trees...........the "line" of that mountain guides your eye to the trees (eyes naturaly tend to follow a line).  The eye doesnt want to go the other way, because the line will take it off the picture, so it goes down the lien to the trees.......much more interesting than the end of the picture.

Then you have the same line of the mountain in the reflection, only this line leads to the railing.  

Now, that railing has more lines to guide the eye, this time up to the side of the pic, but instead of it being the end, the eye pics up the line on the other side of the mountain..........that line that leads back to the peak.

The use of lines in a picture help guide the eye around, "leading" it as an almost guided tour.  This picture is a wonderful example of this. (good job, btw)

The person viewing this pic gets to visit the whole scene, instead of being "stuck" on just one part of the pic.  Since you were capturing a scene of beauty, you want this, you want the viewer to take in the whole scene.  Just the peak or just the trees or just the rail would be a rather boirng flat image.

Also, having the railing in the foreground, gives the eye a better sense of depth.  The "layers" help alot too, the first layer is the railing, the second layer would be the trees and the final layer would be the mountain itself, thus giving this picture wonderful depth.

I had to look hard to find room for improvement, but I did find it. At the very bottom the railing is crooked, but this could be corrected by an ever so slight crop (the horizon is straight, so I would crop, not adjust).

Also, It looks like this pic was taken in automatic mode.  If you have a point and shoot, then thats what you will have.  If you have a SLR, and you want to capture reflections on the water, trying raising your shutter speed (you may need to adjust your F stop as well), to "freeze" that water in place.  This will give you a very crisp reflection.

This first pic is not a great shot, but a good idea on what a quick shutter speed can do for reflections.  I was learning about shutter speed here and was just playing around.  I dont like this pic, because I had my shutter speed too high and got too much reflection.

The second pic is a good example of what a slower shutter speed will do, giving the water a silky appearance.


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 13, 2011)

I think I got too much reflection in this one 











Just joking, if you haven't noticed it yet, I took a trick photo. Chicken Little was right! the sky was falling!


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## redtailgal (Oct 13, 2011)

Livinwright Farm said:
			
		

> Okay, my mom wanted me to post her picture for critique
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3120_moms_pic_of_the_sandwich_mtn_range.jpg


I like this picture as well.


The coloring is nice, but I think that the proper crop would work wonders for this shot.  There is alot of "wasted space" at the top of the picture.  The top half of the pic are the clouds that are very similar to the snow cover on the mountain. The eye tends to get lost in the top half of this pic and just falls back to the mountain. This takes away from the drama and magestic beauty of the peak.
I would have to crop out most of the sky and also crop out the road at the bottom.  The road makes a "fence" and stops my eye from traveling any lower.  Cropping out the sky would encourage the eye to drop until it came to the diagonal of the second closer mountain side that leads down to the valley.  Cropping out the road would take away the abrupt stop, and allow the eye to roam across the trees and back up the other side.

I also think that she could have traveled a little further left and angled her camera into the mountain, getting some of the depth between the larger and smaller mountain (the little one on the left side).  This would have added a little more depth to the picture.


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 14, 2011)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> Livinwright Farm said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My mom said, "I wasn't aiming to have that much sky/clouds, but I didn't want the road in the picture."

What you saw as road is actually part of a lake  .. a very cold and choppy lake. My mom's mental thought of what she was seeing, was the difference between the choppiness of the lake and the stillness of the mountain.

Unfortunately, she wouldn't have been able to get an angle much different from what you see in the pic, since there is a runway to the right and a big old line of swamp trees and a house blocking the view of the mountain to the left. :/

We both really appreciate your input   We have never taken any classes, we just enjoy taking pictures, and have mostly hoped for the best


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## redtailgal (Oct 14, 2011)

You are both doing very well, esp to not have taken any classes!

I"d love to help you get the eye shot that you were referring to earlier, it sounds like a cool project!  Can you tell me what sort of camera you have?
Is it point and shoot or SLR? If slr, what lens are you using and what settings?>

What do you know about macrophotography?


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 14, 2011)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> You are both doing very well, esp to not have taken any classes!
> 
> I"d love to help you get the eye shot that you were referring to earlier, it sounds like a cool project!  Can you tell me what sort of camera you have?
> Is it point and shoot or SLR? If slr, what lens are you using and what settings?>
> ...


Point and shoot, though someday I hope to have an slr.
Uhm... I assume it doesn't mean really tiny photos...


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 14, 2011)

I think our Canon has a button for macro... Is that the one used for close-ups on flowers(the flower symbol on the side of the lens barrel)?
I can get really good flower images, I can share some if you want, but it never seems to focus correctly on the eye. :/


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## 20kidsonhill (Oct 14, 2011)

I was going to ask you about using the index card to help with the flash not being to bright, I have had problems with my flash being too flashy, but with out it the pictures doesn't seem to have enough lighting. 

I am using a non-slr canon. It is at the high-end, but still non -slr. SL/r is on my wish list.  it is a canon powershot S5IS 8 megapixal. 

It needs a far amount of lighting to take a good picture, otherwise the pictuers can look really flat. So I have a habit of always using the flash. But then too much flash isn't a good thing, so I was trying to step back from my picture and use the zoom lens and the flash, thinking I was further away so the flash wouldn't be so bright.


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## redtailgal (Oct 14, 2011)

20kids:

The index card trick is good, but be very careful not to block out too much light.

You have a few tricks that MAY help depending on the situation.  First, try angling the index card toward the ceiling, IF YOU ARE UNDER A WHITE CEILING.  It wont work otherwise. The goal would be to "bounce" the flash off the ceiling.  Of course, your shadows will be strange in this one unless you are VERY specific with your camera angles.

I have used and had soem success with muslim, folded wax paper (the easiest to work with), and cheesecloth.  Be very careful to not have them actually touching your flash unit.

Backing up will help with the amount of flash, but using the zoom on a digital camera really tends to sacrifice picture quality.

Honestly, it sounds like you may have a settings issue with your camera.  Do you have the exposure compensation adjusted to far (it should be set at 0)?  Is your ISO set to auto?  What is your white balance setting?  Get out your manual, and see if you can find these settings and let me know what they are.  If you cant find them, thats ok, we will work on it.  Even if all the settings are "right", you can tweak them a little, to help you have better exposed pics that dont need so much flash.  I think we can fix this.


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## redtailgal (Oct 14, 2011)

Livinwright:

Yes Macro is for the really close up shots.    

I would love to see your flowers!

You will need a tripod or some sort of improv in order to take a good eye pic.In macro, the tiniest movement is HUGE to the camera.

Once you get the camera set up on the tripod, you will need to locate your "timed release button".  This type of photography will get blurry from even the motion of pushing the shutter release.

As for the eye, can you find  these.........{ } or something similar in your viewfinder?  Put those directly over the iris of the eye.  Set up your time release, and press your shutter release down HALFWAY.  Wait a second, the camera may beep.  Then press it the rest of the way down and step back while the timer does its thing.

If this does not get you a  clear pic, try putting  your camera on the setting for sports (see the little running man).  This setting gives you a quicker shutter speed, but you may need more lighting with this setting.

Give it a try, and post your eye pic on here, so I can see if we need to make any changes.


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 15, 2011)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> Livinwright:
> 
> Yes Macro is for the really close up shots.
> 
> ...


Our camera doesn't have a little running man on it... ???


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 15, 2011)

*Periwinkle Myrtle*






*Wild Violets*





*Dandelion*





*Wild Blueberry*


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## Ms. Research (Oct 15, 2011)

Beautiful close ups.  Love the Dandelion.  

The first one, the flower looks a little blurry, is that just my old eyes?  The rock in the background looks clearer to me.  Well that's what really draws my eye.  The rest of the close ups are so sharp!


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## redtailgal (Oct 15, 2011)

Do you have any type of sports setting on your camera?  The reason I am saying to go to the sports mode is that the human eye is never truely still.  It vibrates, and in macro the tiniest little movement costs focus.  The sports setting has a quicker shutter speed that will "freeze" motion.  Check your user manual, but if you cant find anything, let me know and I will research your camera and help you find the proper settings for the eye pic.

As for your macro shots, nice job.  take a look at the blueberry.........see how the blueberry is nicely focused and the background is blurred out?  This is called Depth of Field (its a good thing btw).  It makes the focal part of your picture 'pop" more, and is esp beneficial in macro.  

However, depth of field can complicate macro, too.  Look at your dandelion.  See how the outermost petals are more in focus than the middle?  you have a very narrow depth of field in this shot.  There is not much you can do to change your depth of field with a point and shoot.  You can however, use a few tricks to make the most out of what you have.  

Remember to hold down the shutter release about halfway for a second before pressing it all the way down.
Use a tripod if you can.
And, this sounds weird, but back off the picure just a LITTLE (1/2 to  1 inch).  This will let the camera do a better job of focusing in on the whole flower.  Then if you want the flower to take up more of the framed shot, crop it like you want. 

The periwinkle is a wonderful example of how narrow your depth of field is.  She how the very back is blurred out, the very front is blurred out, but those few leaves in the "Middle" (thinking front to back) are nice and sharp?  those clear leaves are in the middle of your depth of field.  Try a few macro shots on just the normal setting and see what you get.


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## animalloverabh (Oct 16, 2011)

1.  What type of camera do you have (point and shoot or SLR) Cannon EOS 1000D - 18-55mm

2.  What do you want to learn? How to do better portraits and the such


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 16, 2011)

Ms. Research said:
			
		

> Beautiful close ups.  Love the Dandelion.
> 
> The first one, the flower looks a little blurry, is that just my old eyes?  The rock in the background looks clearer to me.  Well that's what really draws my eye.  The rest of the close ups are so sharp!


Not just you, it was one of my first close up flower shots with this camera... and yes it is a bit blurry. I had a better one of the periwinkle myrtle than that one.. but it is on *my* laptop that decided to kill itself. Literally, it did. One day it decided that it no longer had a boot system. 
Anyway, I focussed too much on the heart of the flower... I was on a kick of getting the inner parts of flowers... a personal project to see the different patterns and workings of different flowers.


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## redtailgal (Oct 16, 2011)

animalloverabh said:
			
		

> 1.  What type of camera do you have (point and shoot or SLR) Cannon EOS 1000D - 18-55mm
> 
> 2.  What do you want to learn? How to do better portraits and the such


I have a lot of info here:
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14312

Can you tell me what sort of portraits you are interested in?


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## daisychick (Oct 16, 2011)

My camera is a Nikon D40 and that is all I know about it.
I want to learn how to use more than just the "auto" setting on my camera.  
All the other options and setting scare me because I don't want to change a setting and then not know how to get it back to normal.  I just use the auto setting for everything.

Took these today. 
The sun was so pretty behind the leaves.  
I wish the pictures were more crisp.


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## redtailgal (Oct 18, 2011)

HI daisy chick! I like your pictures!

You and Livinwright both have a good eye!

A d40 is a nice camera, use it to its full potential!

Go to this thread and read the page on Focus:  http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14312

Work on getting your focus undercontrol (ask for help if you want) and then we will tackle getting you off the auto feature.  See if you can show me a nicely focused picture of a single object, a  flower, a goat, a chicken, etc.  

One you have mastered your shutter release button, you will need to grasp exposure settings (F stops ,shutter speed etc) and you will be well on your way to getting off that auto feature!


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## kstaven (Oct 18, 2011)

You just hit on my biggest issue in your article. Not framing out the picture. All to often it is point and click. That is where my current camera has allowed me to get into bad habits I didn't have with the 35mm.


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## daisychick (Oct 18, 2011)

Thanks RTG, I need all the help I can get.    I have tons of pictures of flowers, those are one of my favorite things to take pics of.  I will dig through today and find one.  Here are some pictures I took quickly of my goaties.     

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14341


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## redtailgal (Oct 18, 2011)

daisychick said:
			
		

> Thanks RTG, I need all the help I can get.    I have tons of pictures of flowers, those are one of my favorite things to take pics of.  I will dig through today and find one.  Here are some pictures I took quickly of my goaties.
> 
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14341


Hmm.  Just a thought here, but do you know how to change the picture quality in your camera?  I think you may need your setting tweaked a little.

SInce you have a Nikon, I pretty much know the specifics of your camera.

Find the button that has the large "I" on it. Tap it once and you get a screenw with a bunch of information on it, and a large circle on one side.  Tap it again, and you loose the circle, but gain the ability to move around on the screen. You may "timeout" of this screen and have to come back in a couple times.  The locations of the places I am talking about may be slightly different, so dont panic if you dont see it at first. I refer to this as the "working screen".

First: on the top right hand corner , you should see a box that says "QUAL", and beside it wil be two smaller boxes.  Use your arrow keys to navigate to them, once you get on them tap "OK" and another menu will appear.  One called Image quality will give you choices similiar to RAW, RAW+f, Fine etc.  You will want to choose Fine or best and tap OK. 

Now go to the other little box beside "QUAL": and tap ok.  You will be at the image size selection.  Choose M or medium or L for large.  Large will not only give you a larger final picture, but a better quality picture. (you can always e edit or crop to the proper size later) Make your choice and tap OK

Now back to your "working screen", scroll to each of the following settings to check what they are.  If they are not right, tap ok to open the selections, choose the correct setting and tap ok again to return to the "working screen".  If you do not tap ok, your changes will not be saved.

ISO should say AUTO
Releasemode should have an "S"
Focusmode shoule say AF-A
and AF Area mode should be on the one with the largest square (open it to see the selections)


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## daisychick (Oct 18, 2011)

Whooo hooo I actually went into the settings and touched buttons......I was wayyyyyy to scared to do that before.  But your directions were easy and I wasn't skerd.


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## redtailgal (Oct 18, 2011)

You were very brave!

Those settingd should give you a slightly better quality picture, and a better file, so you will have more options  of what to do with your pics........you may could even print a poster!

Give you new settings a try, along with the tips in the focus article, and when you are happy with your focus, I'll tell you how to get off that auto setting.

Its WAY easy, if you do it in steps.


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## soniat (Oct 19, 2011)

Its been 7 months since I bought my DSLR, shot over 8000 photographs and yet I feel, I havent scratched the surface of its capabilities. Only yesterday I finally setup the my menu, hopefully it will come in handy during the upcoming shoots.


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## 77Herford (Oct 19, 2011)

How do I capture an enraged old lady wielding a five gallon bucket while she hits an angry bull.


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## redtailgal (Oct 19, 2011)

soniat said:
			
		

> Its been 7 months since I bought my DSLR, shot over 8000 photographs and yet I feel, I havent scratched the surface of its capabilities. Only yesterday I finally setup the my menu, hopefully it will come in handy during the upcoming shoots.


What kind of photography do you like to shoot?

I'd love to see  some of your work.


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## redtailgal (Oct 28, 2011)

I'd like to know your thoughts on this pic.

What do you notice?
what do you like?
What do you dislike?
How does your eye travel along this shot?
What would you do differently?

***I am putting this out there for you, please be honest with your critique.  I'm not delicate, so no sugar coating needed.  If you hate the shot, just say so, but tell me why.  I will not get mad!


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## daisychick (Oct 28, 2011)

I don't know the technical terms so I will just tell it how I see it.   I wish the light part of the green tops of the trees was a little lighter, so it had more "pop" to it.   I like the dark shadow parts but I do wish there was more contrast between light and dark areas.


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## redtailgal (Oct 28, 2011)

ok, now I have it, I think.


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## marlowmanor (Oct 28, 2011)

I think it looks nicer that way. You can see more detail.


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## bonbean01 (Oct 28, 2011)

Great thread for those good with cameras...I use a point and shoot Kodak digital, but if I do say so myself, get some not bad  photos with it.  One complaint though...my lambs like to come after dark and without great lighting, photos do not come out great...but...come morning, there I am...each and every lamb an exciting event!!!!


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## redtailgal (Oct 28, 2011)

and this one, my kids like this one.


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## marlowmanor (Oct 28, 2011)

I agree with your kids. I like that one even better!


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## daisychick (Oct 28, 2011)

Yes the last one is the best so far.  The trees I wanted to see lighted up are now and it looks a lot better!


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## DKRabbitry (Oct 28, 2011)

OH my... what have you all been doing behind my back!?  I wanna talks photos tooo!!!

I have a Nikon D50 digital SLR.  I took photography in high school, that was a 35mm class, but a lot of what I learned with that camera has moved over to the digital and I like to play sometimes, but don't get to as much as I would like.  Gnerally I just have it on auto and let it go, doing all the editing on the computer.  I will do manual focus a lot though.  The focus on my camera can be fickle at times, especially if I want to focus to be on a background part instead of what is in the foreground.
If I REALLY wanted to take the time to learn something, it would be how to take inside photos.  I can't stand artificial lighting.  I would much rather just be outside on a sunny day.


On that last landscape...  I definitely prefer that last one.  It really helps the depth of the photo to have those trees and the foreground brighter.  I love the balance that it has and the way the lines take your eyes horizontally across the image.  My eyes starting at that dark spot in the middle of the clouds, then ran down the sloping part of that closest mountain and alond the treeline to see the rest of the mountains.  Beautiful work


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## redtailgal (Oct 28, 2011)

Thanks for the help guys.  The final pic will be one of the 20 landscapes that I will submit for my professional portfolio!  

Dk:

Your focusing issue is probably  not a camera issue at all.  What you are talking about is a depth of field that you havent learned to control yet.  There are several things that you can do about it.  First, what do you know about aperture settings, and f-stops?

Here is a page that I put together that may help you;
 Getting a good focus for clear sharp pictures (point and shoot or SLR)
http://www.backyardherds.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2952-focus-people

You can read the other pages by going here:   http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14312

When you are ready and understand the focusing issue, let me know and I'll tell you how to manipulate that depth of field, so that you can choose how much, if any, of the pic you want blurred out.


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## Ms. Research (Oct 28, 2011)

You can use my turkey shot for the "lack of focus" example of your tutorial.   After reading, I truly did everything wrong.  

Definitely need to practice.   Look forward to practicing with objects.  Definitely won't be fuzzy or cute.  


Who's the model?  He really did a good job for you.    Have to say, very entertaining way to learn to focus.


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## DKRabbitry (Oct 28, 2011)

I posted my for real reply in a new thread... thought that might be easier to follow for those interested without hijacking this one


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## greybeard (Oct 29, 2011)

Question.

I have seen people take beautiful pics of a full moon, with fairly inexpensive cameras. The pics appear to be just as your eyes see it. When I try it, no matter if it was with my digital, the moon is tiny.  I've had the same problem taking other night time shots. I used to have a Maimya Sekor 35mm that produced great "what you see is what you get" night photos. What's the trick to getting night time shots with these new digital cameras?
 Canon Powershot--don't remember which model--not a top of the line one tho.


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## redtailgal (Oct 30, 2011)

Canon powershot is a decent camera. (I am a Nikon gal, so I am a littel biased  )

That is an excellent question, and one that I pondered and studied on not to long ago myself.

The size of the moon will be determined by a few things, including the focal length of your lens.  Do you know what your focal length is?  Or what is your zoom capabilities?

Cameras have the ability to "see" differently than our eye, the camera can see more than our eye can percieve.  This could be a good thing, giving us sharper more clear images. However, although the camera can see these things, it cannot accurately SHOW us.  We see less but we see it in 3d.  The camera sees more but has to show us in 2d.  It often trys to show us more in less space, which often confuses the eye/mind communication.  Oddly enough, the way to ease the confusion on the eye/mind is to add MORE to that same space, so long at it is added in the right place.  By adding a building or a tree, our eye can again perceive space and dimension, causing less confusion as the eye is better able to follow a scene and understand the layers of the land/sky/night scape.

Another thing to consider, is that the moon will often trick the eye.  It appears to the eye to be much larger in the sky than it really it.  Usually when we "size" the moon, our eye compares it to the trees or building we see along with it.  But when we take a picture, the scene is no longer 3d, making the moon appear smaller.  This is even greater if we do not include other objects in the picture as well.

One way to check to see how the moon will appear in your pic, is to cover one eye.  This takes away SOME of your visual depth perception and narrows your field of view.  It's not a foolproof method, but it does help.  


YOu will want to zoom in as far as you can (use the optical zoom and leave that digital zoon alone)

Use a tripod or improvise one if you can.

Turn off your flash.  This *may* lengthen your shutter speed a little giving your more details.

You will get the best shots of the moon within an hour of the sunset/moonrise.

Include trees or buildings in your shot, so that your eye will have some perspective to go on.  Try to angle your shots so that the object is close to the right or left and slightly lower than the moon.

Keep in mind that when YOU look at the moon, part of what you are seeing is the light "halo" around the moon.  The eye will percieve this halo as part of the moon, when it is really only high density reflection.  Your camera may or may not capture this halo in the picture, thus giving you a moon that is smaller that what your eye percieves.


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## greybeard (Oct 30, 2011)

I suppose that makes sense, tho I always believed, that the moon at different times of the year was a little closer to Earth due to an eliptical orbit, thus appearing larger to us Eartly veiwers. I suppose when we are talking about 1/4 million miles, a few miles doesn't really make that much difference tho. 
Lots of info here as well. 
I have been told me there was a "night" setting somehwere in my camera options.  Would this help?


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## redtailgal (Oct 30, 2011)

That was a good read, thanks for sharing the link.

If you do have a night setting it may help, but you will probably have a longer shutter speed and may want to use a tripod.


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## greybeard (Oct 31, 2011)

Most of my (our) pics are spur of the moment things. The one below has a little story behind it. I was out in the pasture when a thunderstorm blew up a couple weeks ago, so instead of driving out of the pasture and up to the front of the house, I hurridly drove the truck straight into the workshop. It really started blowing, and then dropping big hailstones. As it moved off to the east, I looked out back and saw the rainbow. I called my wife on cellphone and told her to look out the back door, and she quickly took this photo just as I started around the shop and into the yard, with a double rainbow behind me. It appears, to "end", right in our pond. 






(I'm having some trouble getting the image to show up in this post for some reason.)


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## redtailgal (Oct 31, 2011)

What a nice rainbow!

Did you dive down to find the pot of gold? lol


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## MrsDieselEngineer (Oct 31, 2011)

Okay critics   What do you think?







Camera is a Kodak Z812 IS, and I'm on the lookout for a different one.  I'm looking for something point and shoot that actually captures what I'm looking at....


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## redtailgal (Oct 31, 2011)

Well, its a good shot with a unique perspective, and I like that.

The blue lead is a little distracting, but I do understand that it has to be there.

I'd like to see this shot composed a little different. Do you see how the road rises up on the little hill and then..........nothing.  It just stops.  The horse has no where to go in the pic, so neither does the eye.  My eye searches and falls back to the back of the horses head.

Perhaps you could get a shot that shots the road curving around or something.  BZut you need for the road or path to travel to the end of the photograph so its not a dead end for the eye.

If you can get a shot like that, I would LOVE to see it.  This shot is an excellent idea and you very close to having an awesome pic.


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## Queen Mum (Oct 31, 2011)

I just started reading this thread!  Am I too late?   I have a Samsun VLUU WB8500 12.5 Megapixel  24 X optical zoom.   Lots of settings and is pretty adjustable.   

I have shaky hands so I use a tripod as often as humanly possible.  Here are some of my best shots and some of my not so good shots







This was an easy shot.  It was stationary and was almost set up from the beginning...






This one, was a once in a lifetime picture.  It was pouring rain.  The dragonflies couldn't fly.  If I had had my camera when they all landed on the lavender, the shot would have been a lot more dramatic.  Live and learn...






It was a grey snowy day, but I wanted this picture to look better than it did.  Could I have set it up better?






I want to learn to take good pictures of my animals.   Mama is much prettier than this picture shows.  How can I do better?


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## redtailgal (Oct 31, 2011)

Of course, its not too late.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE talking photography, anytime!

I really like the first picture.  It has a unique quality that is very eyecatching. It is fairly sharp all the way into the background and the colors are nicely saturated. One thing that catches my eye is the round green thing in the left side of the circle. Subtle repitition of shapes really pleases the eye. I also am drawn to the upright section in the middle, I like that it is slightly off center.

You have a bit of a hot spot in the top of the circle, you can about this by not using flash.  You can hold a piece of wax paper an inch or so infront of your flash to diffuse the light a little and that will help.  I would play with cropping this shot, maybe a more upright crop a little closer into the circle to give it just a tad more pop. 

The dragon flies are also a nice shot.  You have the repeating element, and diagonal lines (diagonals in photos are very good, they lead the eye to cover more of the shot).
I also like the nature in the concrete jungle thing goin on here. Excellent catch.

The third pic, with the snow and the building.  This shot is also nicely exposed and sharp.  I think that your angle is off, though.  Perhaps if you had stood closer to the wall, and taken your shot, making the wall a 45 degree angle in your shot? I think this would have added some depth and visual layers, as well as using that wall to guide the eye along the picture. 

And Mama.  There are several things that you could have done here to improve the shot.  First of all, focus.  When photographing a person or animal, focus on the eye. You will have a {} or something in your viewfinder, put this directly over the eye, press your shutter release halfway, then frame your shot. It takes some practice to be able to this quickly.  Also, your lighting wasnt optimal for this shot.  See how the grass behind her is so much brighter?  Maybe if you had been on the other side of her, you would have had better lighting.  The other thing is basic compostion.  When you are photographing a moving animal, give them room to go forward in the shot.  If she were more to the right of the pic, the eye would recognize that she was moving forward, thus making it a more interesting shot.  Look closely at the pic, I am amused at the flower that looks like it is growing out of her butt, lol.

Animals are tough to photograph.  If you see a shot that you like, dont risk missing it in order to set up just so.  Could this shot be better? sure it could. But it's still a good shot of a pretty mama!

Check out this page (there is lots of good info there, along with a page on pet photography)

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14312


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 31, 2011)

Moon photography, eh? 
How's this?










I would love to get a shot of the moon in tungsten sometime... or sepia... I think it would be pretty neat... but not sure my camera would allow for it. I have to use the video setting in order to get the good zoom on the moon, and I don't think I can set the color in the video setting. :/


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 31, 2011)

nevermind about video setting and color... I just discovered that I can set it to Black & White, Tungsten, Sepia, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H(not sure what the difference is), Neutral, Vivid, or Low Sharpening!


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## Arabian Horse (Oct 31, 2011)

I LOVE Photography!!

Here's some pics.. what do you think?


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## redtailgal (Oct 31, 2011)

Arabian:

I see the name in the corner of the pics from a professional called "HC Photography".  It would be in poor taste for me to critque anothers professional work in this forum, so I will leave it at "Nice!".  (I hope you understand that I typed with a smile, I dont mean to sound snarky)

Livinwright:
Good job on that moon!  Will your camera allow you to adjust ISO settings and shutter speeds?  You can get some radicaly different pics of the same ights moon with minor changes in your settings.  Its a fun to see the changes.


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## Livinwright Farm (Oct 31, 2011)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> Livinwright:
> Good job on that moon!  Will your camera allow you to adjust ISO settings and shutter speeds?  You can get some radicaly different pics of the same ights moon with minor changes in your settings.  Its a fun to see the changes.


I can, but not while under the video setting... I double checked, I can see it, but it won't allow me to select it under the functions menu. 
And even with the best tripod/flat surface to steady the camera, I cannot get the same zoom-ability outside of the video setting.


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## Queen Mum (Oct 31, 2011)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> Of course, its not too late.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE talking photography, anytime!
> 
> I really like the first picture.  It has a unique quality that is very eyecatching. It is fairly sharp all the way into the background and the colors are nicely saturated. One thing that catches my eye is the round green thing in the left side of the circle. Subtle repitition of shapes really pleases the eye. I also am drawn to the upright section in the middle, I like that it is slightly off center.
> 
> ...


Wow!   Thanks for the great info... This is just what I need.  I'm going to try these techniques all week and will get back with some new shots.  

BTW, the first picture wasn't done with a flash.  The hot spot was a light hanging down in the picture.   I couldn't get it out of the frame.   (I was at a garden show. )   Is there anyway to minimize lighting that is extraneous?


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## redtailgal (Oct 31, 2011)

ahhh, I see!  lol, my mistake on the flash.

Nope, your pretty much stuck with something like that. sorry!


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## Queen Mum (Oct 31, 2011)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> ahhh, I see!  lol, my mistake on the flash.
> 
> Nope, your pretty much stuck with something like that. sorry!


Ok,  well, I am learning tons reading those threads.  This is great.  I love photography.   It is such a great way to capture what you see.   I have been all over the place and there are so many "images" to catch.  It is the only way to shout a quiet thought.


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## Arabian Horse (Oct 31, 2011)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> Arabian:
> 
> I see the name in the corner of the pics from a professional called "HC Photography".  It would be in poor taste for me to critque anothers professional work in this forum, so I will leave it at "Nice!".  (I hope you understand that I typed with a smile, I dont mean to sound snarky)
> 
> ...


Thats my copyright (sort of). My name is Hannah Clark, So I made it HC Photography.


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## redtailgal (Nov 1, 2011)

Ok that makes sense, lol.

First pic:

I like it, its a strong image, well focused and nicely composed.  lol, I cant decide if I would have angled myself to prevent the chain from  going across the chickens face or if I really like the chain going across the chickens face.

Second pic:

Again, nice image, love the depth of field.  I wish that the lighting would have cooperated with you, though.  Some light coming in high and at an angle would have given that flower the chance to jump off the screen at you.

ThIrd Pic:

Nice focus and lighting.  Honestly, Its too busy for me.  Wonder if you could have adjusted your aperature and blur out some of the background for a more dramatic effect?  There is nothing really wrong with the picture, just a matter of personal preference I think.

Fourth Pic:

I like this one.  Your depth of feild is a little off though, see how the hens head is just a little blurry?  (I had to look for something to whine about, so you did good).

My favorite?
Number four!  lol


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## MrsDieselEngineer (Nov 1, 2011)

Thanks RTG 
It's hard driving a very green horse and taking pictures at the same time so I wasn't setting up for the perfect pic   Do you think these are better or worse?


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## Arabian Horse (Nov 1, 2011)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> Ok that makes sense, lol.
> 
> First pic:
> 
> ...


Thank you for your opinion! What you said about all of the pictures is what I was also wondering about. Would you mind some others? I have loads of them.


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## redtailgal (Nov 1, 2011)

MrsDieselEngineer said:
			
		

> Thanks RTG
> It's hard driving a very green horse and taking pictures at the same time so I wasn't setting up for the perfect pic   Do you think these are better or worse?
> 
> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/4498_100_8798.jpg
> ...


I'd bet that is is hard.  Both of those are much better!  Good job.  The road gives more interested and evokes thought, and makes the lead rope less distracting.  You did good, thank you for sharing.  I love to see how pics evolve as people learn and apply.


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## DKRabbitry (Nov 1, 2011)

> I want to learn to take good pictures of my animals.   Mama is much prettier than this picture shows.  How can I do better?


Personally, when I am taking animal photos, I like to get them when they are as balanced or smooth as possible.  I think that photo of mama would be better if her legs were more even.  Even when moving, there are periods when their bodies are just more balanced than others and flow better.  I don't know if I am explaining it very good :/
Examples....

I prefer this photo






To this one








In this photo, she is all hunched up and her body looks off and awkward to me, and the angle is weird making her head look too large






While as in this one, even though she is midstep and on the hill like the other photo, she is streched out and just looks like she is moving smoothly






Hopefully someone else will chime in and maybe make more sense of things


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## Queen Mum (Nov 1, 2011)

That makes a lot of sense...  I need to get more balance in the picture with Mama...  I'm going to sit out with her and try and get some good photos this week.


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Nov 1, 2011)

I just like to take pictures for fun..... One of my brothers is a professional and does it for an on the side job. My cousin also does this.... And my other brother also has a nice camera. So I guess we all like photography lol.










(I wish the other goat kid wasn't in this pic)






These were taken by my brothers, and I edited some of them:


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## redtailgal (Nov 2, 2011)

Be careful when trying to balance your photo!  Its very easy to just plug them into the middle of the photograph.

DKRabbit: nice shots on all of them.  I prefer the image of the lamancha coming down the rock.  I would have like to have seen  a different comformation on these shots. FOrinstant. with the doe coming down the right, why  not back out alittle bit and give her "a place to be" when she kets down?  This would had adventur to the pics, instead of just seeiing the goat, your viewer will have a way to plave the goat.  It makes the pic tell a very quick story, and bring viewers back to your pics.


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## redtailgal (Nov 2, 2011)

Dreaming of goats:

The is an educational thread.  Did you have a question about your pictures?
Were you looking for  critique?


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## Dreaming Of Goats (Nov 2, 2011)

redtailgal said:
			
		

> Dreaming of goats:
> 
> The is an educational thread.  Did you have a question about your pictures?
> Were you looking for  critique?


Some critique would be nice


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## DKRabbitry (Nov 2, 2011)

LOL I was trying to give her examples of what I meant in terms of taking pictures of the animals themselves... I wasn't really paying attention to composition so I just cropped it down so she could see the body position of the goats and go from there.  And that was the balance I was talking about too... not compositional balance, but balance in the movement of the animal.  I didn't know what other word to use because I, personally, see it as balance, even thought I don't think that quite gets across what I am talking about.  I am a wretched teacher in all honesty LOL  It could be the most interesting photo in the world, but if the animal is in a position that make it look conformationally off or is at an awkward angle, I will hate it.

P.S. I agree on that one of her downhill being the favorite.  I really like that shot   She is so cute....  Maybe later I will tweak the compostition and see what you think.  I have a distracting barn door just to the left of her in the pic that I may have to edit out...


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## redtailgal (Nov 2, 2011)

OK  I am gonna go work on some of those edu pages for awhile.

I dont know if its the drugs or what, but I am having a hard time keeping up with whose pics are whose and why they were submitted.  AND who had what questions etc.

I would like for each of you to start your own photography thread.

name your thread as such so I will recognize it easier :  photography  (your name) (relavent discussion) .  If you can copy and past your last post into the new thread, you dont have move any pics over unless you want to.

I am expecting to see new threads:   

Phtography dreaming of goats (what we are discussin in your thread goes here)
Phtography dkrabbits
photography arabian horses
photography mrsdieselengineer
photography queen mum

And I will start my own thread for you to critique my photos, as well.

It will make things a little less confusing, I think.  I want each of us to participate in all the threads, discussion is great and helpful.  I am very much enjoying these discussions and I hope that you are all learning something from me..........I know that I am learning from you!


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## redtailgal (Nov 2, 2011)

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14312


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