Ok here goes, let me know what you think.
Discussion
Right I took the camera out for a spin, please be gentle, my first time having a play with the settings.
But please let me know what you think and where I am going wrong....
Couple of our bunny that I took this afternoon (she is moulting so please excuse her scruffiness).




C&C welcome....
But please let me know what you think and where I am going wrong....
Couple of our bunny that I took this afternoon (she is moulting so please excuse her scruffiness).




C&C welcome....
Edited by speed_monkey on Monday 10th August 22:10
cue more comments about your girlfriend than your pics.
Regarding the shots. My only comments would be that the second shot is over exposed on the foreground but only as the camera was fighting for light in the shadows where your subject was and your fav of your gf is a little washed out and could do with a little contrast and saturation which can be added on post production.
I know you are just practicing but the shots lack any real composition but that will come in practice and looking at other pictures that you like.
sorry that there is no real constructive comments but the best thing that i can advise is that keep playing, keep practising and it will get better all the time. i am still learning everyday. glad you are enjoying it though.
Regarding the shots. My only comments would be that the second shot is over exposed on the foreground but only as the camera was fighting for light in the shadows where your subject was and your fav of your gf is a little washed out and could do with a little contrast and saturation which can be added on post production.
I know you are just practicing but the shots lack any real composition but that will come in practice and looking at other pictures that you like.
sorry that there is no real constructive comments but the best thing that i can advise is that keep playing, keep practising and it will get better all the time. i am still learning everyday. glad you are enjoying it though.
Edited by curtisl on Monday 10th August 22:15
curtisl said:
cue more comments about your girlfriend than your pics.
This is not the lounge 
The shots of your girlfriend were pretty good, the lighting on the first was pretty much spot on, with the second being a little over-exposed. The rabbit shots seem a little out of focus to me, cute little pet though!
4hero said:
curtisl said:
cue more comments about your girlfriend than your pics.
This is not the lounge 
The shots of your girlfriend were pretty good, the lighting on the first was pretty much spot on, with the second being a little over-exposed. The rabbit shots seem a little out of focus to me, cute little pet though!

Yeah some of the rabit ones are a little fuzzy
Edited by speed_monkey on Monday 10th August 23:02
Ok I'll bite (gf pics ignored, they were ok potraits!)
1st - bunny almost central look right into small amount of empty space - better to have bunny on the left rule of 3rds line looking right into empty frame.
- also best to get lower and be more on a level with bunny.
- also think abotu depth of field, would look better if bunny was isolated from the background somewhat, so use a wide open aperture and a bit of zoom (lower f number).
2nd - not bad composition - could have been better shot lower down - btu exposure is tricky, esp with bright harsh light and dark bunny.
- also soft, not looke dto see ths shutter speed but leaves look sharp, suspect moving bunny, get faster shutter speed, by higher ISO or larger aperture (lower f number)
3rd - not bad, ould benefit from a slight recrop loosing some of the grass on the bottom I think. You used onboard flash?
4th - ok again bit too central be better if bunny was more to the left.
Probably could be improved with some post processing levels/colour etc (shooting raw or jpg?) and recropping
1st - bunny almost central look right into small amount of empty space - better to have bunny on the left rule of 3rds line looking right into empty frame.
- also best to get lower and be more on a level with bunny.
- also think abotu depth of field, would look better if bunny was isolated from the background somewhat, so use a wide open aperture and a bit of zoom (lower f number).
2nd - not bad composition - could have been better shot lower down - btu exposure is tricky, esp with bright harsh light and dark bunny.
- also soft, not looke dto see ths shutter speed but leaves look sharp, suspect moving bunny, get faster shutter speed, by higher ISO or larger aperture (lower f number)
3rd - not bad, ould benefit from a slight recrop loosing some of the grass on the bottom I think. You used onboard flash?
4th - ok again bit too central be better if bunny was more to the left.
Probably could be improved with some post processing levels/colour etc (shooting raw or jpg?) and recropping
RobDickinson said:
Ok I'll bite (gf pics ignored, they were ok potraits!)
1st - bunny almost central look right into small amount of empty space - better to have bunny on the left rule of 3rds line looking right into empty frame.
- also best to get lower and be more on a level with bunny.
- also think abotu depth of field, would look better if bunny was isolated from the background somewhat, so use a wide open aperture and a bit of zoom (lower f number).
2nd - not bad composition - could have been better shot lower down - btu exposure is tricky, esp with bright harsh light and dark bunny.
- also soft, not looke dto see ths shutter speed but leaves look sharp, suspect moving bunny, get faster shutter speed, by higher ISO or larger aperture (lower f number)
3rd - not bad, ould benefit from a slight recrop loosing some of the grass on the bottom I think. You used onboard flash?
4th - ok again bit too central be better if bunny was more to the left.
Probably could be improved with some post processing levels/colour etc (shooting raw or jpg?) and recropping
Lots of help there.... thank you 1st - bunny almost central look right into small amount of empty space - better to have bunny on the left rule of 3rds line looking right into empty frame.
- also best to get lower and be more on a level with bunny.
- also think abotu depth of field, would look better if bunny was isolated from the background somewhat, so use a wide open aperture and a bit of zoom (lower f number).
2nd - not bad composition - could have been better shot lower down - btu exposure is tricky, esp with bright harsh light and dark bunny.
- also soft, not looke dto see ths shutter speed but leaves look sharp, suspect moving bunny, get faster shutter speed, by higher ISO or larger aperture (lower f number)
3rd - not bad, ould benefit from a slight recrop loosing some of the grass on the bottom I think. You used onboard flash?
4th - ok again bit too central be better if bunny was more to the left.
Probably could be improved with some post processing levels/colour etc (shooting raw or jpg?) and recropping

Judging by your exif data you're using the kit 18-55mm f4-5.6 lens?
Well worth spending £80 on a 50mm f1.8. The added depth of field at the wider fstops (1.8-4) makes for a far more interesting animal pictures as you get some nice bokeh (background seperation blur, well to be anal the bokeh from the 1.8 isn't "good" bokeh but it's bokeh none the less!)
Example:


Well worth spending £80 on a 50mm f1.8. The added depth of field at the wider fstops (1.8-4) makes for a far more interesting animal pictures as you get some nice bokeh (background seperation blur, well to be anal the bokeh from the 1.8 isn't "good" bokeh but it's bokeh none the less!)
Example:


jon- said:
Judging by your exif data you're using the kit 18-55mm f4-5.6 lens?
Well worth spending £80 on a 50mm f1.8. The added depth of field at the wider fstops (1.8-4) makes for a far more interesting animal pictures as you get some nice bokeh (background seperation blur, well to be anal the bokeh from the 1.8 isn't "good" bokeh but it's bokeh none the less!)
Example:


Your right.... quite amazed with that actually Well worth spending £80 on a 50mm f1.8. The added depth of field at the wider fstops (1.8-4) makes for a far more interesting animal pictures as you get some nice bokeh (background seperation blur, well to be anal the bokeh from the 1.8 isn't "good" bokeh but it's bokeh none the less!)
Example:



Wow those shots are fabulous, will definately look at investing

Thank you.
BTW I hope I didnt come across as too critical and its only my thoughts. Theres a lot to get right, but its all subjective, framing, mechanics of the shot, the processing all takes thought, experience and practice.
jon- said:
Judging by your exif data you're using the kit 18-55mm f4-5.6 lens?
Well worth spending £80 on a 50mm f1.8. The added depth of field at the wider fstops (1.8-4) makes for a far more interesting animal pictures as you get some nice bokeh (background seperation blur, well to be anal the bokeh from the 1.8 isn't "good" bokeh but it's bokeh none the less!)
Well its not to shabby at f1.8 because the aperture blades arnt in play, stoped down a bit the bokeh is chunky, but still a worthwhile purchase, should be the 1st stop with any new canon slr.Well worth spending £80 on a 50mm f1.8. The added depth of field at the wider fstops (1.8-4) makes for a far more interesting animal pictures as you get some nice bokeh (background seperation blur, well to be anal the bokeh from the 1.8 isn't "good" bokeh but it's bokeh none the less!)
RobDickinson said:
BTW I hope I didnt come across as too critical and its only my thoughts. Theres a lot to get right, but its all subjective, framing, mechanics of the shot, the processing all takes thought, experience and practice.
Not at all, as I said I welcome the criticism.... its the only way to learn.This was my first outing into playing with some of the aperture settings and shutter speeds. So I canaccept that a lot of them are "miss" rather than "hit". But Like anything that will only come with time and practice
Kermit power said:
With people and animals, make sure the eyes are in focus first and foremost. There's plenty of other stuff to think about too, but you can take the best picture ever taken, and you'll still end up spending a lot of time in photoshop it if the eyes aren't sharp.
..corrected... 
If like most here you stick mostly to Av (and sometimes to Tv) mode you basicaly pick your aperture and the camera works out the rest for you, because primarily your intrested in the depth of field, controlled by the aperture (and focus distance + focal length). Thats probably the key to the mechanics side for starers.
f number , smaller = larger hole , larger hole = shallower DoF , so f4 = shallower Dof than f11
longer focal length = less DoF, so shallower Dof at 55mm than 18mm.
Closer focal point = shallower DoF , so 1m focus = less DoF than 10m focus.
RobDickinson said:
Kermit power said:
With people and animals, make sure the eyes are in focus first and foremost. There's plenty of other stuff to think about too, but you can take the best picture ever taken, and you'll still end up spending a lot of time in photoshop it if the eyes aren't sharp.
..corrected... 
If like most here you stick mostly to Av (and sometimes to Tv) mode you basicaly pick your aperture and the camera works out the rest for you, because primarily your intrested in the depth of field, controlled by the aperture (and focus distance + focal length). Thats probably the key to the mechanics side for starers.
f number , smaller = larger hole , larger hole = shallower DoF , so f4 = shallower Dof than f11
longer focal length = less DoF, so shallower Dof at 55mm than 18mm.
Closer focal point = shallower DoF , so 1m focus = less DoF than 10m focus.
Is there any lens that would be good for this? Had a look at the F1.8 and they seem quite reasonable, but how does it perform in "normal" scenarios where you are just pointing and clicking.
The 50f1.8 is absolutly the best bang for buck lens you can get your mits on.
Set your kit lens to 50mm that will be the field of view, but the 50 will slaughter it for optical quality.
Mine is soft at f1.8 but sharp from f2.2 and up. Will give you a brighter viewfinder too.
Downsides is its focus can be iffy especialy in low light and the build quality is cheap.

Set your kit lens to 50mm that will be the field of view, but the 50 will slaughter it for optical quality.
Mine is soft at f1.8 but sharp from f2.2 and up. Will give you a brighter viewfinder too.
Downsides is its focus can be iffy especialy in low light and the build quality is cheap.

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