Please School me on my first batch of photos

WaveRiderXIX said:
I hope you are not serious...
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You live in a world of Denial if you think there is a perceptible difference between JPEG's and RAW.

RAW allows for some more flexibility in post work on the image... Do your own testing... shoot a RAW image.. bring it into photoshop... and create a clean JPEG from it.. and tell me the difference.
 
Loki said:
You live in a world of Denial if you think there is a perceptible difference between JPEG's and RAW.

RAW allows for some more flexibility in post work on the image... Do your own testing... shoot a RAW image.. bring it into photoshop... and create a clean JPEG from it.. and tell me the difference.
Click to expand...

What everyone is saying is that you won't see a difference unless you make Adjustments while in a 16bit format. If I wanted to, I could take my visually similiar RAW file and bring down the expsure so that I get almost 2 stops of detail back from the highlights. My picture will look washed out but technically it will have way more dynamic range than the JPEG. Try doing that with an 8bit JPEG, it won't be pretty.
 
What everyone, including Loki, is saying is correct.

What I don't get about Loki's comment is that no one shoots RAW so they can convert to jpeg w/out editing. If you don't want to edit just shoot to jpeg, he's right, it will be exactly the same.

And as egp said, if you want to edit....it's best to shoot RAW. Hopefully that will put an end to this discussion. These RAW vs. JPEG discussions drive me nuts.

Dxmetal, how about you throw up some more shots so we can get back to discussing your skills! ;)
 
Hopefully I am progressing here ..... anyways please school me away !!!! I need much much more constructive criticisms !!

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In all fairness I think you need to work on your composition in several photos (cutting off feet, corners etc) Love your work though.. been a few years since I've bought stuff in the Tupelo Hardware, sure brings back memories
 
The tree picture in the first round was really good. I also like the cleaners sign.

The one picture with brick wall and the door could have been good but to much clutter around the top. Just bricks and the door would have been better.

Keep shooting you're taking some good shots.
 
I shoot high quality jpeg because like film I only really get one moment to get it right so I'm forced to pay close attention to my image values. There is a fair amount of latitude in hi rez jpeg. I guess I see RAW as more of a safety net that I don't want to use until I can come home with a bag of close to perfect jpeg shots. When I get a bad jpeg thats not fixable it forces me to visit what went wrong and why so I'm less likely to make the same mistake again. That is my theory that is mine:) As for the OP's shots, I think you're off to a good start, esecially posting among your peers and asking for critique. To be honest, for me the shots lack a point of focuss, something that draws me into the shot. As was mentioned earlier, I think your composition could use some work. The rule of thirds can be helpful here. The more you shoot, the more you learn and I think you're on the right track. We don't even want to discuss what my first shots looked like but slowly over time I think I have improved quite a bit from my first efforts:)
 
I think for the subjuct matter and type of photography you are doing, a wide angle lens would really benefit you. Not saying you can't make your shots better with the lens you have but I find some of your shots too flat and unemotional. Kind of like...."theres a sign, heres a picture of that sign."

You should try to focus on something specific that intrigues you about the subject or exempifies what you are taking a picture of, don't be afriad to get too close or crop out something out. Theres no right way of taking a picture and you will always have your own style of picture taking but try to think more before you take a picture of something.

Lets take the first picture as an example. I think the truck is a great subject and I'm sure it struck you visually, which is why you took the photo of it in the first place. Not a bad photo BTW but I think you could get more out of it. Maybe find something to focus on such as the windshield wipers (try getting close to them). do what you basically did in the above shot but use selective focus on the headlights. Stand far back and get a flat wide of the whole truck but frame it in the corner of you shot. Another part of being a good photographer is being a good editor in choosing the best of your shots and letting go of some of your shots afterwards.
 
You guys dont know how much I appreciated your comment. I think I know the problem here ... I have to find more "soul" for my photographs instead of just "documenting" the scene.
 
I agree with the wide lens comment. Something like a 28-35 (or the digital equivalent) would be helpful. When you isolate a subject, it better be interesting, otherwise you get lackluster compositions, which is what most feel when they see your pictures. Sometimes how that object (truck, building, etc) sits within it's surroundings is more interesting than the object in isolation. When you see it, you see it in it's environment, which may influence how you feel about the object, then you take a picture of it in isolation and the viewer may be missing something outside the frame that made it originally appeal to you.

Also, pay attention to the vectors in your composition. Use them, i.e., use horizon lines, power lines, vanishing points, perspective lines, buildings, etc to create compelling compositions. A few of your building shots could have been much better had you recomposed with a more dynamic arrangement of the vectors.

I would also encourage you to take some time finding good subjects. It seems buildings are always great when starting out because they're just there and you're not intimidated by them. Go out and take some pictures of people (with permission of course), your friends, some kind of action, something that tells a story. Good pictures of trees, buildings, junk, etc are rare, and extremely overdone. Go try and say something with the photos you're taking.

A few other random tips, always look to the edges of your viewfinder while composing. I usually compose from the edge inward. It's easy to get caught up on the focus of the subject and something at the edge can ruin an otherwise great photo. Also, learn as much as you can about exposure, how shutter speed and f/stop work together, etc. That helped me the most when learning. I always shot manual everything and it makes you think about what you're trying to achieve. A really great book, the only photo one I own, is called Understanding Exposure.

Regarding JPEG vs RAW, well, I shoot film.
 
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