Outdoor Shots--Feedback Requested

[wilded]

Here are some pictures taken under many conditions. All are taken with the Canon XTI with 75-300 kit lens. I hope to have good glass someday but until I win the lottery this lens will have to do. I would like feedback and/or constructive criticism from you guys that know what you are doing. Thanks, ET

[bowhuntertex]

Those are some nice shots Ed.......but I will let the experts do the criticing, since I am still trying to figure this stuff out myself......

[cfortner]

Nice shots, I really like the lion pic! I too am still learning, at this point I've just ignore composition all together, and am focused on aperature, shutter speed, white balance etc. I take 1000's of pics at a time and with enough pics, the composition may or may not creap it's way in with no real doing of my own. That being said, if you haven't checked this out already it's definately got some great info concerning composition:

http://asp.photo.free.fr/Composition...ainClass.shtml

This was posted in a previous thread by bluesman. Good pics all the way around. Thanks for sharing.

[wilded]

Nice shots, I really like the lion pic! I too am still learning, at this point I've just ignore composition all together, and am focused on aperature, shutter speed, white balance etc. I take 1000's of pics at a time and with enough pics, the composition may or may not creap it's way in with no real doing of my own. That being said, if you haven't checked this out already it's definately got some great info concerning composition:

http://asp.photo.free.fr/Composition...ainClass.shtml

This was posted in a previous thread by bluesman. Good pics all the way around. Thanks for sharing.

I get an error page in French with the link!

[cfortner]

Sorry I copied and pasted it from the other thread without paying attention to the fact that a good portion of the URL is gone

Try this one:

http://asp.photo.free.fr/Composition/photoProgramCompMainClass.shtml

[Gerald S]

In my NON-professional opinion, here are some observations:

I think photos 1,3,5,7, are all out of focus. (That's odd)

Well, maybe seven isn't but it's under exposed and hard to tell. I tried to look at the full size images but you have everything set to private so all we can see is the size you posted.

All your shots here were at ISO 400. You probably didn't need that high of an ISO in most of these shots.

I'm just guessing that your focus is set so that what ever the camera likes, is what it's going to focus on. Once I learned to get out of that mode and started to select my own focus point, my pictures magically were in focus. Also, play with your drive. Such as One Shot focus, AI Servo and AI Focus. I have a hard time with One Shot especially with moving subjects. Try one of the other modes when shooting moving objects.

Compositionally, try to leave the subject some space. Look up rule of thirds for a better explanation. This will help give your images some depth.

Anyway, I love the pictures and would love to tag along one day and get some photos. It would be a great excuse to rent some massive glass.

[Bluesman]

I have a poor monitor here at work so things look a little dark. You have a focus problem…don’t worry.
If your lens is the IS version, I have the same one.
With the lens extended to a full 300 mm the auto focus may be helpless. Especially if the AF point selection is something other than a single center point. If at 300mm the focusing motor runs in and out never finding a point you’ll need to back it off a little or switch to manual focus.
1. Take the camera off of automatic and switch to Av.
2. Set the AF point selection to the single center point.
3. Set the White Balance to whatever light condition you may have. If you’re standing in sunlight shooting into shade use the shade selection. Remember that the lens tries to focus on something bright in the field of view. I feel like I have to force it to do what I want. With a little practice you’ll know when to capture the image.
4. Back the lens down to say 250mm.
5. Pick an object and press halfway down on the shutter button to get a reading in your LCD. You’ll need to pay attention to the F-stop and shutter speed.
6. Set the f-stop to 5.6. Note the shutter speed, if it’s 1/60 you may need to use a tripod, monopod, brace, or ultra steady hands. Or, set the ISO to a level higher and note the increase in shutter speed. You’ll be looking for a speed you can comfortably handle. Important at this point not to blame the lens. Hand held shots at low shutter speeds could be deceiving, and poor.
7. If handheld be sure the IS is on.
8. Pick an object with detail you’re familiar with. Set up and get a good center point focus and take the picture. Keep in mind that you want a shutter speed fast enough usually 1/125 sec for hand held. You might want to shoot a basketball and experiment picking up a focus point at various places. Keep notes if necessary.
9. Load the pics up to your PC and have a look.
10. I’ve learned that I sometimes need to pick a focus point like a birds eye, hold the shutter half way down and move the camera a bit to get the composition I’m looking for. If I go for composition and have lost the focal point the picture will be crap.

I think the lens is capable of good and sharp photos but it’s tricky and requires lots of practice. I’ve had almost no luck at all with the camera set at full auto. With the camera set at Av experiment enough to know why the camera records what you actually see. If it doesn’t the fixes are quick and easy in Av.
Don’t give up on the lens just yet.

[wilded]

Gezz, have I got a lot to learn. I need to get with you guys sometime just so I can understand half of what you tell me. My buddy Wildman has promised to help some but he is always busy.

My lens is the EF 75-300 Zoom 1:4-5.6 it does not have IS.

[Done'it]

I like the duck pic