Jeff I read half of it so far and its a great write up. I'll be calling you once I get my dSLR.

 

They're ok pics. Best one is the motorcycle one. Your hummingbird shot is off focus. You have it focused on the flowers to the right and behind it. The butterfly shot probably would look more interesting using the rule of thirds.

 

Ok it doesn't look as off focus as I thought. Probably because the hummingbird is in motion.

The rest of the shots are fine. There's nothing in PS that you can do to make them better. Technically, your shots are good because they're on focus (hummingbird is hard to tell), exposed correctly, and the colors look good.

You just need to practice composition. Before every shot, just take a few seconds to look at the scene you're about to shoot and see how you could make it interesting. If you don't take that step, all you're really doing is taking snapshots. Granted....action shots where you don't have the luxury of time is a lot harder to shoot. A lot of that is luck and timing.

In regards to Photoshop, use it as a tool to do small touchups to photos. Always focus on getting the shot _right_ first. Get the correct exposure, composition, focus. Then if there's anything small that's not making it the best photo..that's where PS comes in. So many people get into this photography stuff...they learn the basics and just snap away without really improving. Then they hear about PS and so they get sloppy in their technique and will compensate with PS. You can _easily_ spot photos that were either overexposed or underexposed and then PS was used to try and fix it. What happens is you either get a very washed out photo (originally overexposed) or a very contrasty (originally underexposed) photo.

The majority of the time, I'm shooting people (fashion models) so I have the luxury of taking my time and getting the shot right. You'll hear stories in the industry where some pros will take an HOUR to setup the shot..and then snap 1-2 shots and that'll be the cover shot. This usually is done in the studio where you control the lighting conditions.

One way to really see if you're doing well is find a photographer that works for a publication that you know of and seen their work before. Don't just pick random people off the net that shoot for fun. Pick guys/girls that get PAID to do this for a living. Then look at your photos and compare them to this person. You'll know you're as good as they are if you're able to (metaphorically speaking) toss your photos in the same pile and no one would be able to tell the difference between your pic and theirs.

 

Yeah motion shots are difficult. Either you get very lucky with a few shots or you rapid-fire and pray 1 shot is great.

"I think you can get a perfect picture but without photoshop it looks plain."

^ you shouldn't have that kind of mentality. A photo can look amazing if shot well WITHOUT photoshop. If you have that mentality, you'll be satisfied with taking plain pictures and thinking, "meh..no worries..I'll play around with it in photoshop".

 

hmm, it seems like i missed this....no hard feelings w/ anything guys. i made this thread merely to inform those with inquiring minds since i keep getting PM'd and asked questions after every picture set that i post. it's best to just refer to this thread from now on. every person has different shooting styles/techniques, so there is no 1 right or wrong way.

with that said, i finally have some time today, so the photoshop section should be posted soon

 

absolutely awesome write-up, i learned quite a lot in the last 10 mins of reading this thread.. i too, am guilty of doing the ricer angles...

 

John, can't wait for the photoshop write up.

 

Looks like I've been nominated to put together the Post Production and Photoshop write up...


I can try and start this weekend, however, I'm not making promises as to how long it will take me.

 

lol been procrastinating...should have time tomorrow..but like john...no promises

 

Great write up and info.
Thanks for taking the time.
Always enjoy seeing your shots.