Maxima Forums - New pics for pics sake

Thanks for the comments guys. These shots were just handheld with my Canon Powershot G5. I have a bunch of other cameras tho. I haven't had any real classes, but a bunch of people in my family are photographers, so I've picked up a lot over the years. I recommend a handy field guide by national geographic that gives the basics about understanding light, white balance, and basic camera functions. I only have two main tips..

One, take your time when you shoot. Look at it for a while and make sure the light is right, the composition is right, etc. Study your shot. After a lot of practice, you will see things that you can identify as potential problems before you shoot. "That'll be underexposed, that will be washed out, that will be too reflective or will cause fringing, etc." As you get to know your lenses too, you will know what kinds of light sources are going to cause chromatic aberations to show up and stuff like that.

The second one, and one that all should know, is "the rule of thirds." This basically means, in general, try to not shoot with your subject straight in the middle. Think about how your eye moves over a photograph. If the emphasis is directly in the center, you tend to tune out the things around the edges, which just leads to wasted space. If you compose your shot so that there is a clear line for the eye to follow, generally the shot is much more pleasing. Personal style comes in a lot here. You can layer the eye movement with objects at different depths quite easily. -- For example, in the first photograph there is a semi clear line from the back of the car, leading the eye along the waves and up to the cliffs. That gives the viewer a good idea of the whole photograph, before you start to look at details. The second photograph is even more clear, with a line leading from the side-view mirror past the rock and to the lighthouse. This is subtle because the actual subject of the photograph isn't even in that line, but if it was, it would be weird to look at because the subject (in this case, a rim, or fender profile) is different material, exposure, and content matter than is the background drawing your eye.

There's obviously a lot more to learn about the subject, but I think everyone would be more happy with their everyday photography if those concepts were understood.