The "i'm proud of this picture i took" thread #4

I have an s7 must test out pro mode also I have a d610 and the nikkor 105mm macro lens should macro photography be set to macro and manual focus on or auto.

 

Once you are in Pro mode, hit the settings cog at the top and enable RAW too, open them in a program that supports Raw like Lightroom or Photoshop etc

The quality difference is amazing, bit of tweaking in one of those programs and export as .tiff, you get stunning looking images

 

August 15, 2016 - 134-10-HDR

August 15, 2016 - 134-173-HDR

August 15, 2016 - 134-51-HDR

August 15, 2016 - 134-173-HDR

August 22, 2016 - 135-68-HDR

August 18, 2016 - 133-28-HDR

 

Anshul you seem to have some seriously nice locations near you based on the pictures I've seen from you but you should try and work on your framing of the subjects a bit as a lot of your pictures have a "hasty snap" feel to them which means you're not quite doing them justice.

Take that last picture for example. The scene looks quite pleasing but then you got that tiny bit of sandy beach as a distraction on the right side edge of the image. You could have done a couple of things here like for instance maybe give the beach more attention and have it more at the center of the image so it serves as a leading line towards the mountains in the background which I'm guessing was your subject. Alternatively lose the beach entirely and point your camera a bit higher up to leave some water but at the same time get in maybe a bit more sky so it gives the mountains a bit more room to "breathe".

On that 2nd to last picture I'm a bit unsure of the actual subject. My first guess was the Siam Paragon building which appears interesting but it just feels like a big mass in the picture. I would like to see more of it, perhaps a view from the bottom towards the top or maybe consider stepping back so you can get more of the building in. Then I started looking at the picture more closely and saw the towers further away in the background which made me think that it could be a decent enough city scene with the concrete train tracks working as a leading line towards the towers in the background but then we have issues again with the section of the Siam Paragon building dominating a big part of the image and then you got a whole lot of ground at the bottom of the picture that doesn't really serve much purpose.

You could potentially crop that picture differently in post processing to chop off some of the Siam Paragon and the ground but keep all of the train tracks in place, however the issue then is that you got the girl on the forefront on her phone so cropping would crop some of her out which would look weird.

As for the other images, they're nice enough snaps but unfortunately just that and none of them really quite stand out considering theres some interesting subjects or architechture in them.

In conclusion I'd give the following tips:

- If you got a zoom lens, feel free to experiment with different levels of zoom. Drop down on one knee and maybe try going low and wide especially with big subjects like buildings, alternatively look for a different vantage point further away or at higher ground or both. No harm in using your body unless you have a disability ofcourse that prevents it. This all becomes even more important if you're on a fixed focal length.

- Before taking the picture try to decide on the subject and how you can best bring it out. If its a big scene you wish to shoot, think of what you can do with and without. Too much or not enough sky ? Too much uninteresting ground ? Is there a person in the picture you could do without ? Wait for the person to move or consider relocating.

- Make sure your pictures are level, if you can't get it level on location for whatever reason try and level it in post processing. Quite a few of your pictures tend to be slanted.

- Nail your basics first and mess around with things like HDR later. HDR can be fun to play with and in the right hands it can enhance the image but it won't turn a a poor image into a great image.

- Finally, consider going Black & White. For one of your walkabouts with your camera with you, set it to black & white and shoot exclusively with b&W in mind. Colour can be a distraction when you're learning and b&w can often help you see the basics of a scene better and bring out things you would normally ignore and aslong as you're shooting in RAW, you still get the colour information anyway if you do decide a colour version of the image is more appropriate.

Hope any of this helps and you won't be offended or disheartened. I've been lurking this thread as I just don't have the time these days to shoot myself and I've seen a lot of your images with similar issues where you appear to have some really good looking locations but the images just don't seem to do them justice.

[Edit] I just viewed your photostream and I may have got your pictures mixed with someone elses that had a similar look and vibe to them, my apologies. However the critique for the above pics still stands

 

Ok lets get the easy stuff out of the way first.

The photos are level. I was moving around Thailand pretty quickly and there was absolutely no time to go back to locations for perfect lighting, so it made sense to bracket the exposures. I don't see how keeping the shutter button pressed for 3 shots affects framing when you say I should worry about it later.

Now onto framing.

That's concrete and not sand(It's built to look like sand so it's not really your fault). I was literally leaning right over the water and
would've probably fallen into the sea had I moved further in front. The place was super crowded on the right and nothing of interest on the left. I prefer having less sky in comparison unless there's a stunning sunset. You're most probably right about kneeling for a better perspective but I'm not gonna do that on vacation . The central parts of Bangkok are some of the busiest places in the world so waiting for people to move is unreasonable.

 

How's the chick and fries?

 

You are one lucky guy! I'm very tempted myself, so let me know how you find it vs. the 5d III. It'll probably have to wait until some time next year for me though!

 

mate upgrade was worth every dollar

on paper it may not seem that exciting but boy when you actually use it

where to start...

- noticeably better AF, same 61 point system yes but wider spread, snappier acquisition, more confident, focuses in ridiculously low light, live view AF brilliant, all AF points now support f/8 focusing (my 150-600 can now be stacked with 1.4x TC with all AF points active)
- better screen, in terms of accuracy and better resolution, touch screen implementation wonderful
- higher resolution while maintaining excellent noise control, ISO 12800 is my new 6400, happily use it too, while overall noise not much different to 5D3 the 5D4 has much better noise pattern/characteristics, along with higher res allowing for more noise reduction, files are much, much better to work with, speaking of noise pattern...
- better dynamic range, shadow noise no longer sport the ugly banding and weird blotchy noise when pushed, 3-4 stops handled with ease (see image below)
- shutter very quiet, silent shutter mode not much point now since difference is so small and it slows down fps
- mirror mechanism now electronic instead of spring, can feel the difference when shooting less vibration more dampened, also shorter shutter lag
- among other bits and pieces...

freaking awesome camera

Brisbane Skyline Pano by Tony, on Flickr

9 images shot vertically at 16mm stitched, exposed for highlights, foreground pushed ~3 stops

 

Nudgee Sunrise by Tony, on Flickr

 

You take all your pictures with a S7? If so they're amazing!

 

St Paul***x27;s Cathedral in Melbourne, Australia by Tony, on Flickr

 

I love the way light through the window is coming to the photo excellent

 

Yea lol, thanks, got a cheap £5 tripod from ebay for it, works well for Long Exposures, just wish it had more than 10 seconds

 

thanks boodikon

 

Wide Field Orion by Tony, on Flickr

Pleiades by Tony, on Flickr

 

Canon 6D works amazing in macro-mode!

 

Milky Way Core, Rho Ophiuchi & Antares - Sigma 50mm ART by Tony, on Flickr

 

WOW love this pitures