Newbie Errors D50 Tips?

[thelvyn123]

Hi,

I'm new to photography and digital cameras. I just received my camera (Nikon D50) in the mail today and decided to try taking some photos. Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Attached are some shots I took.

I felt that the first one contained a bit too much clutter. I had originally just visualized the upper tree branches with the sunset in the background, but I ended up with a power line as well as a farm house. I think the second one is underexposed. Is there any way to fix this in a photo editor?

[Jason25]

Very nice sky in the first one. I would crop out the farmhouse, and maybe a bit of the foreground as well. Maybe even clone out the power line somehow?

The second one I don't think you can recover those lows, they just look like they're gone.

[thelvyn123]

Thanks for the quick response :) I'll try working with the first one in photoshop then.

Does anyone know of common mistakes people make when they begin taking their first photos? Are there any rules of thumb to think about when deciding on a composition/depth of field? Any general advice would be greatly appreciated :)

[sambrown8022]

some common mistakes (i would call them more annoyances in my opinion) are putting the focus point in the center of the frame...an example would be like centering a tree or bush in a landscape in the center of a picture...in my opinion it puts to much focus on the object and not any other element in the picture. even if you are trying to emphasize an object it looks a bit awkward in the center of the frame to me. you seem not to have a problem with this as you have shown in the first picture, i liked how the trees were off to one side, it makes your eye go to the right, then it causes you to notice other details in the photo like the shape of the clouds etc... i feel like im starting to over analyze the whole situation so i'll stop right here :D

[eduardofrances]

When composing use the rule of thirds, this will add a lot to your photos, remember that there are no laws for composition only guidelines

http://www.wildthingsphoto.com/tips/composition/thirds.htm
http://www.shutterfreaks.com/Tips/RuleOfThirds.html

Good luck and enjoy your camera :D

[thelvyn123]

I will definantly try out the rule of thirds. I figure set rules give way to creativity at higher levels of photography but for now I hope they'll help me get a start on things. These messages have definitely given me some thoughts on starting points. :) Thanks a bunch.

[sparky]

Try this link: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/classroom.php

It was posted before on this forum somewhere:confused:

Good luck and happy shooting!