Trying to make great shots

New to my D7000, all my previous photo experience is with P&Shoots.

The above and below shots were on a tripod and timed so I wouldn't move it but it still doesn't look good enough for me.

What say you?

Two questions.
Do you shoot in RAW?
Do you do any post processing?

First problem I see is composition in the second pic. Your flower is dab smack in the middle of the frame, which is not very pleasing to the eye.

Biggest issue I see is dull flat lighting, wait until the golden hours morning or night and take same photos.

And as Blacktop has said they require some processing, composition is not the best.

Blacktop said:

Two questions.
Do you shoot in RAW?
Do you do any post processing?

First problem I see is composition in the second pic. Your flower is dab smack in the middle of the frame, which is not very pleasing to the eye.

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My 2nd SD card is saved in RAW but I haven't learned or attempted post processing.

Study up on composition & lighting.

Raw/JPEG, processing, tripod, timer, etc aren't much use if 'the shot' isn't there to begin with.

Not doing this as an example of how it should be presented,just an example of how PP and cropping can change an image.

You just need to play around with these in post. Or just shoot J-peg and play with the adjustments in camera. When one is unhappy with their results one will play with it, learn along the way and become good at it.

The main problem I see in both of those shots is less than ideal composition.

In the first shot the background is distracting; it's too bright, too busy and has too many competing colors. The stem intersecting the lower bloom weakens the shot because competes strongly with the subject. Lastly, the subject is too centered in the frame which makes the shot feel static.

The second shot is the stronger of the two. The background is busy but adds some context. There's really only one strong color in the background and we have a bold subject so we're off to a good start. Once again, though, the subject is centered in the frame making things feel static. The shot also lacks contrast and just needs some general "punching up" in post. A proper crop and work on the color would help a lot.
....

Thanks for all the input.
The below "mod" looks much better, thanks.

One thing that I'm after is a sharp crisp picture. Looking at the one below the top pedal or rather the outside edges are fuzzy. Now I did do a center weighted metering which may be the cause of this and I was using my 18-140 lens where my Micro 40mm may have been a better choice (probably a better lens too)?

As far as lighting goes I'll be using natural light in all of my shots outdoors unless the flash is needed, at least for now anyway.

Personally I would like to get a great shot without making in-camera post adjustments, surely that's possible or are we saying that most of the super shots I see on here have been "adjusted"? If so then that's something else I need to learn about.

Thanks again.

mikew said:

Not doing this as an example of how it should be presented,just an example of how PP and cropping can change an image.

View attachment 153103

View attachment 153104

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richarddacat said:

.........Personally I would like to get a great shot without making in-camera post adjustments,......

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There's in-camera adjustments (AKA 'get it right in the camera') and post adjustments. Two different animals.

richarddacat said:

.........surely that's possible or are we saying that most of the super shots I see on here have been "adjusted"? If so then that's something else I need to learn about......

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Most of the shots you've seen most likely have some sort of post work done. The better you get, the less post work you'll do, and for two reasons. One, you learn how to 'get it right in the camera', and two, you get better at doing post work.

richarddacat said:

One thing that I'm after is a sharp crisp picture. Looking at the one below the top pedal or rather the outside edges are fuzzy. Now I did do a center weighted metering which may be the cause of this and I was using my 18-140 lens where my Micro 40mm may have been a better choice (probably a better lens too)?

Click to expand...

Several things contribute to good, overall sharpness. One of the biggest considerations is the lens itself. Really good glass gets you really good color, contrast and exceptional sharpness. Primes lenses, typically, are sharper than zoom lenses but that's not to say you can't get excellent sharpness out of a zoom lens. Looking at your shots I see the shutter speed was 1/80s; that's a tad on the slow side, in my opinion, for a handheld shot but fine here considering you were using a tripod. Rule of thumb for handheld shots with a DX camera like yours, and opinions vary on this, is 1.5 to 2 times the focal length. I really try to lean more towards two times the focal length. Another tip: Use Quiet shutter-mode.

richarddacat said:

As far as lighting goes I'll be using natural light in all of my shots outdoors unless the flash is needed, at least for now anyway.

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The quality of light you are shooting in will have a certain effect on sharpness... Soft, diffuse light tends to soften edges.

richarddacat said:

Personally I would like to get a great shot without making in-camera post adjustments, surely that's possible or are we saying that most of the super shots I see on here have been "adjusted"? If so then that's something else I need to learn about.

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It can be done but really, at least in my opinion, post-processing goes hand-in-hand with digital photography and yes; I would hazard to guess that most of the outstanding shots you see here on Nikonites are awesome due in part (either large or small) to knowing how to post-process. If you're going to take full advantage of your camera's ability, you're going to want to shoot in RAW, and shooting in RAW pretty much demands you post-process the image.

So what would you do to make these shots better with in-camera adjustments?

richarddacat said:

So what would you do to make these shots better with in-camera adjustments?

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If your're shooting JPG, the very first thing you should do is increase the Sharpness setting in the Picture Control menu, if you haven't already done so. That setting is set to an oddly low default. I might increase the Saturation setting a point as well.

richarddacat said:

So what would you do to make these shots better with in-camera adjustments?

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Depends on what I want as a final result.

Remember, each photograph is different that the last one, and will be different from the next one. Treat each scene and subject differently. Make adjustments according to what your vision of the final result is.

richarddacat said:

Thanks for all the input.
The below "mod" looks much better, thanks.

One thing that I'm after is a sharp crisp picture. Looking at the one below the top pedal or rather the outside edges are fuzzy. Now I did do a center weighted metering which may be the cause of this and I was using my 18-140 lens where my Micro 40mm may have been a better choice (probably a better lens too)?

As far as lighting goes I'll be using natural light in all of my shots outdoors unless the flash is needed, at least for now anyway.

Personally I would like to get a great shot without making in-camera post adjustments, surely that's possible or are we saying that most of the super shots I see on here have been "adjusted"? If so then that's something else I need to learn about.

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

That is called bokeh. People pay thousands of dollars for lenses that gives them that creamy soft out of focus bokeh goodness.
You got that bokeh because you shot your shot at aperture 4.5 from a fairly close distance. I would read up on what F/stop does and just basically the whole exposure triangle thing.

Camera Basics 101 The Exposure Triangle

You may want to bookmark this site. It is easy to follow and understand . Lots of tutorials on this site. One of my main go to sites if I don't understand something and need a simple explanation without all the technical mumbo jumbo that puts me to sleep half the time.

You really need to learn how to Post Process and shoot in RAW.

This is you shot with about 2 minutes of work.

I'd say...don't get too bogged down with trying to post process if you are new to photography in general. You may find it best to just shoot jpeg and concentrate on getting composition and lighting right. Study as many photographers as you can handle. Find what you like and try to emulate it. If you can get great composition you are halfway there. Get the technique right and the rest will come as a gradual process. If you try to do it all at once you'll probably get disenchanted as there is just TOO MUCH to learn in one hit.

Haven't had much time to study and play with post processing, well at least not with success. Some shots today with my Mirco lens.

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