In article , Richard Bornstein
writes
Hi: I shot the following pictures with a Kodak LS753 camera. Your comments
are appreciated.

I hope it works, and doesn't just connect to a webshots blank page.

http://community.webshots.com/album/480100938UxNJpP

If that doesn't work, perhaps this will:
http://cards.webshots.com/invite/pic...80100938UxNJpP
(just click on 'no thanks').

My wife says that i can sell some of my pictures, but in my opinion they
are nice, but there is alot of wonderful professionals out that there that
can beat these.

I tried posting the link before but it didn't work and reposted a corrected
link but it didn't seem to ever appear. Trying again. Hope it works.


Richard,

At the risk of repeating some of the comments of others, I don't think
you could sell any of these pictures, but you do show the signs of
having a good eye. With some changes and experience you would improve
very much. Don't think of this as discouraging, many people seem to be
unable to frame a picture at any price.

In detail:

1 I noticed quite a few pictures which showed camera shake. This is a
very common fault, caused by (a) using too slow a shutter speed; (b) not
learning how to brace the camera while releasing the shutter; (c)
stabbing the shutter too vigorously. Small P&S cameras are probably the
hardest to handle here; they are very light (thus no inertia to resist
impulse) and often offer no way of controlling the shutter speed in use.

2 Again, quite a few photos showed exposure errors, mostly
over-exposure. Learn to read the LCD screen immediately after the shot,
and be prepared to delete and repeat if necessary. If the LCD review is
not very good, be prepared to bracket and do the selection at home
later. Also, if you are still not happy with the exposure of the only or
best shot, learn how to tweak it in an image editing program later. One
or two of the shots (Fall River Falls and 100-0940 spring to mind - I
have an oil painting above my computer very similar to the latter) would
look good on the wall with the correct exposure. If you want to become
serious, get a good book on exposure (it doesn't matter if it covers
film, most of the principles are the same).

3 The flower shots show potential, but some had focus errors, and most
of them had too much depth of field. Again, I suspect this is partly
because of the equipment you used. A P&S with a tiny sensor will tend to
have a very great DoF because of the small focal length of the lens, and
even wide open may not give ideal results. Also, your P&S may not allow
you to control aperture easily. Using a 35mm film camera or a DSLR with
an APS-C or larger sensor will allow you to throw the background out of
focus and produce a much better result.

4 And, yes, it has to be said that there are a lot of very dull shots
there. Lots of hazy hills and empty roads among many others. Now please
don't think I'm being snooty here; I just got back from a 5-day trip
with several hundred pictures, and the percentage of awfully dull
"seemed like a good idea at the time" or "it means something to me as a
memento" shots is not that different from yours. However, I would not
show them to anyone outside the family (and them only for the content,
as it were). Learn to be selective in what you show to others. If a
picture does not stick in your mind for quite a time, how do you expect
others to be wowed by it?

Here is what I would suggest you do at this stage:

(A) Chuck any images which are noticeably unsharp; sharpening can help
with a little softness from AA filters in digital cameras but cannot
retrieve pictures with camera shake or material focus errors. Also chuck
any with major exposure errors.

(B) Then put aside about half the pictures which just don't look
interesting.

(C) Any which look interesting but have slight exposure errors should be
tweaked. A good book on the image editor of your choice will explain
this, or come back later and ask.

(D) Then select the ones - probably at most 10% of the total - which
really catch your eye. Remove any blemishes, re-size if necessary for
the final output and apply a little unsharp mask if necessary (your P&S
probably over-sharpens in camera; a DSLR will almost certainly need some
USM as they mostly do little in-camera sharpening).

(E) Show prints of these to a dispassionate audience (i.e. preferably
not your wife) and see what they say. Some will receive praise, some
will get brickbats; many of these will surprise you, but gradually some
of the feedback will make sense.

(F) If there are camera clubs in your locality, consider joining one and
entering their competitions and exhibitions. However, you often find a
very stifling, old fashioned view of what makes a good picture.

(G) Repeat the above until you see that your equipment is holding you
back. Buy a DSLR. And lenses. And a tripod ....

(H) Repeat until you realise that you are producing stuff which is (in
the small percentage which sees the light of day) good enough to stand
open comparison with the work of others you admire.

(I) Realise (at least in my case!) that selling photos is just too
frustrating, and that there are other ways of making a lot more money
which leaves you time to please yourself!

YMMV

Hope you find this helpful, do come back with any specific issues.

David
--
David Littlewood