I am very new to photography and mainly I focus on getting out to become more comfortable with my camera and different settings (Canon M-50). This picture came from this past Sunday when I was taking a walk in a local forest preserve. Picture details are EF-S 55-250mm@250, f/5.6 , 1/160 shutter speed with 400 ISO. (thinking ISO could of been higher allowing for faster shutter)
I obviously would of loved of to get the subject without a couple of the branches in the way but I was mainly focused on getting a good image to work with after a few I didn’t care for. Being new to photography means I am also new to Lightroom so I try to get adjustments simple so they don’t come across as over the top.
Feedback I am looking for is wide open, mostly from the beginner perspective meaning that anything extremely advance might be more hindering at this point. I became a member prepared for honest input as it is the only way to get better so thank you for any time you spend reviewing this.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
If you would like your image to be eligible for a feature on the NPN Instagram (@NaturePhotoNet), add the tag ‘ig’ and leave your Instagram username below.
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
Hey Douglas, welcome to this group. I’m new as well. Nice work on this image, but as you said, getting a view of the subject without branches/objects is key. A few pointers I can offer: I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the reciprocal rule but essentially you want your shutter speed to be the inverse of your focal length to avoid image blur…ie if you are zoomed out to 250mm then your shutter speed should be faster than 1/250sec. But remember your M50 is a crop sensor so your 250mm is actually more like a 400mm lens, so you’d need to be at least 1/400sec.
2nd.) wildlife photography is a huge challenge maybe go to a zoo or wildlife preserve to practice. 3rd.) shoot in RAW format so can develop a workflow with your images. RAW images have more data which you can manipulate but remember when importing them they will look bland. Sorry if I’ve insulted your intelligence in any way. The other aspect is just to study the different methods of composition and keep on practicing them. Have fun, good luck.
Thanks for the feedback! Definitely looks different from my phone versus my Surface Pro. I keep forgetting the inverse rule and while I know the crop concept I didn’t think I needed to include that in the inverse as well so that’s a great call out that I can take with me, thank you! I uploaded JPEG after editing the raw just a tad in Lightroom, not sure what the best format to upload is. Thanks again
You can not upload in RAW. Always have to export as a jpeg in order to post on the internet. When you edit RAW in Lr, the software doesn’t actually allow edits to the original RAW file, it creates a separate file of edits or a “recipe” that is applied to the RAW when exported. This is called non destructive editing. Bottom line is to keep shooting and practicing a workflow in Lr.
This is a good first post, especially for your level of experience. Your point of focus is right where it should be. You composition is also good, following the rule of thirds. Plus you have to love that face! Also, David gave you some good information.
