Tips, suggestions, criticism appreciated

[mfdrookie516]

Just getting started with photography. I had originally planned on a 60D, but they were out of stock, and I am very impatient. Changed it to a T3i. These shots were taken with a 100mm f/2.8 USM macro lens. Decided to ty out Picasa until I get photoshop. I didn't do anything major with these, just cropped them a bit. Any suggestions for a noob?

 

[mfdrookie516]

An afterthought. Does anyone turn off their pump/powerheads when taking pics? I had to set my shutter speed pretty fast to prevent any blurring, which in turn, forced me to use a higher ISO... I'm thinking that may have led to some grainy-ness. I'm still so new to this and just starting to figure out the settings, that maybe I'm wrong?

 

[Legion Aire]

The only tip I could give you is to practice/play a lot, photography is a hobby unto itself. I think PS is an excellent product.

Your pics are really beautiful.

Edit.

Yes, usually you turn off all pumps. I usually wait about five minutes or so. I use leds, and use the white balance option, to fix the color, otherwise it doesn't look like what it does in person.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I'll try turning off the pumps next time and see how that works. I appreciate the feedback

 

[mfdrookie516]

Here's another couple, just cropped down more than the first. The detail that the naked eye doesn't see is amazing. I think I'm still having some focusing issues. I'm going to try tomorrow with the flow off and see if that helps me out any.

 

[CJO]

Are you using a tripod? Your pictures look a bit soft.

CJ

 

[mfdrookie516]

No, I wasn't. But, my tripod came in today, so I will be from here on out. I was also shooting at f/2.8, which is why much of the coral is blurry. I didn't realize it until I cropped them.

 

[dgiglio3087]

Hey , your ISO is high , but for you to fix the problem you will definitely need to to use a tripod. Once you set your shutter speed down to 1" or more its impossible to to not get a blurred image, without using a tripod. Otherwise great shots. I have a question , what software did you use to put your name on your photos? Picasa?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Yeah, I used Picasa for everything. I think that turning the flow off and using a tripod has helped, but I'm still not getting what I'm after.

 

[dgiglio3087]

Great shots this time! Let me ask you , you said you have a canon right? Did it come with software called "digital photo professional"? Mine did, I know you were looking at buying photoshop, I use the DPP software and a program called pixelmator, although its a mac only software. Honestly , I have been using DPP for a while now and haven't needed anything else. A lot of the photoshop (the basic version for $99) features are the same ones that you get online for free, or in DPP. Are you shooting in raw?

Also are far as "not getting what your after" goes believe it or not photography does take skill. I always thought if I bought a good enough camera, my photos would be Just as good as the ones I see in the magazines, now I know that's not true. It takes time to get good. Just keep shooting you'll get there.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Thanks for the feedback. I thought this thread was dead and gone. I have photoshop now... using it is a different story. I've got DPP installed, just haven't played around with it yet. More practice is definitely in my future. I take some pictures every night to build on what I found the last time.

Here are some pics I took night before last that I feel like are a big improvement-