Hi. I am new to photography and would like to improve my skills. Please help me out with any tips to make these pictures look better. oh and i dont have or know how to use photoshop.. so i cant work on the pictures using photoshop. Just went for a drive up the back mountain.. and thr moving shots were taken in a big empty parking lot under 5mph (cant afford a rig so used my really ghetto way with my tripod sticking out of my hatch. Thanks.

 

oh btw, im using the nikon d40 with the lens kit it came with. 18-55 i think?

 

i dunno eric.. you could try reading the stickies at the top of this subforum.

 

yes i did. but it doesnt specifically teach me what i need to improve on. and damn, i dont understand half the vocabulary..

 

I am not really one who post-processes images but I will try a few things and let you know..might be SOL on the car pics though...unless I know what you were trying to do when you took them...

 

^? whats "SOL"?

 

oh and i meant "better" as in better at taking pictures. lol like some people on here that take really clean/wet looking shots. ctwenty to name 1.. i think thats his user name?

 

Looking at the city shots it looks like it's pretty foggy there and with those yellow lights and long exposure you will always get that ugly hazy orange look. Best way to enhance is in post production or photoshop. Best way to get the wet black look is to go to that same spot on a crystal clear night, that way you don't get the orange haze.

 

"Short on Luck" or as some also call it, "**** outta luck".

As for input, your struggle will be the same as that of all new photographers; lighting and composition. Lighting is a phenomenally deep topic and hundreds of books have been written on it, but the gist is, learn to use the camera without any of its auto settings. Not saying that you don't need them, but learning the basics of shutter speed and aperture control is paramount to becoming a good photographer in any given light or motion scenario. Once you understand that, learning the concept of "tint" and how to eradicate it or use to your advantage will come in second (notice the green in your in-motion pic above?) and the will follow.

As for composition, that varies greatly with every pic opp. My first advice would be to lookup the concept of "rule of thirds"; I firmly believe that is the first thing any new photographer should learn. Once you learn it, you will get to learn when it is acceptable to break it.

Finally, be prepared to read, read, read. I would recommend buying a few good books on photography principles ("Shoot!" is a good one) and reading them cover to cover.

 

thanks! i will start the reading and studying. and by the way. the shots i posted werent shot in manual mode. more like AP wide open and shutter speed at 25seconds?