I'm brand new to editing. Also quite new to photography, any criticism is welcome. I want to improve but my equipment is limited. Any practical tips would be very helpful.


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4.

They all are too dark aside from the main subject is the biggest thing I noticed right off that bat.

Also they all have a ton of noise in those shadows which make me think they were even more underexposed to start then the exposure was cranked in post.

How are you editing them? The contrast curve looks wrong.
Start with B/W, get the contrast curve and brightness right, then add color.
What cam are you shooting with? If it's a Canon, I can help.

Posted by blackhawk How are you editing them? The contrast curve looks wrong. Start with B/W, get the contrast curve and brightness right, then add color. What cam are you shooting with? If it's a Canon, I can help.

Never done this, this sounds like a good technique.

The first thing I notice in 1, 2, and 4 is composition. In 1 you've cut off the bottom of the shopping cart, in 2 the dark space is a distraction from the 'dazed and confused' on the wall, and in 4 again cut off the bottom of the machine. Also the angled lines don't really work for the shots also.

The strongest of the set is 3, nice clear framing, excellent use of rule of thirds. However you are getting some distortion along the edges.

And finally turn down the clarity and sharpening, the images are way too crispy. Also turn down the saturation/vibrancy as well.

Clarity & saturation are too high, especially on the reds.

Also, get a tripod if you don't have one, leave ya camera on iso100 and just adjust the shutter speed/aperture as they're a bit noisy.

Posted by Vicinity Also, get a tripod if you don't have one, leave ya camera on iso100 and just adjust the shutter speed/aperture as they're a bit noisy.

A tripod is always a great idea. But these days many modern cameras have great high-iso performance. I've turned my a6000 up to ISO-3200 in some cases and gotten fantastic results!

Thank you for all the responses. I'm using a pretty entry level camera (D3100). I had the settings on auto. Would you recommend using the command dial to adjust the ISO until I get the desired brightness? How would you have framed the Muncher in #4? This advice is really helpful!! Thanks!

Posted by Beeblebrox Thank you for all the responses. I'm using a pretty entry level camera (D3100). I had the settings on auto. Would you recommend using the command dial to adjust the ISO until I get the desired brightness?

Actually you should set your camera to Manual mode, leave the ISO to 100 or 200, then adjust the aperture and shutter speed until the exposure is where you want it.

Posted by Beeblebrox How would you have framed the Muncher in #4?

Take two steps back, wait for the a-ha.

Posted by Axle Actually you should set your camera to Manual mode, leave the ISO to 100 or 200, then adjust the aperture and shutter speed until the exposure is where you want it.

In low light, full manual and shooting RAW is the way to go.