I would appreciate your opinions on my pictures today I purchased a Nikon D3100 I've never owned a dslr before so would appreciate feedback and tips on how I can improve my photography skills

Car pictures which I will be photographing a lot so need BIG tips on this

Please excuse my dirty car

Photos of my dog

Randoms

Welcome to Team Nikon Tas.

You'll learn an awful lot by experimenting to get a desired effect but I'll also add a few observations about the photos you've submitted.

Try not to get the flash reflecting back into the camera by either setting it to 'no flash' or upping the ISO or extending the shutter speed.

NEVER EVER take photo of a dirty car especially if it has one of Bens stickers showing on it.

Don't let yourself be 'captured' in the car's reflection and maybe think about using a polarising filter to also remove the reflection of the sky.

Use a photo editor to edit numberplates!

Other than that, keep up the good work and we'll look forward to seeing more of your efforts,

With the first, third and fourth, I'd have moved the car across the driveway a bit, to block out the expanse of yellow garage door

And that isn't just a dirty, it's pure unadulterated filth

I would appreciate your opinions on my pictures today I purchased a Nikon D3100 I've never owned a dslr before so would appreciate feedback and tips on how I can improve my photography skillsCar pictures which I will be photographing a lot so need BIG tips on thisPlease excuse my dirty car

If you want to take piccies of your car, buy a polarising filter. When you fit it to your lens you will see what a difference it makes to how your car looks by reducing reflections.

As far as tips go, take loads of photos and see what you like. Buy a basic book to learn a little bit about what your camera does automatically and how you can override some functions to get different results, like adjusting the exposure to increase or decrease your depth of field.

It's a massive subject and it would take hours to explain, but hey! It's digital and you just delete what isn't up to scratch. Don't expect every shot to be a masterpiece. Professionals may shoot hundreds of pictures to get the shot they want. The main thing is, enjoy it.

like adjusting the exposure to increase or decrease your depth of field.

Did you mean aperture?

It's a massive subject and it would take hours to explain, but hey! It's digital and you just delete what isn't up to scratch. Don't expect every shot to be a masterpiece. Professionals may shoot hundreds of pictures to get the shot they want. The main thing is, enjoy it.

That's one of the best suggestions i would give a budding photographer. When i went to the beyond limits art exhibition at Chatsworth last year i took over 300-400 images to get the 30-odd i ended up keeping.

Another one is don't be afraid to look through places like Flickr to get ideas on things to shoot. Someone else's shot might give you an idea for something similar you can get yourself. When you're out with the camera always look around you and if something catches your eye take some shots..... It could be a pattern or a row of objects etc.. that stand out a little.

Also don't be afraid to crop when your processing the image on the PC. Some images i've done were actually around a third of the original image and sometimes even less.

Here's a couple of older ones of mine i took whilst wandering around Sheffield city centre with the camera.... Just things that stood out.....

Angles Angles Everywhere by WaveyDavey13, on Flickr

Lonely Walk by WaveyDavey13, on Flickr

Cheers

Dave.

Edited 2 March, 201115 yr by WaveyDavey

Did you mean aperture?

No, because altering the aperture will require a corresponding change to the shutter speed to achieve the same exposure value to increase the depth of field or if a faster shutter speed is required, the aperture will need to be changed for the EV to remain the same, narrowing the DoF.

No, because altering the aperture will require a corresponding change to the shutter speed to achieve the same exposure value to increase the depth of field or if a faster shutter speed is required, the aperture will need to be changed for the EV to remain the same, narrowing the DoF.

Every book and magazine i've read tells you to use Aperture Priority mode when wanting to adjust the DOF... yes the shutter speed may be adjusted too but Aperture Priority is an easier way to ascertain what DOF you'll get than working in Shutter Priority mode.

CLICKY

or

CLICKY

or

CLICKY

Cheers

Dave.

Edited 2 March, 201115 yr by WaveyDavey

Every book and magazine i've read tells you to use Aperture Priority mode when wanting to adjust the DOF... yes the shutter speed may be adjusted too but Aperture Priority is an easier way to ascertain what DOF you'll get than working in Shutter Priority mode. CLICKYorCLICKYorCLICKYCheersDave.

Yes, you're right, but adjusting the aperture to achieve the required effect, will alter the shutter speed proportionately to keep the exposure value the same.

Conversely, if you want to take shots of moving subjects and use shutter priority, the faster the shutter speed, the wider the aperture and the shallower the depth of field.

As I said in my original post, photography is a huge subject and cannot really be discussed in a Forum such as this. At the end of the day, making it sound too complicated will put off a newcomer to photography and that is not what I would want to do.

I would recommend reading a few books, using the camera and to learn by mistakes that are made. The big advantage now with digital, is that mistakes don't cost a fortune as they used to do with roll film and processing prices.

I learned my craft when I worked in a studio in the West End of London, as an assistant photographer just after I left school in the 70's, working with half-plate and 5x4 plate cameras and using medium format, too. Getting the right exposure was vital whilst using transparency film, as the latitude for errors was small and there was no Photoshop to correct any mistakes that were made in one-off photo-shoots.

I'm only a keen amateur, but I've always worked on the basis, for stationary subjects, large aperture = shallow depth of field, small aperture = greater depth of field

I'll work on shutter priority for moving subjects dependant upon the amount of movement I prefer in the final image