Camera Labs

I took 450 pictures, most of them were blurred, dull or boring so i got rid, i've choosen these pics for anyone who can give me any tips or help with.

I'm a begginer and this is my first trip i've ever taken my camera on.
I used my Nikon D60 with 18-55m lens.
I've not put any info with my pictures as they are all rubbish, i need help on how to taken better ones.

I dont like any of my pictures, the weather was dull and cloudy all the time and lighting was rubbish, i had to higher the exposure compensation(if thats right?) to make the pictures lighter and use a ISO of around 400. I used the P mode all the time.

All the pictures were taken handheld with the exception of two of the fairground rides.

Most of my pictures came out blurred at night as the P mode lengthened the shutter speed so i couldn't keep the camera still enough, and im not carrying a tripod around london!
Does anyone have any tips of getting good bright shots at night without a tripod?

Please give any tips you may have, thanks!


All these picture 1-14 are un-edited and un-cropped..

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Some of these pictures i've changed levels or brightness or cropped...

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Many thanks for any help anyone can give.

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Amateur, always learning!

My website:- www.neildavison.co.uk

I did a little editing on your bigben picture, but it turned out a little too dark I guess anyway:

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM | Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM | Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
...and a lot of lighting stuff. -> complete list of equipment

Website
Blog

overcast day? or foggy? or pollution?

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RadiantLite - Cameras and Lenses Comparison Reviews, buying guide, photo taking techniques and other tips
My Portfolio - Some photos from my work

I guess a mixture of all that

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Canon EOS 5D Mark II | Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM | Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM | Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
...and a lot of lighting stuff. -> complete list of equipment

Website
Blog

Hi Neil,

Try using shutter priority mode. Increase your ISO and your shutter speed and the camera will open the aperture of the lens in order to allow enough light in. Try to shoot at 1/focal length to guarantee sharp shots handheld (this is without image stabilisation). You could also try aperture priority and open the aperture/bump up the ISO to get the camera to chose shutter speed that you can hand hold successfully.

Good luck and if you've got any more questions don't hesitate to ask.

Mark

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Canon EOS 40D / EF-S 17-85mm IS / EF 50mm f/1.8 / My Flickr

Hi Neil,

To be honest, the number 5 is the only photo I like, and it's not perfect. The subject was out of focus. The rest of them are very snapshot like, I'm afraid.

I think the main problem in your pictures is that they lack a subject. Or there is a subject, but at the same time, there are too many distractions. You need to learn to isolate them to emphasize the subject.

There are many ways to do so, and the easiest way, in my opinion, is to use DOF (depth of field) control to get the things you don't want out of your way (ie: out of focus or blurred). In order to do so, you need to use the widest aperture and longest focal length possible. I would suggest you to add the Nikkor 50mm f1.8 to your purchase list and to learn using Aperture Priority mode instead of Program Auto mode. A faster lens (ie: wider aperture or smaller f number) will also help with nightshots without tripod as more lights are gathered for the same exposure time.

There are other ways to isolate things such as composition (you need to learn this one too. when you have time, try to shoot one object from different angles and focal lengths), contrast, motion, lighting etc etc.. but they often require you more time to think, and you may not have it while being a tourist. I guess that's why those pictures are called snapshots, and I take them too sometimes, although I tend to think more before taking the shot than my friends.

I hope you are not offended in any way and you find my advices helpful... Please feel free to ask us any questions.

Best Regards,
Tony

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GALLERY

To me many photos look nice in terms of subject and composition. I guess this is a matter of taste. Lack of dof in some of the photos is a consequence of an average lens you are using. If you were using a prime or more expensive higher end zoom lenses many of your shots would turn out better.
One thing I can suggest to impove some of the "boring" or blurry shots is to take them in better lighting. For landscapes, try taking night shots with long exposures to increase the contrast. For motion shots, increase shutter speed by upping ISO even at the expense of noise increase to freeze the action.
At last, learn some postprocessing - this is an immensely helpful tool of a modern photographer!

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Sony A200
Sony A700
Tamron 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II
Minolta AF 50 F1.7
Minolta AF 50 F2.8
FLICKR

I would think that some cropping is needed in some of the pics.
Try to add a bit more dynamism (different angles of shooting that is)

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Gear:Sony Alpha a350, Sony H9, Nikon FM-10
Gear:CZ85mm F/1.4 Planar, CZ24-70mm F/2.8 T* ssm, Sony 70-200mm G F/2.8 ssm, Sony 50mm F/2.8 macro, Nikkor 35-70mm