Camera Labs

Hi All,

I recently went to Whipsnade zoo, with my Canon 450D, and just snapped away.

It was a very enjoyable days photography, and great fun getting back to see what pics are good, and what they look like on a High Res screen.

Which ones do you like, and dislike?

Any feedback on how I can improve my photography, is really appreciated, be as nice or as rude as you like ..


Thanks again

No one have any feedback?

Nice shots, looks like you had fun. It looks like you where shooting when the sunlight was pretty harsh. It's hard to get the exposure right when the light is harsh like this. You may want to try spot metering next time, if the animal isn't moving sometimes I will take a picture with several different settings then see what works best back home on the computer. I'm still learning myself so that's just a suggestion. Also take some time and read the sticky at the top, a guide to wildlife photography, popo included some information on zoos a few posts down.

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Rebel T2I, Tamron 17-50 2.8, EF 70-300 f4-5.6, 50mm f 1.8

flickr

I like all the photos except number 5 (the framing looks a bit wrong).

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

James,

Yes I agree the framing is wrong, I had a large clump of grass, which was distracting to the eye, thats why I heavily cropped it.

Ritchie

Nice set, I agree with Kev on the harsh light, perhaps try experimenting with EV in similar lighting conditions. Not to sure if you PP'd the lion's etc. the grass looks unnatural green to me.

Shooting flying birds can be difficult and I'm happy to just get one in the frame and not worry about composition.

Cheers

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

4xxxx,

I did a slight PP on all of the photos.

I dont understand the harsh light feedback comment.

What photos looks the worst?

Thanks again.

I think they are referring mainly to your female lion pic. The sky is white. I believe if you play around with your shutter speed and F number the sky would be blue/clouds. I believe if you kept your shutter speed the same and increased your F number to the 8 - 10 range the harshness would be less.

Also maybe a polarizer?

I love the owl pic ! he looks like a cartoon character with that exaggerated walk.

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Canon 60D
EF-S 15 - 85 IS USM
EF 70 - 300 IS
EF 50 1.4
EF 100 - 400L

Hey Rich, The harsh light I'm referring to is when the sun is high in the sky. The light gets harsh and blows out details, skies, ext. I've had the same problem a lot! What editing program do you have? you can bring back some of the lost color and depth.


Let me know if you want me to take this down.

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Rebel T2I, Tamron 17-50 2.8, EF 70-300 f4-5.6, 50mm f 1.8

flickr

Kev,

Sorry for the delayed response.

Thanks for your feedback, since posting this set, I have taken a lot more photos, and have taken on board comments that people have made.

I use Lightroom and Photoshop .

Its ok, you can leave the photo up, its not a problemo..

Regards

mscott,

It seems like the Owl is everybodys fav photo.

Thanks for the feedback

Regards

Are you shooting with a lens hood? I ask because your images seem a bit washed out. Also the last is the best, though the image of the two elephants is quite nice as well.

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Canon 50D
Canon 580 EX II, 430 EX II
Canon 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5
Canon 50mm F/1.8
Canon 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6
'Cannon' 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6

Swatpup32,

I dont use a lens hood, do you think its important to use one?

@ RV

Could you post the exif data from the lion/lioness and hawk pics?

I use a lenshood all the time,if I don't sometimes I'll get lens flare and sometimes but not often will get it anyway.
Do you use any UV filters?
I have a UV neutral on mine,mostly for protection of the lens face as it is alot less expensive than a new lens but it also cuts down on the haze in open spaces some.

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Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

Yeah like kpr said lens hoods help with glares and flares, but it also helps add a little bit of contrast to your images. Lastly, lens hoods give some protection to the front element of your lenses from dings and scratches.

Canon only ships lens hoods with 'L' lenses ;( Which is probably why you get the impression you don't need one (Which you don't to some degree). If you do buy one save a few dollars and get a third-party, the official canon lens hoods are overpriced (like so many things in the world of photography). In mean time you could try printing out a lens hood.
http://www.lenshoods.co.uk/

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Canon 50D
Canon 580 EX II, 430 EX II
Canon 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5
Canon 50mm F/1.8
Canon 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6
'Cannon' 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6