Hi there,
Thank you for submitting your assignment. There was a delay in getting to this because work was being done on the website.
First lets take a look at the EXIF data of these images. (don’t worry about all of this for now, this is just for reference)
Before.jpg
Date Time Original: 2013:01:20 21:40:51
Exposure Time: 1/50
F Number: f / 5.60
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
ISO Speed Ratings: 6400
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 40mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 550D
LensModel: EF-S18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 5184
Pixel Y Dimension: 3456
Maker Note: 814
User Comment: 8332
Date Time Digitized: 2013:01:20 21:40:51
Subsec Time: 00
Subsec Time Original: 00
Subsec Time Digitized: 00
Shutter Speed Value: 5.63
Aperture Value: 5
Focal Plane X Resolution: 5728.18
Focal Plane Y Resolution: 5808.40
Focal Plane Resolution Unit: 2
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Scene Capture Type: Standard
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 8596
ExifIFDPointer: 348
Orientation: 8
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 72
Y Resolution: 72
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2013:01:20 21:40:51
After.jpg
Date Time Original: 2013:01:20 21:46:10
Exposure Time: 1/50
F Number: f / 5.60
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
ISO Speed Ratings: 6400
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 155mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 550D
LensModel: EF-S18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 5184
Pixel Y Dimension: 3456
Maker Note: 814
User Comment: 8332
Date Time Digitized: 2013:01:20 21:46:10
Subsec Time: 17
Subsec Time Original: 17
Subsec Time Digitized: 17
Shutter Speed Value: 5.63
Aperture Value: 5
Exposure Bias: -0.33
Focal Plane X Resolution: 5728.18
Focal Plane Y Resolution: 5808.40
Focal Plane Resolution Unit: 2
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Scene Capture Type: Standard
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 8596
ExifIFDPointer: 348
Orientation: 1
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 72
Y Resolution: 72
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2013:01:20 21:46:10
That whole mess of information is not super important at this stage. It just shows what settings the camera was using when you made these images.
The first thing I would like to note is that you have achieved what the assignment asked of you. That is you’ve made something boring more interesting using your camera. So that’s really fantastic.
You’ve managed to get really close and you’ve composed the image in an interesting way.
Let’s take a closer look at the images now.
You might notice that when you look at the photos closely they look a bit noisy/murky. This is because you had your camera on Aperture priority mode on the same settings for both photographs. In this case with an ISO of 6400. The ISO is one of the easiest things to understand. Assuming all else is equal a higher ISO number just means your camera is more sensitive and a lower number means it’s less so. Why would you want your camera to be more sensitive? When it’s dark you’d want your camera to be more sensitive so it can see more. And the reverse is true when it’s bright you don’t need it to be as sensitive.
There is a tradeoff here. The higher the ISO the more noise you get. If you look at either of these photographs at 100% you’ll see they look kind of like sand. This is because you ISO was 6400 (very high).
Either you had set your ISO that high or your camera did it for you.
A workaround here would be to use a tripod and shoot at your lowest ISO given the subject matter is not moving.
Don’t worry as you learn more and practice more all of this well make more sense. For now just understand that getting close to your subject almost always makes your images better and that super high ISO means a really sensitive camera and lots of noise in your images.
You’ve done quite well here.
I would encourage you to play with your camera’s settings a little bit. Take photos of the same thing at different ISOs and you’ll see how it can impact your images.
Also remember that anything worth doing (like learning photography) takes practice. Olympians don’t become olympians just by buying the right equipment nor do great painters become great painters by buying a nice brush and canvas. It takes hard work and practice to become a good photographer.
If you ever have any questions or concerns you can always reply to these critiques or email office@photographyicon.com
Good job and see you on the next assignment!!!
Thank you