Hi Emily,
Thanks for submitting your assignment to IPS.
Here is a quick look at the EXIF data on your photographs.
http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_0012.jpg
Date Time Original: 2015:03:19 17:40:17
Exposure Time: 1/4
F Number: f / 8
ISO Speed Ratings: 100
Metering Mode: CenterWeightedAverage
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 35.56mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: Canon
Model: Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 4000
Pixel Y Dimension: 3000
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 3
Maker Note: 734
User Comment: 3036
Date Time Digitized: 2015:03:19 17:40:17
Shutter Speed Value: 2
Aperture Value: 6
Max Aperture Value: 4.66
Focal Plane X Resolution: 16393.44
Focal Plane Y Resolution: 16393.44
Focal Plane Resolution Unit: 2
Sensing Method: One-chip color area sensor
File Source: DSC
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Exposure Mode: 1
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Scene Capture Type: Standard
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 3300
ExifIFDPointer: 240
Orientation: 1
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 180
Y Resolution: 180
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2015:03:19 17:40:17
Image Description:
http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_0017.jpg
Date Time Original: 2015:03:19 17:47:29
Exposure Time: 1/4
F Number: f / 8
ISO Speed Ratings: 100
Metering Mode: CenterWeightedAverage
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 7.95mm
White Balance: Manual white balance
Make: Canon
Model: Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 4000
Pixel Y Dimension: 3000
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 3
Maker Note: 734
User Comment: 3036
Date Time Digitized: 2015:03:19 17:47:29
Shutter Speed Value: 2
Aperture Value: 6
Max Aperture Value: 3.34
Focal Plane X Resolution: 16393.44
Focal Plane Y Resolution: 16393.44
Focal Plane Resolution Unit: 2
Sensing Method: One-chip color area sensor
File Source: DSC
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Exposure Mode: 1
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Scene Capture Type: Standard
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 3300
ExifIFDPointer: 240
Orientation: 1
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 180
Y Resolution: 180
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2015:03:19 17:47:29
Image Description:
Before I really get into the details of this I want to thank you for getting going on your photography journey at the Icon Photography School.
The course is self directed so there is no pressure but it’s up to you to keep up with your lessons. Nobody is going to ensure you’re working on your lessons. It’s up to you to follow through.
Now let’s get into these photographs. For one thing an Orchid does not exactly meet the criteria for a mundane object but that’s ok! You’ve probably seen it so many times you’ve gotten used to it.
The first and most important thing you’ve done here is to get closer to your subject:
This is absolutely essential for good photographs and is the simplest and most overlooked way to get better photographs.
When you get close it almost always results in photographs that are better because it makes you fill the frame.
Take a look at this article on this very subject.
There are a few small problems with these images that can easily be fixed.
In this scenario with the settings you’ve used it’s almost impossible to get sharp (in focus) images because the hole on the front of your camera was open for 1/4 of a second. That means that light was entering through your lens and hitting your camera’s sensor for 1/4 of a second and any motion was also captured during that time. This is an oversimplification but it just means your photos will be a bit blurry in this scenario.
It’s not clear if you set your camera manually or just used an automatic mode but whatever the case you would have needed to do a few things to fix this.
One thing would have been using a higher ISO.
ISO is just a fancy way of saying how sensitive your camera is.
The higher the number the more sensitive your camera is. Why does that matter? Well in this case it was a relatively dark environment and ISO 100 at 1/4 of a second is too slow.
Maybe ISO 400 would have been better. This would mean that your camera’s sensor was basically 4 times stronger and would therefore would be able to keep the hole on the front of your camera open for a much shorter period of time. In that way your photo would be less blurry.
Here is an article on that exact subject.
An alternative to higher ISO is using a flash.
And yet another alternative in this scenario would be using a tripod.
Another thing you could do to improve here is to avoid cutting off parts of your main subject. In this case a part of the flower is cut off in the lower part of the
Take a look at this article on that subject.
The bottom line is, if you’re going to cutoff parts of your main subject do it intentionally and with purpose.
I’m using overly simplistic terminology here but suffice it to say that you’re doing great and you will get better. Don’t worry if this feels confusing and the camera feels overwhelming.
You’ll get the hang of it with some work. It’s like anything, you would not expect to be a master at playing piano without practice. Photography is the same way.
Keep it up!