Re: Re: Lesson 1

#21272
Duncan Rawlinson
Keymaster

Hi there,

Thank you for enrolling in the course and submitting your first assignment! Don’t forget to follow on Twitter and add yourself the IPS student newsletter.

I’m not sure what time zone you are in but you can expect your images to be critiqued within 24-48 hours during business hours mon-fri in EST.

Here is the EXIF data for your images.

[attachment=1:26308100]After shot EXIF.png[/attachment:26308100]
Date Time Original: 2013:06:07 20:27:10
Exposure Time: 1/179
F Number: f / 4.20
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
ISO Speed Ratings: 800
Metering Mode: Spot
Flash: Flash did not fire
Focal Length: 35mm
White Balance: Auto white balance
Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D200
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 2592
Pixel Y Dimension: 3872
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 4
Maker Note: 4952
User Comment:
Date Time Digitized: 2013:06:07 20:27:10
Subsec Time: 65
Subsec Time Original: 65
Subsec Time Digitized: 65
Exposure Bias: 0.67
Max Aperture Value: 4.10
Light Source: Unknown
Sensing Method: One-chip color area sensor
File Source: DSC
Scene Type: Directly photographed
CFA Pattern: 30528
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 52mm
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Gain Control: Low gain up
Contrast: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Subject Distance Range: Unknown
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 30496
ExifIFDPointer: 2294
GPSInfoIFDPointer: 30546
Orientation: 1
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 300
Y Resolution: 300
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2013:06:07 21:21:41
Software: Ver.2.00

[attachment=0:26308100]Before shot EXIF.png[/attachment:26308100]
Date Time Original: 2013:06:07 20:28:43
Exposure Time: 1/4
F Number: f / 5
Exposure Program: Normal program
ISO Speed Ratings: 800
Metering Mode: Spot
Flash: Flash fired, red-eye reduction mode, return light not detected
Focal Length: 35mm
White Balance: Auto white balance
Make: NIKON CORPORATION
Model: NIKON D200
Exif Version:
Flashpix Version:
Color Space: 1
Pixel X Dimension: 2592
Pixel Y Dimension: 3872
CompressedBitsPerPixel: 4
Maker Note: 4952
User Comment:
Date Time Digitized: 2013:06:07 20:28:43
Subsec Time: 00
Subsec Time Original: 00
Subsec Time Digitized: 00
Exposure Bias: 0.67
Max Aperture Value: 4.10
Light Source: Unknown
Sensing Method: One-chip color area sensor
File Source: DSC
Scene Type: Directly photographed
CFA Pattern: 30436
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Digital Zoom Ration: 1
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 52mm
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Gain Control: Low gain up
Contrast: Normal
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Subject Distance Range: Unknown
InteroperabilityIFDPointer: 30404
ExifIFDPointer: 2294
GPSInfoIFDPointer: 30454
Orientation: 1
YCbCr Positioning: 2
X Resolution: 300
Y Resolution: 300
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2013:06:07 21:21:52
Software: Ver.2.00

The first thing you’ve done here is submit your very first photo, so that’s great! Good for you! 😉

In terms of your photos there are a couple things that I noticed right away. For one you have taken the time to setup and even “light” you image. This is great because you’re playing and learning at the same time. Your instincts are good because you have got close to your subject and you have composed the image in an interesting what. What’s more you have also used shallow depth of field to highlight the most interesting part of your image.

All of this is great although as you can tell by looking at the histogram of the after image, it’s quite heavily slanted to the left. This is because the image is mostly dominated by the dark tones in the image. This isn’t necessarily bad but it gives you a chance to compare with the previous image. Notice how in your “before” image the hisogram is much more spread out and evenly distributed.

Whatever the case, you have certainly made your after image more interesting. This is a key lesson because if all you do is take an extra moment and think about how to make your images more interesting you will already be ahead of the game. Over time you will develop a series of questions you ask yourself when you are taking photos. “what can I do to make this image more interesting” will be one of them. Just like, “how is my composition” or “is my shutter speed fast enough”. This list of questions will become almost automatic the more you shoot and the more you practice.

Nice job here!

See you on the next one.