Hi Guys,

I'm fairly new on the digital photography scene and would very much appreciate your comments and help on how I can improve on my craft.

Photo of Rosaries for Sale at Church Patio (Rosaries were hung under an umbrella. Shot taken 12:00 noon)
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m122/nathan_andaya/IMG_7380.jpg


Photo of Amulets in the same Church Patio with same conditions
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m122/nathan_andaya/IMG_7379.jpg

Photo of Colorful Rosaries; same conditions
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m122/nathan_andaya/IMG_7375.jpg

Photo of Altar; Indoor Shot 12:00noon, No Flash
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m122/nathan_andaya/IMG_7373.jpg

Photo of Candle Bouquet; Low Light Shutter opened 5 seconds.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m122/nathan_andaya/IMG_7269.jpg

Group Wedding Picture Low Light; Flash 430EX; continuous shooting 3fps (this is the second frame)
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m122/nathan_andaya/IMG_7257.jpg

Would appreciate all your comments and help.

Thanks in advance.

Nathan, all of the shots look soft to me. Maybe you should apply some sharpening. About the first photo, the camera must have focused on the beads at right, which are not your main subject. The crosses really look soft. As an aside, I think you should get rid of the beads, which distract your subject. Also, consider black and white.

The second photo also contains elements that should not be there, like the prayer beads in front.

The pattern created by the rosaries looks good, and very colorful too. I would crop it to get rid of the overexposed rosaries at far left.

Consider a vertical orientation for the idol so you wouldn't have to crop the leg. If you need to include the columns, shoot wide but try tilting your camera down a bit so as not to cut the cross and the icon.

About the fifth photo, the light in the background doesn't look like it's coming from a candle (or should it be?). Maybe you should have zoomed out a bit to give your flowers context. An alternative would be to get rid of the light totally.

I really like the colors of the rosaries and I think you have an eye for detail.

P.S.
You should put this in the wedding or photo critique forum, where I'm sure you'll get pieces of advice from experienced wedding photographers.

Regards,
Norman

I agree with norman, USM should help. And for the photo of the beads, try playing around with saturation. :)

Hi Norman and Fidel.

Thank you very much. Will try to apply what you have suggested.

Will appreciate more comments from the others.

Thanks in advance.

Norman and Fidel pretty much covered the essentials.

Generally, it would be better to not put too many elements in one image as it is too distracting specially if there is no clear focus to draw the viewer to your intended subject.

If you have structures like the columns in the cross photo, be aware of vertical convergence. Just try to get your lines straight.

Just keep on shooting and experiment. Most of us learn from trial and error.

Hi Kuya Nathan!

Yung sa rosary sana mas maliwanag pa ng kaunti, kasi napansin ko may shadow, ok yung composition at choice of subject add mo yung color, panalo talaga, medyo nadiliman lang po ako, ok sana kung mas maliwanag ang lighting or mas buhay ang kulay.

Yun pong sa wedding shot ok yung idea, pero tulad po ng mga dating comment sa mga unang pag shoot ko, yung flash mas maganda kung hindi masyado harsh.

Yun lang po!

Shoot tayo minsan ni Kuya Levi at ni Doc A!

well, there goes the great words from the experienced eyes...i would say saturation would give a more interesting image, dynamic and simple composition would catch attention to viewers. the first image is nice, i would suggest to focus on the single subject to create a selective focus to the whole frame.