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Framing

IMG 1183 - Be real careful with this one. It looks a lot like plain old home-shot dad w/ a camera frame.

IMG 2556, 2546, 2599, & 2610 - There's some perpendicular-to-subject Abby Road album cover look to this. Again: Be careful.
The location looks fantastic, though! That slight curve in the column placement is quite interesting.

IMG 2635 - Nice. Quiet sunlit atmospheric effect.

Snowy Parking Lot - Very atmospheric. Reminds me of a scene from LET THE RIGHT ONE IN or LET ME IN.

The other two - Meh.
 
Overall, quite nice. I'm happy to see you starting from square 1. Way too many people just run out and press record. Walk before you run; learn and practice photography 101. You make me smile inside, Murdock.

One thing I think I should mention upfront -- you mentioned framing, but you didn't really use any. Except for maybe the one with the trespassing sign, sort of. This website explains the concept pretty nicely:

http://www.scrapjazz.com/topics/Photography/Lessons/579.php

That's fine. You don't have to use framing in every shot. I'd say most shots do not employ this technique. I'm just clarifying to make sure you know what it is, and so that you can use it in the future.

I see that you're implementing the rule of thirds. Nice. I practically live on that golden nugget of wisdom.

One general critique -- I see a lot of shots that are very face-forward. Or, as rayw more accurately describes as "perpendicular to subject". That doesn't mean those shots look bad. Some of them are quite nice. Nevertheless, I'd like to see more off-center angles. The way they are, they feel symetrical to me. That may be exactly what you want, sometimes, but personally, I prefer to keep most shot asymetrical.

The one with the tresspassing sign feels way off-balance to me. The sign completely dominates the image. If the message on the sign is critical information, then I would take the camera much farther back, and use a more telephoto lens to bring the subjects and the sign closer together, and to keep the sign from taking up so much of the image. If the message on the sign doesn't need to be seen, I would keep the same focal length, and bring the camera closer, to use the sign as a proper frame.

The one with the cute kid walking in the grass is too centered, in my opinion.

The one with the girl looking at the menu is interesting. To me, it feels like our subject (the girl) is being tugged at by the light. Feels balanced. I think I'd like it more, if the angles were a little off-center, like maybe if you took the photo from the off to the side of the table.

While we're talking about that picture, though, I do feel like I need to mention nose-room. Generally speaking, you gotta make sure your subject has plenty of nose-room (not just people, but even inanimate objects). Sometimes, it's terrific to cut off somebody's nose-room, but if you do it, it should definitely be done with a purpose.

My favorite is the Puerto Rican flag. If I were to nit-pick, however, I would either give us more sky or more ground (yes, I'm that much of a rule-of-thirds-nazi).

Good job, man. Keep working at it. You'll be ready for moving images in no time!
 
Also Cracker I have 2-3 of each shot and I beleive I have one of the sign that is framed the way you describe. I'll post it later when I get off work.
 
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For what it's worth I think IMG 2556 is screaming to be a time lapse video should you get a chance/desire. Would be a cool quick clip inside of a demo reel. Start a little high and slowly pan down. Of course it would take most of the day for the sun line to get from one side to the other but that is time lapse.
Framing? well a little to the right and the outer pillars would make a decent frame but I think you may/may not loose the curve.
 
Photography is where i started, it really helps when it comes to film, makes seeing the scene etc much easier. One tip that my tutor gave me in college is that when it comes to lighting, unless colour is essential, try and imagine everything in black and white as it helps you grasp where the light is going to be a lot easier. It might work for you, it might not.

As for the photos, they are all fairly average, i like the snow ones, the lights sort of frame the photo and the same with the sign. The woman at the table is nicely placed in the photo. The second lot of photos you put up are a massive improvement on the first lot, the shot of the fence is great.
 
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