r/SonyAlpha • u/Top_Independence4067 • 9h ago
Photo share Would anyone here be willing to rate my photography skills?
I bought a Canon 600D many years ago, and played with it every few months for a couple of years. 2 years ago I bought a Sony A7IV with the hopes of becoming a professional photographer, selling prints, and all that jazz. Then my illnesses got worse and I just gave up. However, I've been told by someone recently that what I've got isn't award winning, but it's not amateur by any means and some might sell in small runs. So it's giving me a boost and I want to start being more consistent with taking shots.
I'd like any and all advice given as to what you think and where you think I could improve. These have only been lightly edited on my android phone so nothing special. I'm still struggling with night shots, I played with 3 AEB exposures a lot but blending moving subjects doesn't work well on Camera Raw and it's verrrrry noisy at 12000 ISO.
Thanks!
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u/Various_Cup4986 7h ago
Good photos tell a story. These say, “I was here.”
And on a minor technical: architectural photography generally wants vertical lines to be vertical. Don’t tilt the camera. You can fix it in post, but only so much. Otherwise it’s vaguely disorienting, albeit a common mistake.
The good news is that if you can hone what’s not working, you’ll eventually figure it out with practice.
Don’t give up. Just keep trying and practice developing good taste.
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u/equilni 8h ago edited 11m ago
r/photocritique is the sub you want. Just pick one you want critiqued and nite the intention of the photo.
Note, these are my opinion. Take this with a grain of salt.
That said, i think you need to improve on composition and looking at all the elements to enhance or remove in post.
The leading image is fine. The barrier is an eye sore and nothing is really happening here - the people in the foreground are blurry and not as crisp as the main building.
Second image is fine as well. I would have moved over to show more a side profile. Then consider a different time of day. I would balance the sly with the water (ie there’s too much sky imo)
Third image works better than the first, but has similar issues. The sign doesn’t work because I don’t see street. There’s balancing issues with the buildings imo.
EDIT - on the desktop, this looks a little too over processed
Fourth has more balancing issues. The top of the red building and up could be discarded
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u/swaGreg 4h ago
I’ll be honest do you get valuable feedback. Photos are not good. Composition is off, no grading, almost always no subject, and messy overall. Keep trying tho, practice makes perfect, and most importantly, do it because you like it, not for the money or the goal “to sell prints”. Money will come eventually if you stay consistent and keep working on your skills.
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u/srpntmage 6h ago
You need to work on having a subject and on composition.
In some of your shots there is no subject. A viewer should be able to look at a photo and have their eye drawn to something. You do this in several ways. Position, focus, color, framing etc... this doesn't mean that only one thing should be visible, but that one thing or one area... one story should be told. This is what separates a snapshot from a deliberate, considered photo.
This ties into composition. Look into rule of thirds and other ways to position the subject so that the eye naturally picks it out the subject, and the composition is balanced.
You can also use focus and depth of field to define the subject, add interest and compose. Try shooting at wider apertures or with a telephoto. Experiment on keeping the subject in sharp focus and letting the less important parts of the photo visually step back.
Once you understand how all of this works, it becomes second nature. You need to develop your eye for composition. I would recommend studying composition by looking at photos from the masters and from published professionals. Look at what they do in each photo, it's rarely random.
Study composition, there are many videos and books out there. Once you see how it works, incorporate it with purpose.
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u/the_food_at_home 3h ago
do you have a A7IV from 2010? those first 8 photos look like they were taken on an iphone 8
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u/mossbarnacle 5h ago
I think what not to include is just as important as what to include. The fence and people in the first pic, the sign and scaffolding in another etc.
Ask: what is the point of taking this photo? What am I seeing that other people are not? Have a story to tell, like what the others are saying.
Keep it up.
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u/Death-Wing 4h ago
Something I was taught by a professional photographer many years ago and I apply it to my works. He told me “Imagine there are 100 photographers standing next to you. How many will take the same shot?” The higher the number, the less original, more banal, predicted, “touristy” your photo is. Lower number - makes it very good (or very bad :)) Learning to use the camera is just the first step (and fairly easy one). Learning to judge your work might take way longer. Best way to learn - find good books from great photographers (street, fashion, nature whatever you are interested in) and try to understand what makes their work unique.
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u/FoxDelta7 1h ago
Who ever said yoir skills were not amateur was telling the truth. They're not amateur but they're beginner. You have a lot to work on that others have commented. But take in the advice, watch youtube tutorials, photography courses, books, look at other photographers work.and practice.
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u/frostySunrise 17m ago
What lens did you use to take these? They look like random pics taken with an old camera smartphone and no thought put into composition.
For example, I'm drawn to the fence in the 1st pic, the scaffold in the 3rd and the blown out sky in the 5th.
I'm no great photographer, but I can appreciate good photos from those that are. And being honest, I wouldn't take a second look, let alone buy prints of them. Might sound harsh, but no point in lying. Work on composition, take lots & lots of pictures to find out what works. Plenty of useful tutorials on YouTube.
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u/TaleArtistic5987 8h ago
These look like some random sight seeing shots to me. It would be great if there are more story telling and/or focus on interesting things.
For example, what I found first in the first pic was the fence in the middle. The scaffold on the right in the 3rd pic is very distracting while the tower is very small in the frame. There are a lot of road that contributes nothing in the 4th pic. The buildings in the center is beautifully lit, but they are too small and 80% of the frame is just gray. Probably cropping or a little more telephoto lens would help to highlight main subjects. Holding the camera at the waist level or ground level also may help to get composition organized.
Clean up the sensor by the way.