Advice needed!

[andreadyan]

Hi everyone,

My name is Andrea and I'm 13 years old. I'm fairly new to Pbase, joined sometime in Feb. I need tips and advice on a few things.

One thing is, should I re-arrange my photo galleries? I was thinking that if I take all of the galleries from my "my photography" gallery and put them on the main page it would look better. What do you think? Also, do you think I should remove my Reuben photo gallery? I wanted to make a gallery out of good photos of him, but I only had one night to do it, and I won't be able to take more pictures of him for a long time.

And...

By looking at my photography work, what would you say I'm best at, and should do more photographs of?

AND...

If you're stuck around the house all day and don't have a studio but want to take pictures, what do you take pictures of?

Well thanks, everyone! hehe.

[sheila]

Well, Andrea, you certainly have potential for one so young. I do like the shot on the beach with the gulls. Very nice indeed. It has a slight abstract look to it. Well done. Reuben gallery needs a little work. Try heavier cropping which will eliminate distracting background. And try to keep images of the same person to, say, two shots - pick the best. Love the cat looking down. Great composition and lighting.

Regarding your creations, you may have to be careful of infringing copyright of the original images. I know you have not attributed these to your handiwork but you also have not attributed the original image. Just something to beware of in this litigious age!

One thing I dislike is the running header at the top of the page announcing your new work. But I guess that's just me! I announce my new work by adding the URL of the new image in my profile description page. I change it when I think about it!!!

Do keep taking images as I believe you have good potential. I wish I had a good camera when I was 13. I had a Box Brownie (ask your grandparents what that is!). But it makes not a jot of difference in what camera you have - as long as you have the passion.

Cheers
Sheila

[andreadyan]

Well, Andrea, you certainly have potential for one so young. I do like the shot on the beach with the gulls. Very nice indeed. It has a slight abstract look to it. Well done. Reuben gallery needs a little work. Try heavier cropping which will eliminate distracting background. And try to keep images of the same person to, say, two shots - pick the best. Love the cat looking down. Great composition and lighting.

Regarding your creations, you may have to be careful of infringing copyright of the original images. I know you have not attributed these to your handiwork but you also have not attributed the original image. Just something to beware of in this litigious age!

One thing I dislike is the running header at the top of the page announcing your new work. But I guess that's just me! I announce my new work by adding the URL of the new image in my profile description page. I change it when I think about it!!!

Do keep taking images as I believe you have good potential. I wish I had a good camera when I was 13. I had a Box Brownie (ask your grandparents what that is!). But it makes not a jot of difference in what camera you have - as long as you have the passion.

Cheers
Sheila

Thanks for replying! I'm glad you like my photos.

I might change the marquee, or just make it text. Not sure about that yet.

Before using any of the photos in my creations, I asked the owner of the website at which I found them at for permission to use them, but where they got them, I don't know...

Tommorrow morning I'm definately going to have to ask my mom or mamaw what a "box brownie" is...I'm curious now.

Anyway, thanks again for your reply! Take care.

[bigbad]

andrea, don't let your lack of a studio hold you back. i haven't got one either, but its fairly easy to make do with things you do have.

This image was done by sitting the flower in a vase on the seat of my desk chair and aiming my desk lamp at it. the white background... a piece of posterboard from wal-mart. the photos with black backgrounds are set on the chair also but with a black towel draped over the back and seat. then i lay a piece of glass (the front of a ~16x20in picture frame) across the arms to distance the subject from the background and get a nice reflection.

before i joined the PAD, i'd never worked with "studio" set ups before. now i rather enjoy them. maybe someday when i have my own house, i'll set something more suitable up, but the posterboard doesn't do too bad for now. just experiment with what you've got and see what you come up with.

as for your galleries, i think they are arranged alright the way they are. i don't care for the banner either, but that is just a matter of personal taste. its not too bad, just not my preference. i upload all my new stuff into a "New Stuff" gallery for a few days before sorting it into galleries. i think its easier for people to find that way since we have so many galleries. As your own gallery grows you can find whatever works for you.


i think Shadows is a great picture, but i would try cropping out the wall on the left as it distracts from the cat i think.

[andreadyan]

andrea, don't let your lack of a studio hold you back. i haven't got one either, but its fairly easy to make do with things you do have.

This image was done by sitting the flower in a vase on the seat of my desk chair and aiming my desk lamp at it. the white background... a piece of posterboard from wal-mart. the photos with black backgrounds are set on the chair also but with a black towel draped over the back and seat. then i lay a piece of glass (the front of a ~16x20in picture frame) across the arms to distance the subject from the background and get a nice reflection.

before i joined the PAD, i'd never worked with "studio" set ups before. now i rather enjoy them. maybe someday when i have my own house, i'll set something more suitable up, but the posterboard doesn't do too bad for now. just experiment with what you've got and see what you come up with.

as for your galleries, i think they are arranged alright the way they are. i don't care for the banner either, but that is just a matter of personal taste. its not too bad, just not my preference. i upload all my new stuff into a "New Stuff" gallery for a few days before sorting it into galleries. i think its easier for people to find that way since we have so many galleries. As your own gallery grows you can find whatever works for you.


i think Shadows is a great picture, but i would try cropping out the wall on the left as it distracts from the cat i think.

Aww awesome! Thanks for the tips on the "studio" stuff. I'm going to have to try that! As for the marquee, I might change it, might not. Or I might change it from a marquee to text. I don't know yet, I'll have to think about it. Thanks again! Take care.

[andreadyan]

Okay, everyone. I deleted the "Last update" marquee, cropped & deleted some Reuben pictures (though only three pictures now, is still one gallery), I put all of the Misc pictures into the my photography gallery to keep the comments and I changed the name and description to match the old "misc" gallery, and last but not least, I moved all of the galleries from "my photography" (now Misc. Photography) to the front page. Whew! Well, I think it all looks better now, thanks for your help, everyone! (but replies are still more than welcome!)

[framewerkz]

It's great to see someone at such a young age with already so much talent. The only advice I'd have, Andie, is to shoot what you want, how you want, and accordingly develop your own style. Life's far too short to follow others' rules

[andreadyan]

Amen to that, and thanks!