Common Lizard

[debbiethomson]

Taken by my son with his Fuji Finepix 5600 camera. He'd like some help with how to improve his skills please



Thank you,

Debbie and Ross

[squishy]

using a tripod and/or monopod can improve photos for only a small amount of money

just getting to know you camera really well is something that really helps, but that only really comes in time.

i find that you can usually improve a good shot by editing, fiddle with the levels and unsharp masking can make a big difference


thats a lovely shot by the way though




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hope you don't mind, but to show you what i mean:



you can see the difference that editing makes, and that was done by a complete amateur with software i got free on the internet (GIMP 2)


(for comparison, i'll repost the original )

[debbiethomson]

i did use a editor on the lizard and its perch to sharpen it, as wells as to blur the background. iv just not got to grips with levels or masks yet but i will work on it.

thank you for ur advice, il carry my tripod more often form now on.

[Geoff F]

In reality there is very little wrong with that photo. Just a tiny tweak with Curves on the highlights/midtones will be sufficient. Curves takes a wee bit more learning but isn't difficult and will give finer adjustment than Levels which can be a bit coarse in adjustment.

As well as a tripod. I would suggest learning about choosing the best aperture for depth of field and exposure compensation. I usually prefer spot metering for wildlife work; but this needs to be done with care.

But rather than giving a long list I would recommend visiting this site Digital Photography Tutorials and reading everything over and over until it makes sense. It shouldn't take more than 6 months!

These tutorials go from beginner to advanced quite quickly but the basics will soon sink in. Also worth a look is The Luminous Landscape for another 6 months!

After that, your son should be able to compete with the professionals, he obviously has talent to start with.