I'm trying to be a photographer

Hi everyone, I think I'm the first member here, I should get a gold star or something!

My weapons of choice are a Sony Cybershot and a Canon EOS 1100d.

Hey everyone ( well 2 of us so far)... I`m trying to be the best I can be with what I have at the moment .. Which is a Nikon L310, I know its only a low end bridge camera, but its not all about the camera its also about how the photographer sees the subject matter ... So I am here to converse and learn too

Well it was your link in the Fuji Finepix site that brought me here, so thanks for that. So when I get here i find mikshep, so hello to you matey.
I'm here because like you I'm hoping to learn something and as the name of the site suggests get some "proper Critique" of my pictures. In the Finepix dailey and weekly competitions it has all gotton a bit polite and I get the feeling that no one wants to tread on any one else's toes for fear of causing a drama. I admit I have got into that habit myself and I find it frustrating. They all seem very nice people but I think it has become a bit too "tea and scones" and to be honest I despair at some of the competition judging. I know (only too well) that my photos are not the best, but I have seen some photos that have obviously had time and effort spent on them totally ignored in favour of what in effect are nothing more than snapshots
So....moan over...that's why I'm here.

Hey guys...sorry its slow in here at the minute, the site has only just been started! Hopefully things will pick up soon and we'll have a strong community Vibe.
I know exactly what you mean Ady about the Critique, CC is very helpful if not mandatory for a photographer to progress...there is no point only telling them the good points of the picture because they obviously know about them, that's why they submitted the image.

A photographer wanting to improve his/her shots needs to know what they did wrong or could have changed, so they can implement that every time they go to press down the shutter.

I'm hoping the people that sign up and join here will be critical and not be afraid to give and reecieve the criticism, it will benefit us all.
Even critiquing someone else's photo helps you to learn, you are looking at their image and having to think how it could be better....if we can imagine when looking through our viewfinder that it is someone else image we are critiquing, we might just make a couple more adjustments and land a brilliant shot to add too our portfolios that we are proud of.

Please encourage as many people as you know to come and join us, without ramming it down their necks :-)
And keep checking back for new posts

Hey.. nice to see ya Ady a handy link that, wasn`t it!!! Thanks Joel ...honest critique is the requirement
I know what you mean about the IHCs and I am as guilty as anyone... I think this site could be a breath of fresh air....

I do too, I welcome ideas on how to improve my photography and how to use my camera properly as it's got too many settings to worry about!

JoTidman wrote:

I do too, I welcome ideas on how to improve my photography and how to use my camera properly as it's got too many settings to worry about!

Practice makes perfect and the old adage RTFM is true. I've been using the Pentax k-30 for several months now. I've learnt it's controls by just sitting at a window and trying different things along with reading the manual