IN camera

[sharonmarielpn]

I am enjoying learning. having fun practicing but one frustration eludes me. getting it right in camera. I see it after. Don't get me wrong I'm glad i see it at all. I just have no clue how to "fix" my eye to see it in camera. thoughts? tips? anything??

[ldelacruz]

It will take time and experience. Slow down, look at your scene, background and subject then evaluate your light. You have to learn to see light and how it affects your subject. I am assuming you know your camera and how to manipulate your settings?

[Ahh!]

Are you refering to composition? Lighting problems? Distractions? DOF?

Other than suggesting you take the thumb and first finger from both hands and make a box to look thru, I dunno where to be of most assistance...

I can also suggest chimping heavily.

[sharonmarielpn]

my eye is stuck on subject an composition. I dont see anything else. I know how to adjust, i just cant see it, so i dont.

[ramblinray]

As stated above, it takes time to get the hang of getting it right in camera. Unfortunately for you, it appears your camera is missing the one button that would have aided in making some of those adjustments before the shutter was released. You are missing a DOF button that would have let you see what was in focus and perhaps distracted from the image you were trying to capture. This deficiency can be easily overcome with practice using the various settings you can control: aperture, shutter speed, focal length, and ISO. Play with shooting the same scene and varying the aperture and shutter speed to get the exposure correct. That will let you see what is in focus at the various f-stops. Change focal lengths and do the same thing with the same scene. Be sure to pick a scene that has objects at near, middle and far distances to see how changing the f-stop and focal length will affect DOF. If you are happy with your compositions, just having trouble with other distractions in the frame, you are doing well and just need to play with your equipment more.

[Ahh!]

May I suggest challenging you to shoot under f4.0 as an exercise. In fact, try shooting as low as you can, just as an exercise of your ability to "see" differently. If you do not own a nifty 50, now's the time...
I have the not-so-thrifty f1.4 version, but the f1.8 version is economical. Both are a "normal" perspective in full frame, but on your 5000, it will be 75mm, a reasonable choice for portraits...

[texxter]

Originally Posted by sharonmarielpn

my eye is stuck on subject an composition. I dont see anything else. I know how to adjust, i just cant see it, so i dont.

It's common for new photographers to focus on the subject and ignore the background - you can start to change your habits by making the background your main focus of interest. You can photograph the background without the person you want to photograph in it, and evaluate it. Look at it - it'll look different than what your eyes see. Then place the subject and study the interaction between the subject and the background. For example:

Are there color clashes between subject and background?

Are lines from the background intersecting the subject in an unpleasant way?

Is the subject fusing with the background because of similar tones or colors?

Is the background much darker or much lighter than the subject? Is the tonal relationship between subject and background appealing?

You can do this as exercises, so that start to develop intuitions on how to match subjects and backgrounds. Post a couple of images you are not happy about to get suggestions on what to do next time. It can be done, just practice and learn from mistakes.

[ThePhilosopher]

You could always try a camera with a waist level viewfinder; it'll force you to pay attention to composition of the entire image.

[abril1127]

Originally Posted by texxter

It's common for new photographers to focus on the subject and ignore the background - you can start to change your habits by making the background your main focus of interest. You can photograph the background without the person you want to photograph in it, and evaluate it. Look at it - it'll look different than what your eyes see. Then place the subject and study the interaction between the subject and the background. For example:

Are there color clashes between subject and background?

Are lines from the background intersecting the subject in an unpleasant way?

Is the subject fusing with the background because of similar tones or colors?

Is the background much darker or much lighter than the subject? Is the tonal relationship between subject and background appealing?

You can do this as exercises, so that start to develop intuitions on how to match subjects and backgrounds. Post a couple of images you are not happy about to get suggestions on what to do next time. It can be done, just practice and learn from mistakes.

Those are awesome tips!

[sharonmarielpn]

Originally Posted by texxter

It's common for new photographers to focus on the subject and ignore the background - you can start to change your habits by making the background your main focus of interest. You can photograph the background without the person you want to photograph in it, and evaluate it. Look at it - it'll look different than what your eyes see. Then place the subject and study the interaction between the subject and the background. For example:

Are there color clashes between subject and background?

Are lines from the background intersecting the subject in an unpleasant way?

Is the subject fusing with the background because of similar tones or colors?

Is the background much darker or much lighter than the subject? Is the tonal relationship between subject and background appealing?

You can do this as exercises, so that start to develop intuitions on how to match subjects and backgrounds. Post a couple of images you are not happy about to get suggestions on what to do next time. It can be done, just practice and learn from mistakes.

like April said very awesome tips. thank you paco.
-and everyone else for responding :)