how do i choose what photos to put in a photo gallery?

[dave el]

i know this probably sounds dumb but it's causing me some stress. i have a gallery on a birdwatchers' site. i can't possibly compete with the magnificent photos submitted by others because i am not as good and i don't have such good photo gear, so i decided to illustrate the birds i get in my back garden (nobody can compete with the birds i get in my own back garden!) i also have a thread on this site so i link the thread with my gallery. eventually, i want to have one photo per species and the best photo of that species. but i like all my photos, generally speaking, and i can't decide which ones i ought to put on. is there a rule of thumb method for shortlisting photos?

[andrewmoquin]

Re: how do i choose what photos to put in a photo gallery?

Can you give me the link where can I locate your photos?

[Pol]

Re: how do i choose what photos to put in a photo gallery?

i know this probably sounds dumb but it's causing me some stress. i have a gallery on a birdwatchers' site. i can't possibly compete with the magnificent photos submitted by others because i am not as good and i don't have such good photo gear, so i decided to illustrate the birds i get in my back garden (nobody can compete with the birds i get in my own back garden!) i also have a thread on this site so i link the thread with my gallery. eventually, i want to have one photo per species and the best photo of that species. but i like all my photos, generally speaking, and i can't decide which ones i ought to put on. is there a rule of thumb method for shortlisting photos?

In a nutshell ... choose the photos that YOU like, the ones YOU would like to show and share with other.

If you like a photo yourself that great. If someone else like your photo - then that's a bonus. Your main objective should be to enjoy your photography, enjoy your hobby.

I can sympathise with your dilemma if you use the likes of birdforum.net (which I also use) but hey, not everyone can be like Nigel or one of the Andys) ... and they would be the first to say - just go for it, just do it, any photo of a species is better than no photo. Just keep snapping away and you'll gradually get better and eventually build up a portfolio that pleases you.

Rule of thumb - 300mm is about the minimum focal length ideal for bird shots. However - you can also get good ones with a standard lens in your own back garden IF you watch the birds, assess its movements then set your camera up on a tripod near where the bird visits - and fire the shutter from a distance with a cable release or maybe a remote.

Now go for it and stop worrying. It's a hobby not an exam or an endurance test - just start somewhere and build up your gallery and skills little by little and enjoy yourself.

I think I might also have a setup snapshot somewhere showing the tripod type of arrangemt with a short lens. I'll post again if I can find it.

Hope that helps ...

Polly

[Pol]

Re: how do i choose what photos to put in a photo gallery?

I think I might also have a setup snapshot somewhere showing the tripod type of arrangemt with a short lens. I'll post again if I can find it.

Polly

I found the 'setup' snapshot. Ignore the off-camera flashgun, you won't need anything like that. Just look at the way the camera is set up (right side of the picture). That's a 100mm lens on it but I've also done similar things with standard lenses and even a small compact. All you need is a carefully chosen location and some means of remotely firing the shutter ... or maybe even a small hide or other means of camouflaging yourself and waiting quietly and patiently near a feeder, branch or whatever.

Here's the picci



Pol

[Julia]

Re: how do i choose what photos to put in a photo gallery?

Hi Dave,

I do sympathise, some people can take fantastic photos and mine seem mediocre in comparison. However to quote Pol

It's a hobby not an exam or an endurance test

and practise make perfect.

Just put up the photos you like and let us enjoy them.

[Pol]

Re: how do i choose what photos to put in a photo gallery?

Hi Dave,

I do sympathise, some people can take fantastic photos and mine seem mediocre in comparison. However to quote Pol and practise make perfect.

Just put up the photos you like and let us enjoy them.

.. and I should also add - don't lose your confidence. Don't let others intimidate you!


Pol

[dave el]

Re: how do i choose what photos to put in a photo gallery?

hi all, thank you all for your kind responses. and thank you very much Pol for your advice and the great photo, which i'll keep if that's ok. i didn't realize that it was possible for that kind of close setup and i shall certainly experiment with it. thanks very much for bothering to root out the pic and posting it. perhaps a bit of a funny story - today i set up the camera on a tripod in the back garden, and got settled down - and it started to pour. i wasn't in the best of moods, and having lit a cigarette, and having what i thought was my lighter in my hand, i threw it across the yard in a bit of a temper - it was my lighter-sized remote control, so that's the end of my remote control. that'll learn me. you're right - i do post a lot on birdforum Thanks, Andrew, for the first reply, but if you look in my gallery on here you'll see what i'm putting in my gallery on birdforum anyway, but i might get around to it later if you're still interested (although in all honesty my gallery on birdforum isn't much to be proud of) I'm just thinking, has anyone got any good ideas for a hide that can easily be moved around the garden? i built a ramshackle wooden shed-thing, but that got full of snails and spiders and bees and things, and i've experimented a bit with screens but the birds can see me from the sides and above. anyway, thanks for the replies.

[Pol]

Re: how do i choose what photos to put in a photo gallery?

hi all, thank you all for your kind responses. and thank you very much Pol for your advice and the great photo, which i'll keep if that's ok. i didn't realize that it was possible for that kind of close setup and i shall certainly experiment with it. thanks very much for bothering to root out the pic and posting it. perhaps a bit of a funny story - today i set up the camera on a tripod in the back garden, and got settled down - and it started to pour. i wasn't in the best of moods, and having lit a cigarette, and having what i thought was my lighter in my hand, i threw it across the yard in a bit of a temper - it was my lighter-sized remote control, so that's the end of my remote control. that'll learn me. you're right - i do post a lot on birdforum Thanks, Andrew, for the first reply, but if you look in my gallery on here you'll see what i'm putting in my gallery on birdforum anyway, but i might get around to it later if you're still interested (although in all honesty my gallery on birdforum isn't much to be proud of) I'm just thinking, has anyone got any good ideas for a hide that can easily be moved around the garden? i built a ramshackle wooden shed-thing, but that got full of snails and spiders and bees and things, and i've experimented a bit with screens but the birds can see me from the sides and above. anyway, thanks for the replies.

... so you're either gonna have to give up smoking or just use matches in future!

I don't maintain much of a gallery on birdforum either. I mainly use it for identification, reviews and searches. The place has grown so huge and busy it overwhelms me these days!

No doubt you've already noticed them talking about the dome hides available from Warehouse Express or Wildlifewatchingsupplies.co.uk. I have one of those small, portable dome hides that was given to me as a gift a few years ago. Very nice but also very expensive (I'd definitely have made better use of the money if I'd been asked at that time!)

Some people use an angler's shelter, which could be extended with something like a scrim net or some other sort of camo fabric. Another option could be to get a regular camping tent, even a kid's garden tent - then cover it with a scrim net or perhaps use a touch camo paint if you need it to blend into the surroundings.

I've had a fair amout of stuff from army surplus and outdoor supplies - specifically from http://www.whipperleys.co.uk/

http://whipperleys.co.uk/acatalog/waterproof_nbc_suit_trousers_jacket_workwear.html

You might also like to browse through the various creams and camo nets as well as the clothing.

http://www.whipperleys.co.uk/acatalog/surplus_camouflage_gear_camo_nets_hide_cream.html

Hope that might give you a few inexpensive ideas to mull over.

Pol

[dave el]

Re: how do i choose what photos to put in a photo gallery?

thanx for all your comments, and yeah, i am treating it a bit like an exam - i do tend to take everything much too seriously. give up smoking? i just can't!! however, perhaps something good came out of breaking my remote, and might also be a solution to hides. the next day i bought instead a wireless remote that works up to almost 300 feet, so now i don't even have to be in the garden with the camera. the drawback is that i have to have the camera prefocused on a point but i'm getting some great pics now, pics the birds wouldn't ever allow me to take if i were standing there with the camera, so i'm happy, for now. i've used Pol's pic as my model, and it seems to be working well, i don't even need a telephoto lens in some setups. so thanks for the pic Pol.

[Pol]

Re: how do i choose what photos to put in a photo gallery?

thanx for all your comments, and yeah, i am treating it a bit like an exam - i do tend to take everything much too seriously. give up smoking? i just can't!! however, perhaps something good came out of breaking my remote, and might also be a solution to hides. the next day i bought instead a wireless remote that works up to almost 300 feet, so now i don't even have to be in the garden with the camera. the drawback is that i have to have the camera prefocused on a point but i'm getting some great pics now, pics the birds wouldn't ever allow me to take if i were standing there with the camera, so i'm happy, for now. i've used Pol's pic as my model, and it seems to be working well, i don't even need a telephoto lens in some setups. so thanks for the pic Pol.

That's brilliant news! It's great to know you're getting sorted and starting to to get more of the sort of picci you're after.

You'll soon be getting on great with your telephoto too. Maybe your spotting scope supports (tripods and heads) would be able to take the camera + telephoto then you could possibly manage from near or even inside the house? I have a Manfrotto 393 for my 500mm after I'd had to stop using it for ages when I'd injured my shoulder handholding it. The 393 makes it much easier for me.

Good luck with it all. I spotted your new pics in the gallery and noticed they are indeed much better exposures.




Pol