Hey Rhyno,
I think one of the best ways to improve quickly is to find some photos online that you like and really try to dissect them and figure out what you like about them and how to recreate that in your own images. Then you can diverge from there into developing your own style. But here are just a few thoughts on the photos you shared.
- First, your shutter speeds were very fast in these photos, so an unsteady hand is not an issue. In fact, your ISO for both shots was 1600, which was unnecessary given you had plenty of shutter speed to sacrifice. A lot of modern cameras can handle that high of an ISO without much degradation in image quality, but I would recommend a lower ISO when possible, maybe try ISO 400, as long as your shutter speed is over 1/125 or so.
Technical stuff aside, the two most important aspects to think about to improve your photography are lighting and composition.
- Lighting. On your redback photo you have some harsh sunlight coming from the left and behind the subject. This is causing the left side of the image to be blown out and the right side to be in dark shadow. It is best to avoid harsh sun when possible, and if you can, always have the sun at your back so you get a more even light on the subject (though you can try to get more creative with lighting angles on down the road). You may need to move your subject into the shade to avoid the harsh sun, but you may need to use flash compensate for the loss of light. I actually prefer to use flash on my amphibian photos, anyways. I think it also helps bring out the color of the subject and adds contrast as well. I use a lot more natural light when I photograph reptiles, but even then often have a little bit of fill flash. The problem with point and shoots is you don't have a lot of control over the strength of the flash and the angle at which it is coming from. You will just have to play around with it and see. If you want to use natural light only, try photographing early in the morning or in the evening as the sun is going down. The sunlight is much softer and more pleasing. This is when landscape and many wildlife photographers prefer to shoot due to the sweet light. Keeping the sun at your back is still recommended during these hours. Lightly overcast days can provide nice light as well.
- Composition. Unfortunately, salamanders rarely offer good
in situ photo opportunities. This means you are going to have to pose them most of the time. The good thing about this is that you can encourage the salamander to take up a more photogenic posture, and you can choose a background that will help the animal stand out. Shooting a
Desmog in the mud is pretty much always going to leave an overall drab looking image. Pose-wise, a lot of people go with the "field guide" style where the tail is sort of curled back towards the head and is photographed from ~45 degree angle, and that is a good place to start. I would recommend looking at some other compositions as well, though. I've been doing a lot of head shots, myself, and wide angle shots can be very interesting too, if you incorporate a visually stimulating background. Getting your camera down low with the subject can also help create separation between the subject and the background, which will help the image pop more.
Here are just a few examples of different poses and angles that I think show off these amphibians well. Note that I use either a low angle or a contrasting background, or both, to help the subject stand out. (Also note that I am using two flashes with modifiers on almost all of these, but you should be able to get somewhat similar results with even your built-in flash. You will just have a shadow, which a lot of people prefer, anyways.)
-Kevin
