Composition

[Groucho]

I think one somewhat inbetween the two might work best - with just a little bit of the horizon in view. Also maybe with the disappearing point more to one edge.

I think composition is one of the areas I need to work on more, and I've been trying to think about it a little more, rather than just stick things in the middle of the frame. But I'm not one who is likely to follow one specific "rule" so I have to just play on my own.

 

[jenr812]

Neat thread idea. I'll have to go looking through my pics...

 

[AndrewWG]

Ok, so here is one from this morning. I think it is much better as I metered the sky and took the photo using those readings. I also thought that maybe a bit more background couldn't hurt and I don't think it has. The sprinklers were going too whick I thought added a bit of life to the photo. Not sure now what I think of them though.

Any thoughts on this composition?

Andy

 

[barrie]

Andy - I think the composition on number three is perfect! Very nice shot, especially having seen the first two and how you improved it.

One tiny note: The horizon seems a wee bit crooked. I'd drop the left side down just a hair.

 

[barrie]

The thing I cannot stand is when things get cut out of the picture and it is not intentional. My favorite example is when you see a really nice shot of the castle, but the top 5-10 feet of it are chopped off.

Kevin

You mean like this?!

I could just kick myself for not noticing that I cut off the top spire in this shot!

 

[jann1033]

Ok, so here is one from this morning. I think it is much better as I metered the sky and took the photo using those readings. I also thought that maybe a bit more background couldn't hurt and I don't think it has. The sprinklers were going too whick I thought added a bit of life to the photo. Not sure now what I think of them though.

Any thoughts on this composition?

Andy

the color is nicer as well and the sprinklers do add a little something, i couldn't figure out what the little whitish things were in the other ones..really nice job imo i also like the angle much better with the diagonal stream vs the straight one. there was an article i just read that talked about walking around to check out the best view for the photo and imo this is a great eg of why and how to do that

 

[tinksdad]

You mean like this?!

I could just kick myself for not noticing that I cut off the top spire in this shot!

Darn!! Your exposure on that shot was dead on too!!

 

[tinksdad]

Ok, so here is one from this morning. I think it is much better as I metered the sky and took the photo using those readings. I also thought that maybe a bit more background couldn't hurt and I don't think it has. The sprinklers were going too whick I thought added a bit of life to the photo. Not sure now what I think of them though.

Any thoughts on this composition?

Andy

I like this one the best!! nice colors, good framing and nice diagonal lines. Sweet!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The thing I cannot stand is when things get cut out of the picture and it is not intentional.

And like this?

 

[AndrewWG]

Thanks barrie and Jann! I like it alot better too.

Barrie, good observation on the horizon. That does need to be slightly straightened. I usually pay attention to that too but I missed it in this shot. Easily fixed in photoshop though.

Thanks again!

Andy

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Good subject matter since many pictures have some sort of horizon.

Here's my own cranberry bog picture, taken in the fall during the harvest (with my old P&S.) I thought the color was good, but now in looking at it I'm thinking the horizon is almost smack in the middle and could have been more visually interesting if I'd put it elsewhere. Of course, I wanted to see the beautiful cranberries so I wanted to make sure to get plenty of those in the shot.

General question open for opinions: How could this photo have been improved?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

So I had to LOL at this one, taken from the Disney Magic in St. Thomas. Not only is the horizon crooked, it looks like this white cruise ship is going to slip backwards off the page. In looking at it now, I should have straightened the horizon and also left some space after the ship. (My subject was the Magic's lifeboats in the water during their weekly drill.)

I still enjoy the memories this picture brings back, but I see I have some photographic challenges awaiting me on my next cruise.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Let's see some of your examples of

1) interesting horizons and

2) appropriate space before and after moving subjects.

 

[photo_chick]

So I had to LOL at this one, taken from the Disney Magic in St. Thomas. Not only is the horizon crooked, it looks like this white cruise ship is going to slip backwards off the page. In looking at it now, I should have straightened the horizon and also left some space after the ship. (My subject was the Magic's lifeboats in the water during their weekly drill.)

I still enjoy the memories this picture brings back, but I see I have some photographic challenges awaiting me on my next cruise.

This one has possibilities. I would crop it vertically, cutting out the cruise ship all together. You can straighten the horizon with the crop too.

BU tthat is just me!

 

[tinksdad]

Good subject matter since many pictures have some sort of horizon.

Here's my own cranberry bog picture, taken in the fall during the harvest (with my old P&S.) I thought the color was good, but now in looking at it I'm thinking the horizon is almost smack in the middle and could have been more visually interesting if I'd put it elsewhere. Of course, I wanted to see the beautiful cranberries so I wanted to make sure to get plenty of those in the shot.

General question open for opinions: How could this photo have been improved?

Pretty good!! The horizon not straight, which is something that you can look at and not really recognize. But it would look better if straight. You've got a lot of the cranberries in the picture, but with that being your main subject could you've gotten down low to emphasize the berries with diminishing size back to the horizon? The barn in the background seems to need to be on the left side to balance the picture.

Maybe the water could be more of an diagonal to draw the eye.


Of course all of the above is from an objective viewpoint. It's easy to look at the picture after and suggest things "after" the picture is taken. Much different being behind the viewfinder.........

 

[jann1033]

how fast do they have to be moving ? this is basically how i had it

this would be closer to rule of 3rd

this would be closer to golden rule,

don't really know which i like the best, maybe rule of 3rds one??? ( noise is bad cause i forgot to change the iso i think after being inside)] but i do think either of the last are better than the first...also leading lines and perspective are here( hehe how many believe i planned that, snicker) i do think it's ok though as far as moving since he has room to walk for a while

 

[DueyDooDah]

Here's my own cranberry bog picture...

General question open for opinions: How could this photo have been improved?

Although this is a nice picture, it does not convey what I think you intended, a problem I have all the time. Scenes always look so nice to the naked eye that it's hard not to snap a photo trying to capture the feeling you have, only to end up with just another family photo. The problem I see with this photo is that the subject matter, the cranberries, do not stand out, even though it is a major component of the image. If fact, until you mentioned it in the text, I didn't knolw they were cranberries.

I think what's needed here is a closer view of the berries. Maybe if you had brought the camera down near the level of the pond, using a short pod of some kind, the impact would have been tremendous.

Another thought might have been to take the barn structure to the left and to lessen the amount of sky showing. That may have taken the eye to the berries more quickly and naturally.

As for color, I think what you have is very good. Nice blue sky, good color separation. If you'd been closer to the subject, I think the red would have "popped".

If you have the opportunity to revisit this area, try taking shots from different angles and try to visualize what you'd like to convey. Walk the scene - I think it has alot of possibilities. Good luck. And if you do revisit this, post your results.

 

[tinksdad]

So I had to LOL at this one, taken from the Disney Magic in St. Thomas. Not only is the horizon crooked, it looks like this white cruise ship is going to slip backwards off the page. In looking at it now, I should have straightened the horizon and also left some space after the ship. (My subject was the Magic's lifeboats in the water during their weekly drill.)

I still enjoy the memories this picture brings back, but I see I have some photographic challenges awaiting me on my next cruise.

This is a nice shot!! Was it taken inside another ship?? You can see the reflections in the upper right side from the windows. A little rotation would make it a better shot.

 

[jann1033]

I think what's needed here is a closer view of the berries. Maybe if you had brought the camera down near the level of the pond, using a short pod of some kind, the impact would have been tremendous.

.[/QUOTE]
i agree, like the color of the sky etc,but a level view of the cranberries might look really different and more dramatic...if these are in water that might mean getting wet but it would be nice to see some close up then fading off to the distant sky etc
the boat picture, the color is good, it's a nice shot with the lifeboats in the foreground and the land behind, although the ship's end is cut off...would a cp have helped with that glare? ( one of the most annoying thing in the world to me is windows/glass ) and unless it is that commercial for aspirin where the giant dropped the earth the horizon is a little off..pretending the crop wouldn't take the edge of the left bottom, better or worse? it did get rid of most of the glare in the upper corner ( the water area imo isn't as noticeable) and maybe with the original you could keep the bottom corner

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Great feedback on the cranberry picture - thanks all! I will re-do it this fall with my new camera and new techniques and see what I can come up with. Will re-post then. (That's when the berries are fully grown and harvested.)

The problem I see with this photo is that the subject matter, the cranberries, do not stand out, even though it is a major component of the image. If fact, until you mentioned it in the text, I didn't knolw they were cranberries.

I think what's needed here is a closer view of the berries. Maybe if you had brought the camera down near the level of the pond, using a short pod of some kind, the impact would have been tremendous.

You're right. I took many pictures that day, I'll have to review to see if some did come out with the berries a little more prominent. I also took this companion photo which showed a closer view of the berries. (I believe there's a tiny little frog in there somewhere as well.)