Bottoms up! for critique

[scooter2044]

Here are two more pictures from the lake this weekend. Any critique is welcome.


bottoms_up by Sheila Swindell, on Flickr


imitation by Sheila Swindell, on Flickr

 

[BillM]

It looks like you are shooting mid day with really harsh light. You might want to try earlier or later. I'll leave the subject of focus mode to the Canon users. But you want to use continuous focus.

 

[JessicaLittle]

Agree about the lighting re time of day but still really love the first shot !

 

[TheNevadanStig]

There are some things you can do in post about the harsh lighting. Try bringing the highlights down, and reducing the shadows a bit, and they would look a lot better. I normally can only make it out around mid day so harsh lighting doesnt bother me too much, but there are some editing tricks you can use to reduce it.
I think both shots you could have gotten lower to the ground, reducing the top down angle. Also, try cropping a little wider, and use some negative space to give a sense of direction when possible.

 

[The_Traveler]

The first one is nicely timed but I think a bit more room would benefit this.
Just so it doesn't look like you barely caught this in the frame.

 

[scooter2044]

It looks like you are shooting mid day with really harsh light. You might want to try earlier or later. I'll leave the subject of focus mode to the Canon users. But you want to use continuous focus.

Sometimes thats the only time of day I can get out to shoot. I took some Monday morning and evening. I just haven't gotten to them yet. I tried continuous focus as well but every photo came out extremely out of focus. I'm not sure what I did wrong.

 

[scooter2044]

There are some things you can do in post about the harsh lighting. Try bringing the highlights down, and reducing the shadows a bit, and they would look a lot better. I normally can only make it out around mid day so harsh lighting doesnt bother me too much, but there are some editing tricks you can use to reduce it.
I think both shots you could have gotten lower to the ground, reducing the top down angle. Also, try cropping a little wider, and use some negative space to give a sense of direction when possible.

When I get to shoot isn't always up to me either. I get out when I can. I agree about shooting at a lower angle. I just didn't feel like laying in goose poop to get the shot. I didn't have a choice on the first one because of where they were. I just thought they looked like synchronized swimmers so I took the shot. I'm posting a larger crop below, though. See what you think.

 

[scooter2044]

The first one is nicely timed but I think a bit more room would benefit this.
Just so it doesn't look like you barely caught this in the frame.
View attachment 101807

Is this one any better?

bottoms_up2 by Sheila Swindell, on Flickr

 

[scooter2044]

Agree about the lighting re time of day but still really love the first shot !

Thank you.

 

[The_Traveler]

The first one is nicely timed but I think a bit more room would benefit this.
Just so it doesn't look like you barely caught this in the frame.
View attachment 101807

Is this one any better?

bottoms_up2 by Sheila Swindell, on Flickr

Which do you think and why?

 

[scooter2044]

The first one is nicely timed but I think a bit more room would benefit this.
Just so it doesn't look like you barely caught this in the frame.
View attachment 101807

Is this one any better?

bottoms_up2 by Sheila Swindell, on Flickr

Which do you think and why?

I think the extra space looks better to give it some breathing room but at the same time the right side just seems so empty to me. Maybe it's just something I have to get through my head is ok.

 

[The_Traveler]

The first one is nicely timed but I think a bit more room would benefit this.
Just so it doesn't look like you barely caught this in the frame.
Which do you think and why?

I think the extra space looks better to give it some breathing room but at the same time the right side just seems so empty to me. Maybe it's just something I have to get through my head is ok.

What is the difference between my edit and your re-post?

 

[scooter2044]

The first one is nicely timed but I think a bit more room would benefit this.
Just so it doesn't look like you barely caught this in the frame.
Which do you think and why?

I think the extra space looks better to give it some breathing room but at the same time the right side just seems so empty to me. Maybe it's just something I have to get through my head is ok.

What is the difference between my edit and your re-post?

Sorry, my fault. I missed your attachment. I thought you were trying to get me to answer my own question. It's been a long weekend. I definitely like your crop better. So it's ok to crop to whatever ratio you need, or is it better to keep the ratio the same as the original? I thought maybe there was some unwritten rule about that. I seem to be breaking alot of them lately. lol

 

[The_Traveler]

The first one is nicely timed but I think a bit more room would benefit this.
Just so it doesn't look like you barely caught this in the frame.
Which do you think and why?

I think the extra space looks better to give it some breathing room but at the same time the right side just seems so empty to me. Maybe it's just something I have to get through my head is ok.

What is the difference between my edit and your re-post?

Sorry, my fault. I missed your attachment. I thought you were trying to get me to answer my own question. It's been a long weekend. I definitely like your crop better. So it's ok to crop to whatever ratio you need, or is it better to keep the ratio the same as the original? I thought maybe there was some unwritten rule about that. I seem to be breaking a lot of them lately. lol

I actually added some space around the duck and splash so that both of the centers of interest (ducks and splash) are at the stronger points in the photo and not jammed up against the edge.
Viewers see things at the powerful spots as being important. They see things close to the edge as being less important. They see space as meaningful, especially when it is unbalanced.

So when space is added, both centers of interest are at the powerful spots. There is enough 'breathing space' and that space is balanced so it doesn't draw attention to itself.
The idea of composing and framing so as to give hints to the viewer are much more ephemeral than the standard 'rules' but much more important.
The image should look 'right.'

 

[JacaRanda]

The first one is nicely timed but I think a bit more room would benefit this.
Just so it doesn't look like you barely caught this in the frame.
Which do you think and why?

I think the extra space looks better to give it some breathing room but at the same time the right side just seems so empty to me. Maybe it's just something I have to get through my head is ok.

What is the difference between my edit and your re-post?

Sorry, my fault. I missed your attachment. I thought you were trying to get me to answer my own question. It's been a long weekend. I definitely like your crop better. So it's ok to crop to whatever ratio you need, or is it better to keep the ratio the same as the original? I thought maybe there was some unwritten rule about that. I seem to be breaking alot of them lately. lol

Yes, it's okay to crop however, you want. Suggestion - take any photo you have or shoot a new one with the subject smack dab in the middle. Load it into your software and crop it several ways until you decide which looks better. Think about why it looks better and ask someone else which one or ones they like better. You can also create a crop ratio and move the subject around in that area.

Eventually, you will learn the crops that work best depending on the position of your subject(s) and the direction it's facing.

I would actually lift the shadows a little bit on the second photo. Spot metering, or over exposing a bit are other methods to combat being on the wrong side of the Sun.