Bottoms up! for critique

[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 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.'
View attachment 101936

My mind is screaming "but it's centered!" lol. Whatever looks right, got it. I think I try to hard not to crop my photos because I still can't get a crystal clear sharpness to them and I don't want them looking even more out of focus. I haven't figured that one out yet unless I just can't hold still enough. I think once my focus problem is solved, I won't worry so much about cropping. The advice you gave me will help. Thanks.

 

[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

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.

If my focus were clearer, I could try practicing on some of them, but I need to get a sharper pictures before I can crop too much. I've tried playing around with the ratio crops and I usually end up with too much on one side or the other, or not enough. Oh well, practice, practice, practice. Good thing I'm not shooting film. Thanks for the advice.

 

[TheNevadanStig]

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.'
View attachment 101936

My mind is screaming "but it's centered!" lol. Whatever looks right, got it. I think I try to hard not to crop my photos because I still can't get a crystal clear sharpness to them and I don't want them looking even more out of focus. I haven't figured that one out yet unless I just can't hold still enough. I think once my focus problem is solved, I won't worry so much about cropping. The advice you gave me will help. Thanks.

Most often, the subject shouldnt be dead center. Look up "The Rule Of Thirds".
And I see absolutely nothing wrong with the sharpness in these photos.

 

[scooter2044]

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.'
View attachment 101936

My mind is screaming "but it's centered!" lol. Whatever looks right, got it. I think I try to hard not to crop my photos because I still can't get a crystal clear sharpness to them and I don't want them looking even more out of focus. I haven't figured that one out yet unless I just can't hold still enough. I think once my focus problem is solved, I won't worry so much about cropping. The advice you gave me will help. Thanks.

Most often, the subject shouldnt be dead center. Look up "The Rule Of Thirds".
And I see absolutely nothing wrong with the sharpness in these photos.

The focus on these isn't too bad, but some of my other ones aren't very sharp, even on still subjects. As for crop and composition, I'm not sure I'll ever get it quite right, lol.

 

[The_Traveler]

While I understand your desire to learn how to get good sharp focus when you want it, don't be seduced into thinking that technical achievement is the end-all and be-all.
Sharpness is really overrated.

 

[scooter2044]

While I understand your desire to learn how to get good sharp focus when you want it, don't be seduced into thinking that technical achievement is the end-all and be-all.
Sharpness is really overrated.

I will try to keep that in mind. I stopped on more than one occasion before taking a shot this weekend to remember some of the things you said. Hopefully I will keep improving and not let the little frustrations ruin my love of photography. Thank you.