I need some artistic help

[Tyson]

What is the key to taking eye catching photos, I just don't think this is a catchy shot. It is a very different type of building in a garave yard. Give it to me hard what do you guys (and gals) think of it.

 

[mysteryscribe]

In my opinion it begins with what you shoot. Then to how you frame it. The to post production (how you print it in the old days).

I like this subject. I like this framing. I captured the stone part from it and increased the contrast and lightened it and it made the shot grab ME. It might not anyone else.

To be honest no one photo is going to grab everyone the same ways and some people not at all.

 

[Alex_B]

certainly an interesting subject in that image.

in terms of composition you took it as what I call "documentary style". I take a lot of such shots on my travels and their main point is always just what is shown and not how it is shown.

Certainly there would be more dramatic compositions and perspectives for this one (what about close ups? what about a near to ground perspective with a wide angle lens?), but then they give you a less neutral idea of the subject itself.

I agree with our mystery scribe that this one could be bumped up by changeing contrast a bit could help to make it look less ordinary and more eye-catching.

 

[Alex_B]

heavens forgive me my poor command of the english language today ... but I guess everyone knows what I try to say

 

[becmaclean]

Not all photos are going to have that "eye-catching" quality. I am lucky when just out randomly shooting to get a few good shots and 1 great shot.

I think your subject is very interesting. I think the focus is great and perhaps would have lost the feeling had you changed your dof. As mentioned, perhaps a wide angle would have caught something a bit different.

Often, if a photo doesn't quite work for me. I will play with contrast and saturation. Often even trying it in black and white. Sometimes the shadows that don't work in color really "pop" in B&W and really change the entire feeling of the photo.

 

[Digital Matt]

Compositionally, it's a bit boring to me. The subject is centered, and you've included lots of extraneous things in the scene that really don't support the subject. I'd like to see this much closer in. I don't need to see the blank white sky, the field on the left, or the bit of gravel road in front. With the building being centered, and no leading lines, there's nothing to draw me in and hold me.

Do a bit of reading up on composition. Obviously there are no rules, but it does help to be aware of certain things when you photograph. A simple movement of the camera to the left or right can remove certain things and create visual interest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_(visual_arts)

In the end though, it's really tough for any of us to say what you should have done, because we were not there. We can only suggest what we "might" have done.

 

[Alex_B]

Compositionally, it's a bit boring to me. The subject is centered, and you've included lots of extraneous things in the scene that really don't support the subject. I'd like to see this much closer in. I don't need to see the blank white sky, the field on the left, or the bit of gravel road in front.

if it is documentary, thne those are the things you need!

But I agree that the OP wants something "better" composed.
I am just saying that this sort of shot as its right to be made and to be displayed

Else most of my shots would be in vain too

 

[Digital Matt]

If it's documentary, it still has to have an engaging composition, and this does not engage me.

As I said, not being there, I can't really say what I would add or leave out. Just looking at this composition, all I can say is what I think it doesn't need.

 

[Tyson]

Here are a few more edited .

 

[markc]

I'll echo what Alex and Matt have said. I'll add that photos that I consider to be snapshots tend to all follow a similar style. They are framed horizontal; the subject and horizon are centered; they are taken at eye level; they have a near infinite DOF (how much is in focus); they are taken with a wide-angle lens; it's often cluttered; and if a flash is used, it's on-camera. Now all of these choices are perfectly valid and have their place, but combined, they seem to be the default choices for most beginning photographers.

I'm not saying you should make the opposite choice in every case, but I think they all should be conscious choices rather than default. If you go through that list for every shot you make and ask yourself, "is this what I want for this shot?", I think you'll find your images improving from that alone.

I can give you some of my own personal choices, just as an example. I would have got down on my knees to better emphasize the door and the gravestones, as they feel like the subject to me, and I'd crop in more to cut out some of the clutter. I think framing would work as horizontal, vertical, or square. I'd probably take some with each in mind. If I was going to crop out a lot of the background, I'd leave the long DOF, but if I was going to include some of it, I'd probably use a shorter one to blur it out. I could be happy with either though. It would just have a different feel. Let me know if you'd like to see a crop based in the angle you shot this one at.

So I'm not saying to change everything in order for it not to be a snapshot. In this case, I think just a different capture height, non-centered subject, and cropping out the clutter would do the trick. I certainly think you picked a great subject to photograph.

 

[Alex_B]

If it's documentary, it still has to have an engaging composition,

why?

sorry to ask this heretic question

enganging composition is something which to me belongs into the field of art. It is also nice if you have it in a documentary shot, but only if it does not lower its documentary value. Very often it does though.

Take for example forensic photography ... if you try to be arty, you lose a lot of information which would and should be in the picture ...

or when you document damage on a car for an insurance. Then the least you need are engaging images.


Sorry for the thread hijacking!!!

 

[becmaclean]

Hue/saturation and curves....changed it up nicely I think.