A Majestic Church

DGMPhotography · Mar 23, 2012

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This is a photo I took of a Church in Richmond, VA. I am new to photography, so please let me know what you think with any questions, comments, and critiques. Thanks!

tirediron · Mar 23, 2012

Welcome! It's a nice start but a couple of things could improve it: (1) Shoot in such a way to minimize the number of branches in the shot. They produce a busy, confusing pattern which distracts the eye from the church, and (2) when shooting into the sky this way, consider shooting early in the morning and avoid (if possible) the bright, white clouds which produce blown highlights. Also consider the purchase of a polarizing filter which will increase contrast and saturation as well as produce those deep, blue skies.

DGMPhotography · Mar 23, 2012

tirediron said:
Welcome! It's a nice start but a couple of things could improve it: (1) Shoot in such a way to minimize the number of branches in the shot. They produce a busy, confusing pattern which distracts the eye from the church, and (2) when shooting into the sky this way, consider shooting early in the morning and avoid (if possible) the bright, white clouds which produce blown highlights. Also consider the purchase of a polarizing filter which will increase contrast and saturation as well as produce those deep, blue skies.

Thank you for the positive criticism. My friend told me to post on forums in order to get better, so I appreciate it. His words were "post on forums and get your pictures torn apart and get told what you don't want to hear," ha, I'm glad you're kinder than that. So having the branches is a bad thing? I thought it made the photo look more interesting, but perhaps since it's titled "A Majestic Church," it should be more focused on the church? Early morning is a good idea, I just happened to take this picture on a walk to Belle Isle in Richmond (I did plan to take pictures though). A polarizing filter, eh? Ha, I use a ultra compact digital camera- a Canon Powershot SD1400 IS, can't really do much with the lens here :/

tirediron · Mar 23, 2012

I understand what you were thinking with the branches, I think however that it's just too much of a good thing. You can get special mounting brackets which will allow you to use filters with your P&S camera.

DGMPhotography · Mar 23, 2012

tirediron said:
I understand what you were thinking with the branches, I think however that it's just too much of a good thing. You can get special mounting brackets which will allow you to use filters with your P&S camera.

Oh I gotcha, I see what you mean! And oh really? Cool, I didn't know that! What are mounting brackets? Sorry, I really am a total noob :/

Dahrol · Mar 24, 2012

I'm no pro, and I mainly judge photos from the appeal they have to me, or lack therof.

I really like what you were going for with this picture, but in terms of how it looks to my eyes, it didn't turn out as good as it could have. It had lots of potential.

DGMPhotography · Mar 24, 2012

Dahrol said:
I'm no pro, and I mainly judge photos from the appeal they have to me, or lack therof.

I really like what you were going for with this picture, but in terms of how it looks to my eyes, it didn't turn out as good as it could have. It had lots of potential.

Ok, so how could I have done it better?

Dahrol · Mar 24, 2012

To me, it lacks sharpness and contrast.

Take my opinion with a grain of salt though. I'm just speaking on what appeals to my eye, not from a technical or professional standpoint.

Others will tell you differently.

DGMPhotography · Mar 26, 2012

Dahrol said:
To me, it lacks sharpness and contrast.

Take my opinion with a grain of salt though. I'm just speaking on what appeals to my eye, not from a technical or professional standpoint.

Others will tell you differently.

Could you explain that a little better?