C&C Please - Old Barn

[BJPhotography]

I have finally figured out how to use manual settings, basically. I attended a seminar yesterday with Bryan Peterson and everything just sorta clicked for me. So I went out today and played with my settings. I have my ISO set at 400 and my aperture was at F8. I adjusted my shutter speed to get my light meter to 0 which put me at 1/500. I hope these settings were okay because I think the picture turned out nice. But thats coming from my amateur point of view. So Im posting it here for your more skilled photographers to review for me, if you would.

This is the Original. I did, however, clone out a piece of a truck that you could see in the bottom left in the grass area. Otherwise it is original.

This one is post processed.

Here is the barn without my husband in it. But Im not fond of the branch going through the center but I was trying to make it look like it was hiding behind the tree. Im not sure if I got that feeling.

And of course, here it is post processed.

 

[Geaux]

Just a question, but why did you go for an iso of 400? Personally, daytime shots are always 100-200, preferably 100 for me. The side of the barn looks bit blown as well and the subject (I'm guessing is you), gets a bit lost in the image with the large barn behind you.

I do like the processing style you chose for the image though.

 

[KenC]

It does look a little overexposed. The old rule of thumb from film is that in bright sunlight the exposure is f16 at 1/ISO, which in your case would be f16 at 1/400. F8 and 1/500 is about a stop and 2/3 or so overexposed. It doesn't look quite that overexposed, so maybe there was a little bit of haze or something. Remember that your meter is exposing for the average brightness of the scene, and for a large brightness range like in direct sunlight, the bright areas are likely to be overexposed and the dark areas underexposed. The latter is OK because you expect shadows to be pretty much black anyway, but you don't want overexposed areas with no detail. Any time I see a bright area that is a relatively small part of the frame I set a negative exposure compensation - in manual you would just change the aperture or shutter speed directly.

I don't know what you were going for in the PP, but I don't think that greenish-yellow cast does anything for the image. The increased contrast on the front of the barn looks good, but you need to block it from doing that to the side, where it is pushing much of it into pure white.

This is tough light for photographers to deal with. That's why many of us go out mostly on cloudy days or early in the morning.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Perhaps understanding exposure hasn't really clicked.

 

[manaheim]

Plus the composition is lacking... it's just a shot of a beat barn with a guy in front of it.

 

[BJPhotography]

It does look a little overexposed. The old rule of thumb from film is that in bright sunlight the exposure is f16 at 1/ISO, which in your case would be f16 at 1/400. F8 and 1/500 is about a stop and 2/3 or so overexposed. It doesn't look quite that overexposed, so maybe there was a little bit of haze or something. Remember that your meter is exposing for the average brightness of the scene, and for a large brightness range like in direct sunlight, the bright areas are likely to be overexposed and the dark areas underexposed. The latter is OK because you expect shadows to be pretty much black anyway, but you don't want overexposed areas with no detail. Any time I see a bright area that is a relatively small part of the frame I set a negative exposure compensation - in manual you would just change the aperture or shutter speed directly.

I don't know what you were going for in the PP, but I don't think that greenish-yellow cast does anything for the image. The increased contrast on the front of the barn looks good, but you need to block it from doing that to the side, where it is pushing much of it into pure white.

This is tough light for photographers to deal with. That's why many of us go out mostly on cloudy days or early in the morning.

Thanks for the reply. I did realize afterward that my iso setting was too high and I should have come down. I will change that from now on. I do agree too on the over-exposure on the side of the barn. I tried to "improve" it with the post processing. I liked it too.

 

[BJPhotography]

Perhaps understanding exposure hasn't really clicked.

I didnt claim to say that I was a professional. If you re-read my first sentence, I said I had a basic idea of it. Thank you for...well, was this a C&C?

 

[BJPhotography]

Plus the composition is lacking... it's just a shot of a beat barn with a guy in front of it.

Thank you for your opinion. Obviously your comment is coming across as personal although Im not sure why that is. There are photos of just a kid or just a bug. Do they have more composition than a really cool falling down barn with my husband in front of it? You are rude. But I will be the better person and thank you for your opinion.

 

[manaheim]

hahah, well this proves your other comment was sour parsimmons.

Look, dearie. Get a thick skin or don't bother posting your images.

You think my comment was rude? Why? Because it was brief and to the point? Because I didn't bother to put a lot of padding in it to protect your fragile ego? Or because I didn't just go "NICE SHOT!" like a lot of other people on here who have absolutely no idea what a good photograph is, how to put together a proper composition or how to bring it off with technical skill?

You're probably new to this... and that's fine. Good for you. You have to start somewhere. Sure, your composition lacks any useful substance or story telling, your framing is obvious and uninteresting, and you inexplicably chose ISO400 in brilliant daylight and overexposed it to boot. You're new. New people do these things, and that's fine and wonderous.

Here's the thing, though... you keep up that attittude and you won't make it another step beyond the garbage you just posted here. You asked for C&C. I gave it. It may have been short, but it was accurate. Don't like it? Whah.

 

[Geaux]

lol, she responded to two negatives and pretty much ignored the actual CC given to her.

Yeah, time to thicken up the skin a bit, the comments weren't that bad.

 

[mishele]

Here is a little something something to help you out w/ your composition.....
10 Top Photography Composition Rules

 

[BJPhotography]

hahah, well this proves your other comment was sour parsimmons.

Look, dearie. Get a thick skin or don't bother posting your images.

You think my comment was rude? Why? Because it was brief and to the point? Because I didn't bother to put a lot of padding in it to protect your fragile ego? Or because I didn't just go "NICE SHOT!" like a lot of other people on here who have absolutely no idea what a good photograph is, how to put together a proper composition or how to bring it off with technical skill?

You're probably new to this... and that's fine. Good for you. You have to start somewhere. Sure, your composition lacks any useful substance or story telling, your framing is obvious and uninteresting, and you inexplicably chose ISO400 in brilliant daylight and overexposed it to boot. You're new. New people do these things, and that's fine and wonderous.

Here's the thing, though... you keep up that attittude and you won't make it another step beyond the garbage you just posted here. You asked for C&C. I gave it. It may have been short, but it was accurate. Don't like it? Whah.

YOUR COMMENT WASNT C&C DUDE. YOUR COMMENT HAD NOTHING IN IT THAT HELPED ME IMPROVE MY PHOTO. GIVE ME SOME GOOD C&C PLEASE; NOT YOUR PHOTO STYLE OPINION OF WHAT SHOULD BE IN A PHOTO OR WHAT SHOULDNT BE. I DO NOT HAVE THIN SKIN. I JUST CANT STAND PEOPLE WITH EGO'S LIKE YOURS. YOU BROUGHT NOTHING TO HELP ME IMPROVE MY PHOTO WHATSOEVER. YOU HAD NO OPINION ON LIGHTING. ALL YOU SAID WAS THAT YOU DIDNT LIKE THE BEAT UP BARN AND A GUY IN FRONT OF IT. HOW DOES THAT HELP ME IMPROVE MY PHOTO? I DIDNT ASK IF YOU LIKED THE SHOT. I ASKED FOR OPINIONS ON IMPROVING IT. GET A LIFE.

 

[BJPhotography]

lol, she responded to two negatives and pretty much ignored the actual CC given to her.

Yeah, time to thicken up the skin a bit, the comments weren't that bad.

I did not! I commented agreeing with the top two critiques that said my iso was off and I agreed that they were overexposed and what I could do to change it. What are you talking about? Sheesh. I did NOT ignore the corrective criticism given to me. I ignored the arrogant one from Star Trek dude.

 

[BJPhotography]

Here is a little something something to help you out w/ your composition.....
10 Top Photography Composition Rules

Thank you!

 

[mishele]

You need to chill..........it is just a shot of a guy in front of a barn. It's just not that interesting. People here will try to help you but you need to leave YOUR ego at the door.