First Landscape for Critique

[grantjames]

Hi all!

This is my first landscape for critique. I'm interested in what people think of the composition of the picture.

Firstly, I was trying to obey the rule of thirds (otherwise before learning about this I'd probably have put the tree dead centre!) I also tried to get the landscape closer to the bottom third of the picture.

Lastly, I flipped it horizontally, because I wanted the tree to be the main subject and I read that images often "feel" better to the viewer when the subject is in the right third.

Also, while I'm at it, this is a photo I took quite a while ago and had some fun with in photoshop. If anyone has any comments on how to make it better I'd be very grateful.

Thanks for looking!

 

[bazooka]

The tree, which I'm assuming is the subject, is in complete shadow with no detail. This isn't necessarily bad except it merges with all the other trees that are also in detail-less shadow and which hold an equal amount of 'weight' in the frame. This creates a massive, ugly silhouette which isn't interesting, at least to me.

The sky seems a bit overexposed, and the grass may be a bit underexposed. The image also makes me feel like I'm falling out of my chair. It may be level, but the scene composed the way it is, does not feel level with the background leaning right and the foreground leaning left.

First thing I'd do is change your angle or wait until the opposite time of day so the tree is getting some light so there is some detail. Then you can try composing it so that it has contrast against the other trees... maybe wait for some light so the background trees are in shade while the subject tree is lit. This makes the subject stand out.

I'd also try getting closer to the ground so we can actually see some grass detail. Get right down there in it and see what happens. Maybe it'll work, maybe not.

The image of the flower is much better. The selective coloring, although cliche, is not bad and certainly enhances the subject. Nice choice using the guitar as the background and the foreground. It ties the image together somewhat. But I don't like the other 'thing' in the background, it looks like a dresser? That kills it for me.

 

[white]

Worry more about proper exposure than the rule of thirds. It's not worth worrying about: basically anything you place off-center will more or less hit a third.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Worry more about proper exposure than the rule of thirds. It's not worth worrying about: basically anything you place off-center will more or less hit a third.

I disagree with the latter part of your statement. It doesn't teach you how to use composition properly. It's not "random".

 

[white]

It's not "random".

I know, but it gets you in the ballpark in a hurry. Not to mention photos can be cropped to follow thirds, so it's just not that important to worry about.

We must keep an eye on those light meters. They're up to no good, I tell you. Always under and overexposing. Pesky things.

 

[grantjames]

Thanks to everyone for their advice. It helps a lot.

A little info I had forgotten to put about the tree picture. This was actually about an hour or so before sun set. I couldn't figure out why the sky was turning blue! Turns out I had left the white balance on Tungsten lighting!

I can't remember where I did, but where would I take a meter reading to correctly expose this? Or is it just a matter of finding a good compromise between sky and scenery? I think I most likely took my metre reading off the sky, hence the darkness of the tree.

With regards to the "wobblyness" of the scene, I had tried to make the far away hill, and also the foreground level, but in both the tree looked like it was about to fall over. I think maybe I just need to find an eye for a better looking scene first

And with the rose picture - sadly that is a chest of drawers in the background! I think I will try and do the shot again with a blank background next time I have a rose (valentines day, haha!)

Again, I really appreciate your feedback! It helps me learn and I hope my next submission will be notably better.

EDIT: Ok, actually I've made the background horizon level and it doesn't look too bad to my eyes. Certainly much better than the image above. I have also adjusted the levels on the sky, but I've never really adjusted levels on a single part of a photograph, so you can see the gradual change in levels.

 

[LarryD]

Welcome to the world of Landscape...

I really have to disagree with your idea that a subject should be in the right half of the frame... It seems to be common on portraits, but a photo is "read" by the eye, frequently in a left-to-right fashion, so some schools teach that your landscape should flow that way.. Never-the-less, it is always argued, so not really a hard rule. Look into the "Golden Spiral" to better understand how a viewer typically reads a landscape..

In this case, your subject is too dark and so the viewer really doesn't know what it is. There is a lot of interesting color and background in your shot, as well as decent sky. It just isn't exposed properly. Looking at the shadow, you are also shooting into the sun... something to avoid unless you are looking for that perspective...

In any event, I have filled in the dark areas, darkened the sky slightly, and reversed your tree back to it's original setting - as well as slightly straightening the trunk of the main tree so the subject is more prominent...

Landscape is all about details and composition....... keep shooting

 

[clanthar]

Worry more about proper exposure than the rule of thirds. It's not worth worrying about: basically anything you place off-center will more or less hit a third.

Who the bleep made up this "rule of thirds" in the first place and how does it manage to get the status of a rule and why are you trying to follow it when the "law of fifths" is so obviously superior?

Joe

 

[grantjames]

I've just checked these pictures on a PC (I use a Mac at home) and they're so dark!

I think I need to Google something about gamma. Does anyone know exactly what it is I'm looking for to get the picture to look the same on macs and pcs?

Thanks.

 

[Sisco]

The photos as a whole is OOF, so editing will not help it. Get out there, check your settings, and retake, looks like a lovely area.

 

[clanthar]

I've just checked these pictures on a PC (I use a Mac at home) and they're so dark!

I think I need to Google something about gamma. Does anyone know exactly what it is I'm looking for to get the picture to look the same on macs and pcs?

Thanks.

You need your MAC and Windows system displays calibrated to the same standard. If you're looking at the photos on uncalibrated displays there's no telling what you're seeing.

Joe

 

[bazooka]

Bravo on the edit Larry. Grant, you can see how his edit allows the tree to separate from the background. You still can't see any detail in the bark, but you get the idea.

It does look like you metered for the sky as it is correctly exposed. When shooting into the sun, it's difficult, if not impossible to expose every part of the scene correctly because the dynamic range is much higher than your camera can capture given current technology. If you shoot in RAW, you can make some pretty impressive adjustments which do a good job at recovering some of the details. Plus you can change your white balance at any time without affecting the data in the image. The only other solutions to shoot that particular scene with that particular lighting is to use a gradient filter or do HDR. Filters, in my opinion, are far better than HDR, but can't be used very well if the horizon isn't more or less a straight line. The easiest solution is to change your angle or wait until morning when the light is better, or shoot in RAW.

Also, I do like you're 2nd version with the leveling. It makes much more sense to me. I don't feel nauseous when looking at it.

 

[grantjames]

Thanks again to everyone who has given their input. I've got to say I'm quite taken back by how helpful people are on this forum. Often on other forums I find there's too much "elitism" and unhelpful criticism.

I have taken all your comments on board and hope my next upload will be greatly improved