Help with this composition

[arneson]

Needless to say when I was driving down the highway and I saw this old rusty pickup truck out in a field by itself I was pretty excited to get a photo of it. I thought it would be easy but I just couldn't get the composition I wanted. I came back and loaded the shots up on my computer and am not fully satisfied with a single one. I'm posting a sample of them that should cover most of the shots that I can work with. What could I have done better to frame this shot? Some have gone through PP and some have not, it should be fairly obvious.

Thanks for the feedback!

1

2

3

4

5

6

 

[misstwinklytoes]

Less foreground, more tire I think. Although, I like #2. It's a lot of sky, but it works for me. I might boost the saturation on the sky and truck a bit.

 

[peanut170]

Its almost as if you stood everywhere, except for where you should have. Your too far away in the first and too close in the others. 6 to me is your best idea but more to side. rule of thirds like the first only closer.

 

[Texas Aggie]

...rule of thirds...

That's what I was going to say. Having it in the center of the frame makes it look ordinary.

 

[arneson]

peanut170, unfortunately I wasn't aware of the rule of thirds when I took this shot, thanks for the feedback though. And you're right, I stood just about everywhere except where I should have.

misstwinklytoes, thanks for the feedback! Unfortunately because of the crops I couldn't get much more tire.

I should also mention that I was not supposed to be in that field, so I was a little hesitant to stand right in front of the truck on a busy highway, maybe that's why I didn't get the shot I wanted

 

[misstwinklytoes]

What do you think of this? I think it looks a little better.

(Lemme know if you want me to take it down.)

 

[SecondShot]

I agree, it looks like a very interesting truck to shoot, but unfortunately the pictures dont' do too much for me. I will say that the color and crop edit that misstwinklytoes does add more visual interest to this photo. The easy comment on the edit would be that I'd like space to be in front of the truck, not the back. But, I can see this either way - front or back (but not both). I'm thinking "Blazing a trail through the soybean field" etc, etc.

 

[pgriz]

Putting your subject in the center makes for a static image. When composing a photo, you want an entry point (something that catches the eye), and then some space or lines for the eye to follow around the picture, picking up details as it does. Using the “rule of thirds” (as peanut170 and Texas Aggie already mentioned) usually works because your positioning of the subject gives the viewer a clue as to where you want them to look next.

That old truck is interesting, and unless you wanted to create a link between it and its surroundings, you’d be better off filling up more of the frame with the subject. If you used your 18-55 at the widest angle and got really close to the front grill, and a low perspective, you probably would have gotten a pretty interesting shot. There are a number of other perspectives you could take, emphasizing different parts of the truck, from various angles. Was there an animal that made its nest in the truck? Was there a plant that was growing through the grill?

Sometimes, when you come across this kind of subject, it’s not always easy to figure out how to shoot it. So play a game with yourself, and see what kind of story you can construct. Play some word associations, and see if anything comes out of this. If it had feelings, what would those be? If it was abandoned, why there? Once you get a story idea, that will suggest the way for you to shoot it.

Unless your photo is an abstract, a texture or contrast study, we, as humans, generally like to construct a narrative about what we see, and you, as the photographer, can make it easy to create such a story.

 

[misstwinklytoes]

Doh! You're right!

 

[786soul]

The image above this post looks the best I think. Keeping the subject out of the center always seems like a more interesting photo. Especially with the saturation and colors bumped it looks like an appealling image. The PPing helps the image in this case.

 

[arneson]

misstwinklytoes, that PP looks good, I really like it!

pgriz, thanks for those suggestions, I hadn't thought of creating a story in that way, that will help next time I come across a situation like this.

 

[Morpheuss]

I would just work on the crop and a little pp i like the edits that misstwinkleytoes did

 

[misstwinklytoes]

ty, very simple! Honestly spent about 30 seconds on both!

 

[vtf]

A shot from the front left down along the drivers side wouldve been cool. I like how this was a commercial/business truck, adds to the feel.
Just my 2 cents of editing.
Wow, the glass is still intact. This truck would look cool in some front yard.

 

[arneson]

Thanks everybody for the feedback and editing, I appreciate it. I'll make some edits to image #6 and call that the keeper.