I want some critical evaluation and tips please.

[Garbz]

Hey all.

People tell me some of my photos are good. But what makes them good. Everyone pointed these 6 as the best in the last 5 rolls of film i've processed but what exactly composition wise is good about them. If i know then all my photos can be good :

Please excuse my dodgy scanner:

All comments welcome even bad ones

 

[bogleric]

Out of these #1 and #4 is the best in my opinon. Photography is not just about capturing an image well. It is also about capturing an image that is more than just an image. A picture with emotion, a story, or some other feeling / relationship that people can relate to.

In #4 there is great diversity in this picture, something that people can really relate to well, thus making it something more than just a picture.

#1 is definitely my favorite as it is the beauty of the tree that is hidden by the darkness of the world. One could go on for a few minutes about the meaning of the images in this picture.

The best advice is this... a picture is worth a million words if it is a good picture.

I am sure you have experienced this in art galleries, stores, etc.

 

[Garbz]

hmmm the tree didn't conciously affect me. I just thought it was a beautiful sunset and the tree was actually in the way when i photographed it from my roof. But now that u mention it the picture would be far worse if the tree wasn't there.

Thanks I think i understand what u are talkinga bout.

 

[motcon]

a couple of things to keep in mind:

- have a single point of focus. understand what it is you want the viewer to see. everything else in the frame should compliment it, not fight with it for attention.

- this is the hardest thing to do: be very, very critical of what you see in the view finder. what you see may be sincerely breath taking, but when it's a photograph, it becomes something different. at times the photo is chaotic, even though it contains the visual elements of what you saw, it isn't necessarily what you 'saw' and wanted to communicate.

one word: simplify.

 

[ksmattfish]

I have a hard time evaluating prints from a scan. I never know how much of the damage is done by the photographer, their scanner, or my lousey monitor. But here goes....

#1: Compositionally this is done well. The horizon is low to emphasize the cloudy sky, and the silhouettes of the trees frame the sky. There isn't anything that competes for attention with the sky. Subject wise, every photographer and thier brother/sister are shooting cloudy skies silhouetted by trees; either you need more exciting trees, or a more exciting sky, or both.

#2: The white sky has got to go. Does the print have more color? Compositionally this is too cluttered. Get up closer to that redbud (or whatever the pink tree is) and fill the frame with the pink foliage and twisty branches. If you fill it up enough, I might even be willing to overlook the white sky.

#3: Is the red tree the subject? Move it out of the center and get a lot closer. Get rid up as much blank grass and white sky as you can. Changing your point of view so that the red tree has a background of dark green trees will really bring out the red. If the red tree isn't your subject? Well, once you've got something red in your picture it will always compete for the viewers' attention.

#4: Too much clutter, too much blank grass, too much white sky. The tree in the left center looks interesting. Get up close to the trees and the shadows. I want to see a frame filled from edge to edge with wood and shadow. Try composing your subjects so that your most important subject breaks three sides of the frame.

#5: Change your point of view so that you isolate the red and tall green tree against the blue sky. A polarizing filter will increase color saturation, and make the blue sky darker. Lose the building and any bright white clouds along the edges (unless you can get a point of view where there are clouds all across the sky). Bright white objects attract the viewers' attention away from the subject.

#6: This is the one I like the best out of these pics. A little closer might be good, and get rid of the buildings(I'm just finding them distracting). The lighting is too harsh. Come back here at sunrise or sunset and take this shot with nice glowing, warm light.

There's my critque; it can be summed up as get closer, fill the frame, avoid clutter, and as little bright white sky as you can get. Pay attention to what is at the edge of your viewfinder.

Do you think these are your best pics? Let's see some of the others that you like but people didn't choose.

 

[bogleric]

One thing I always keep in mind is that photography can be the art of "seeing something old with a new set of eyes". Some famous photographer said that and I cannot remember who.

Anyways you would be amazed at what could be seen in something that you pass by daily when you stop and try to look at it again for the first time.

I would also agree to be meticulous about what you see in the viewfinder though. So many times I get home and find something in the picture that I did not see that ruins to whole shot.

 

[Garbz]

Thanks a lot. Like i said i am new to this, but i am enjoying it.

Also the picture with the red tree was polarised! My crappy scanner desaturated the picture.

Also the picture with the purple jacuranda in it, the tree was actually quite purple in the picture and the sky was slightly warmer as it was sunset (once again my scanner sin't really top stuff).

Thanks for the critique anyway. I'll see if i can find some other pictures.