My Dad at Konza Prairie(Kansas River Valley)

[KillerChaos]

Ok We went to one of my cousins weddings in Manhattan, Kansas and this River Valley with a big look out place is 5 mins outside of town. Anyways I need to know what you think and also some advice for the future. I know part of his hand got cut out of the picture and also that the sky kind of got overexposed or whatever you call it. Any other advice?

Thanks

 

[KillerChaos]

....surely someone has something to say? ...

 

[Alpha]

If you can't say anything nice?

Sorry, it looks like a snapshot. Mostly due to the fact that he's squinting and the lighting on his face is poor.

 

[PhotoPhoenix]

he's squinting and his eyes are dark due to poor lighting, the sky is near blow out, the composition is way too extreme..

 

[Jeff Canes]

it's framed too tight on the left

 

[Digital Matt]

Very casual...

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[jon_k]

I know part of his hand got cut out of the picture and also that the sky kind of got overexposed or whatever you call it. Any other advice?

Just cause you say "I know..." doesn't mean anything to me. Gotta work harder and get those things right next time. Understand the problems in the field and keep taking pictures until you get it right. It's no good if you come home with ruined pictures.

Here's things that work against me.

* Sky blown out. Seems like this was hard, mid day, bad time of day.
* Light harsh on his face. Doesn't bother me as much as maxbloom, but became apparent when he pointed it out.
* His hand cut off, no no.
* His legs cut off. It would have been worse if it happened /after/ the knee, but still looks strange here. Like an amputee.
* The wall he's on is curving, just doesn't work for me.

I understand what you wanted here. You wanted your subject + the scenery. Unfortunately the scenery in this particular location wasn't so nice, and the time of day was harsh. It looks like it was just a bad location and there was no other place for that guy to sit for a picture then there. I'm wondering if this was on vacation, it seems like an unplanned shot.

The scene kind of sucks up until the point of that hill over there past them bushes. It looks like a good vantage point ont hat hill on the right. You'd get some cool pictures from that hill. Not sure where'd you'd put your subject though to stand.

The uneven grass, wall, and ditch and road cutting horizontally across just don't look right.

 

[HyperSniper]

A polarizing filter might help the sky a bit. Get your subject more towards the center, rule of thirds him.

 

[Kweaver]

Living near that spot, I can tell you that for a better location at that overlook, is walking about 2-3 minutes past that road, and you will get much much more of the hills and sky and none of the road and grass. Also a great spot to go more towards sunset.

 

[LaFoto]

Well, many things with regards to the composition of your photo have already been pointed out, and they are all valid, and also those with regards to the light that was when you arrived at that spot. What struck me as a real shame about this photo first is that your dad is supposed to be the subject (at least the title you chose for this thread is suggesting that), and he of all things shown is not in focus! Yes, you wanted to place him in front of this countryside with the many greens (lovely indeed, says I ), but in the end you get that countryside in focus but not him. It ought to have been the other way round.

Another thought about composition: the horizon line divides your photo in two almost equal halves. That is not so good. And it cuts through your dad's head. I don't think that is quite so good, either.

Green usually is a wonderful background colour for skin (in my opinion), but then it should fill the whole background. Maybe it would have been wiser to look for a spot where the sky would disappear behind your dad? Just a thought of mine... You'd have run into less exposure problems that way, too. That means that you would have needed to be higher to change the perspective and thus "shift" the background. See what I mean?

 

[KillerChaos]

Thanks for the tips. Indeed it was an unplanned shot as we looked over and saw it on the way home from my cousins wedding. Decided to stop and take a few quick shots. It might seem as though it was mid day but it was actually only an hour or so before Sunset. Plus a really bad storm was coming in so we didnt have time to sit there and take a whole bunch of pictures. Im nowhere near trying to make it look all professional or anything like that. So with that said, yes it's pretty much a snapshot. Its just too bad the sun blurred out most of the awesome clear view of the valley and hills. I will try to get some polarizers for the future. Thanks Again.