Newbie C&C

willman45 · Oct 2, 2010

Hey i just started taking photos (loving it) and would like some advice/criticism. Anything helps Thanks.

tirediron · Oct 2, 2010

Welcome to TPF; C&C per req:

1. Nicely captured. I like the way you've used the towers as a leading line to walk the eye into the image. I'm not sure that the "frame" of the nearest tower is necessary. It's soft focus is a bit distracting to me.

2. A nice, quiet scene, but lacking a distinct main subect.

3. Somewhat over-exposed. Perhaps a little post-processing adjustment would help. Not really sure I "get" this one.

4. I think this one would have been better without the person climbing the tower. In fact, I think this might have better without the towers at all. just a sweeping scene of fall colour; a panorama perhaps.

Overall, very nice. Technically they're fine, exposure, white balance etc. You should try and level your images in post so that the water from the lake doesn't run all over my carpet

and if you're an outdoor person, I would consider investing in a polarizing filter; it will take those fall colours from nice to "wow"!

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

willman45 · Oct 2, 2010

Thanks a lot for the input John, much appreciated. i'm going to research some filters!

Kimba · Oct 2, 2010

i think John summed it up! and yeh, the framing in the first actually takes way from the effect of the overall photo for me.

pgriz · Oct 2, 2010

I think from now on I'll just let John (tirediron) do the critique, and I'll nod sagely and say "yup, what he said!".

Seriously, though, the first one needs a bit more depth-of-field, and is just screaming for the application of focus set according to the hyperfocal distance. Then pretty much everything from the foreground to the back would be sharp and distinctive.

The second one appears nice, quiet, and…. Static. Putting the horizon line in the middle of the picture will do that to you. Ideally, you want the horizon line either higher (emphasis on the ground or water), or lower (emphasis on the clouds). If the former, you’d also need some object to grab our attention in the foreground, and then lead our eye towards the horizon. Either the rock thingamajig on the right or the sunken log on the left could have been used to do that.

Third image… Besides being overexposed, it again places the object (footings of the tower) dead center. Part of the reason why this doesn’t usually work is that you’re not giving the eye any clues where to go to explore the rest of the photo. If you had placed this on the lower right, for instance, then the eye would follow the horizontal steel member into the rest of the photo…

Fourth image… so is this a landscape play, or a machinery play, or human-interest story play? You’ve got to put more emphasis on one aspect (simplify, simplify!) so that the viewer has a clear idea of what YOU found interesting. If it was the guy climing the tower, then you need to get closer. If it’s the foliage, then walk past the chairlift and shoot without them distracting us. If it’s the machinery, then again, you need to get closer and really emphasize the machinery.