Peruvian Girl and Alpaca

rskopek · Jul 26, 2007

First off I'm a new member to the forum and am extremely ecstatic to have found such a valuable resource on the net, and look forward to becoming an active member.

I would like critique on these two photos I captured recently while in Peru. To my unprofessional eye I find them to be great shots, but I'm sure, as with most travel photographers, we have a higher value of our own work as it brings out the memory of the moment the image was captured.

These images were taken on a Canon 30D and my new 50mm lens at f1.8 which I'm trying to get used to. Was f1.8 too much aperture? Would it have been preferable to have a greater depth of field? In the first photograph, would the use of fill flash been preferable? Only minor photoshopping has been used for color correction. Any suggestion on additional use? And last, I'm considering entering one of these in a photo contest, which is your preference. Thanks everyone!

LaFoto · Jul 26, 2007

Heya r, welcome to ThePhotoForum! Always good to see new members on here!!!

Nice photography to be seen, too, taken with a lovely lens (I only recently got myself the 50mm 1.8 lens, too), and I think that the wide open aperture just works fine in the first. I would not want to see any deeper DOF, and the focus is just where it needs to be. To my mind, that photo also does well enough without the use of fill flash.

The second is nice, the llama is cute, but I deplore the fact that its ear got cropped off. That tip is kind of "sorely" missing (to my mind).

DwainDibley · Jul 26, 2007

I love the first picture, it makes me wonder what they're looking at, and what they (well, the little girl!) is thinking about.

The DOF is fine, if the background was in focus it would distract viewers from the girl and Alpaca, who are the main focus of the picture.

I'm pretty much a noob myself, and have that 50mm f1.8 'nifty fifty' lens myself, it is indeed an excellent lens, one I need to practice with myself!

kundalini · Jul 26, 2007

#1 is excellent. As stated already, further DOF would distract.

I just got myself a 50mm f/1.8 yesterday (Nikkor). Set up some items to shoot to experiment & help figure out how to use when it counts. I think it's gonna be a welcomed addition to the bag.

Garbz · Jul 26, 2007

I'm going against popular opinion and say I don't like number 1. It is a good idea and the positioning from the back is great. My only problem is compositionally the shot is somewhat confusing to me. Now I assume the girl is looking at the scenery, but the llama is it eating out of her hand or something, I simply can not tell what it is doing. I think it is concealing the girl a bit too much. Also I would like to get a better idea of what they are looking at. I think a larger aperture would have helped the first one. But plenty of others like it, it's art, you can't please everyone.

I like the second one a lot though. It has a young free spirit type feeling about it, and it means much more to me than the first.

newrmdmike · Jul 26, 2007

i think it should have been stopped down more so i can see her face, in the second it would be much neater to see her in focus. shes in that traditional clothing, and has a blow pop . . . how cool would that be to see in focus?

pretty cool me thinks

the first one would have been better i think if you had backed up andi could see the scenery or whatever they are looking at, or if i could see at least some of their faces.

rskopek · Jul 26, 2007

Thanks everyone for your replies. Being a relative noob I tend to see things through my own set perameters of taste, that without outwardly seeking and seeing through the eyes of another, would fail to change, adapt, and grow. Your replies have all been insightful and the next time I find myself behind the shutter I will be asking myself more questions as to the composition and postioning of the shot and deeper DOF consideration.

These pics were candids as the opportunity presented itself, so there was no repostioning of the subject for lighting or composition. It all just kind of happened. For those of you without a 50mm f1.8, I suggest you get one. It is by far the lens I have most fun with, and at only $80, it's an absolute steal! Thanks again for your critiques, and I'm sure to post a few more pics to get some insightful ideas to improve my photography.

ravikiran · Jul 26, 2007

Hai rskopek,
Can I call you Kopek? Anyhow, welcome to the Forum. Travel photography as per me doesn't need any special knowledge and all. Just the curiosity to take a picture, and if possible a bit of creativity of how the picture is to be taken.
I think you have both of them. You did just well in the #1, by taking a scenic view as background and also by not disturbing other peace. That's just great. I like it very much.
Regarding 50mm. I say everyone's fortunate to possess that lens. I dare say some users were obssessed with that lens.
Thanks for sharing,
Ravi.

rskopek · Jul 26, 2007

Sure, Kopek works. However, Kopek is an Irish band, and in the Turkish language, Kopek, or something very similar sounding, means dog. But hey, whatever makes you happy

Thanks for the critique!