Portrait of a Friend and Sunset

[xnoirox]

Comments?


DSC_0056 (2) by noiro_103, on Flickr


DSC_0078 by noiro_103, on Flickr

 

[cgipson1]

Background on the sunset is very busy... too many little things were silhouetted also (power lines, far away buildings, poles), If you were to clone out the lines and poles, it would be a much nicer image.

Friend shot... underexposed several stops....busy background. Clouds look strange.. like they were photoshopped or something....

 

[xnoirox]

Mhmmm. I get that. I felt it added to the scene, but i guess not. I need to try this again when there's a unique sunset.
And the clouds are overexposed and way out of focus, i think that's what you mean. Thanks

 

[Derrel]

Sunsets can be VERY tough...the sunset itself is often beautiful. The trick is to get a ***good*** foreground object into the shot; an item or person or "thing" that will add, and not detract. Many times people shoot a sunset with absolutely nothing in the foreground, and all it ends up being is a pretty sky and some black stuff. YOU CHOSE a large tree...not too bad a choice, really. It's the most-interesting close object I can see in the photo, and it was rendered large, and nicely silhouetted. I'd say crop or clone out the leaning pole on the left, and it's not too bad overall...not "great", but actually BETTER than say, 75% of plain, no-object sunsets. The TREE itself is actually a pretty powerful "icon"...so I might have taken steps to have made it render larger and more-dominant in the composition, by going closer to it, and then using a shorter focal length to make the tree really BIG in the frame, and show the sunset as the background to the tree, dominating the frame. People shoot sunsets, all the time. I will shoot them as memories. I like them. The ones that stand out to me usually have a really GOOD foreground object.

The young woman...the shot has a background that steals from her, and the missing swing chain on the left....ehhh....mentally I REALLY WANT to see that other chain!!! But more importantly, see is looking OUT of the frame...that's not working as well as if she had been given more space to "look into". What is called "her line of gaze" or "her eye direction" needs to be a big part of the shot...so, unless this was shot much "looser" and you cropped in to get this, this particular frame is going to be hard to improve., OTOH, if you shot this "loose", and have more frame to work with, you could make it a better picture of her sitting in a swing. STILL, you could ALSO CROP IN REALLY TIGHT, and make this a headshot...and that would be an "okay" picture too--better than this particular composition.

 

[JAC526]

I like the power lines. Leads the eye to the tree.

 

[Derrel]

I like the power lines. Leads the eye to the tree.

Along with that thought--what is that DOME-SHAPED building there, near the sun??? Now THAT looks interesting! A tight vertical framing with that dome-shaped building and the tree *might* have made a neat photo.

 

[Robin Usagani]

I like the swing chain... Leads the eye to.....

I like the power lines. Leads the eye to the tree.

 

[cgipson1]

Mhmmm. I get that. I felt it added to the scene, but i guess not. I need to try this again when there's a unique sunset.
And the clouds are overexposed and way out of focus, i think that's what you mean. Thanks

What works for one person may not work for another!

 

[cgipson1]

I like the power lines. Leads the eye to the tree.

I find my eye goes to the brightest spot in the shot.. and the power lines are just a distraction...

 

[cgipson1]

No Power lines quickie (bit more contrast and sat added)

 

[JAC526]

Yeah you're right. Better without the power lines.

 

[AlanE]

Yeah you're right. Better without the power lines.

I agreed with your first comment, but I would crop most of the pole... Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing more of the line in the part between the tree and the dome. The landscape is dotted with these poles and I think it adds a unique element to the shot...

 

[Frequency]

i think removal of power line has done good to the image.... i really liked this

Well, regarding the second shot; the back ground!!! an image is called a snapshot if one ignores the elements in the frame other than the main object; the objects and background either should strengthen , complement the main subject or at least should remain neutral; otherwise they spoil the quality of the image, however perfect the main subject has come out... In this image , the swing is a great plus point, but the dark roof affects the image much adversely. It is like an ax into the head i am afraid. A really beautiful girlfriend in a really bad background

Regards

 

[xnoirox]

Thanks all.
And heck, yeah it looks better without power lines. Thanks! haha, at first i was just trying to to the sun because it was messing with the meter and making everything much darker, so I covered the sun with the "domed building." Which is really just my towns welcome sign.
I'll try another time when there's unique cloud cover and try again. Because this view is right out of my background.
I'll try to get some different results and post those to this thread at a later time.

 

[timor]

Friend shot... underexposed several stops...

Just wonder, how did you reach this conclusion ? And how many is several in this case ?