Help please - general composition

I've hung around this forum a while and admired many people's contributions, but not submitted anything myself. Now I'm hoping to get some help with improving some of my own photographs. In particular, I'm having trouble injecting pictures with an 'x' factor - the move away from pleasant snaps to something with more impact.

I'd really appreciate it if people could take a look at this set of pictures and tell me what you think. By and large I'm not unhappy with them, but I'd like to move on to the next level. Any suggestions, comments, criticism etc. would be greatly appreciated. All pictures taken with EOS300D and 28-135 IS lens.

http://andrewhunt.fotopic.net/c149558.html

Thank you all in advance.

Andrew

Andrew,

I think you've done a nice job with the photos but kind of understand what you mean. I think a lot of what makes most photographs interesting is seeing them from an unusual perspective. Try getting near the ground and shooting up, I think your first picture (of the arch) could been more interesting if you got donea little. Also, the "Family" shot, same thing. Getting down would've allowed you to get the kids feet in frame and maybe a bit of a leading line with the bridge.

Speaking of unusual, you might want to play with your metering. I'm not certain but I'd guess that all of these shots were in Program Mode where the camera automagically sets the shutter and aperature. In the fountain picture you probably could have used a higher f/stop which would have given you a wider depth of field as well as forced your shutter slower giving the water that free flowing look. The reverse is true with the flower shot, a shallower DOF might be interesting to completely blur out the background. That one too, I'm not sure where the sun was but it looks like it was in the shadow.

Just a couple thoughts on different ways to look at the pictures. Hopefully it's worth reading I heard an interesting piece of advice once that went something like: before you hit the shutter button ask your self why you're taking the picture. I catch myself occasionally and make myself answer. Thanks for sharing,

--
Dan
http://www.pbase.com/efatapo

Dan,

Many thanks for your comments - exactly the kind of response I was hoping for. You're right about using programme mode. In my defence, the light wasn't great - time to invest in a tripod, I guess!

Your final comment about asking why also rang true. I'll definitely bear it in mind. Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Andrew

Daniel Coughlin said:

Andrew,
I think you've done a nice job with the photos but kind of
understand what you mean. I think a lot of what makes most
photographs interesting is seeing them from an unusual perspective.
Try getting near the ground and shooting up, I think your first
picture (of the arch) could been more interesting if you got donea
little. Also, the "Family" shot, same thing. Getting down
would've allowed you to get the kids feet in frame and maybe a bit
of a leading line with the bridge.

Speaking of unusual, you might want to play with your metering.
I'm not certain but I'd guess that all of these shots were in
Program Mode where the camera automagically sets the shutter and
aperature. In the fountain picture you probably could have used a
higher f/stop which would have given you a wider depth of field as
well as forced your shutter slower giving the water that free
flowing look. The reverse is true with the flower shot, a
shallower DOF might be interesting to completely blur out the
background. That one too, I'm not sure where the sun was but it
looks like it was in the shadow.

Just a couple thoughts on different ways to look at the pictures.
Hopefully it's worth reading I heard an interesting piece of
advice once that went something like: before you hit the shutter
button ask your self why you're taking the picture. I catch
myself occasionally and make myself answer. Thanks for sharing,

--
Dan
http://www.pbase.com/efatapo

Click to expand...

ajchunt said:

Many thanks for your comments - exactly the kind of response I was
hoping for. You're right about using programme mode. In my defence,
the light wasn't great - time to invest in a tripod, I guess!

Your final comment about asking why also rang true. I'll definitely
bear it in mind. Thanks again for taking the time to share your
thoughts.

Andrew

Daniel Coughlin said:

Andrew,
I think you've done a nice job with the photos but kind of
understand what you mean. I think a lot of what makes most
photographs interesting is seeing them from an unusual perspective.
Try getting near the ground and shooting up, I think your first
picture (of the arch) could been more interesting if you got donea
little. Also, the "Family" shot, same thing. Getting down
would've allowed you to get the kids feet in frame and maybe a bit
of a leading line with the bridge.

Speaking of unusual, you might want to play with your metering.
I'm not certain but I'd guess that all of these shots were in
Program Mode where the camera automagically sets the shutter and
aperature. In the fountain picture you probably could have used a
higher f/stop which would have given you a wider depth of field as
well as forced your shutter slower giving the water that free
flowing look. The reverse is true with the flower shot, a
shallower DOF might be interesting to completely blur out the
background. That one too, I'm not sure where the sun was but it
looks like it was in the shadow.

Just a couple thoughts on different ways to look at the pictures.
Hopefully it's worth reading I heard an interesting piece of
advice once that went something like: before you hit the shutter
button ask your self why you're taking the picture. I catch
myself occasionally and make myself answer. Thanks for sharing,

--
Dan
http://www.pbase.com/efatapo

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--in my opinion the lovely bluebells lose something with the narrow dof and i would crop just the in focus blooms ( i love bluebells from my pommie days)

and although the stately home and daffodils are lovely i would close crop the family. they are just a great looking group.

also i dont know if you check levels etc in photoshop but i think your colours could do with bit more umph great start keeping working and dont forget i am a rank amature myself
Vera

Vera, thanks for your comments and encouragement.

Your point about the narrow dof crystalized a question I've been wondering. What's the best way to gauge dof accurately? I've only recently obtained my 28-135IS, and noticed that it seems to have a narrower dof range at low f numbers than I'm used to. I've only ever used general guess work in the past - this shot is a perfect example. I wanted to ensure that some of the more distant flowers were out of focus, so chose to open the lens up, but as you comment I obviously went way too far. I've tried using the DOF preview button, but not found it very helpful. Is there a more scientific way to get my dof right?

Thank you again.

Andrew

Vera said:

--in my opinion the lovely bluebells lose something with the narrow
dof and i would crop just the in focus blooms ( i love bluebells
from my pommie days)

Click to expand...

ajchunt said:

Your point about the narrow dof crystalized a question I've been
wondering. What's the best way to gauge dof accurately? I've only
recently obtained my 28-135IS, and noticed that it seems to have a
narrower dof range at low f numbers than I'm used to. I've only
ever used general guess work in the past - this shot is a perfect
example. I wanted to ensure that some of the more distant flowers
were out of focus, so chose to open the lens up, but as you comment
I obviously went way too far. I've tried using the DOF preview
button, but not found it very helpful. Is there a more scientific
way to get my dof right?

Thank you again.

Andrew

Vera said:

--in my opinion the lovely bluebells lose something with the narrow
dof and i would crop just the in focus blooms ( i love bluebells
from my pommie days)

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

som like everything sharp some like just a small portion sharp. i just wanted to see more sharp bluebells i think.
--
Vera

Andrew,

You might try bracketing. Which, while not scientific, until you get the feel for your lens might be the best way to achieve the result. Just take the same shot with 3 different aperature settings.

--
Dan
http://www.pbase.com/efatapo

As mentioned above, you can definitely work on finding new perspectives and angles.

A bigger challenge is the 28-135 zoom. It's a fine lens, but I think the range itself can be a handicap to your shooting. 135mm is starting to get to the longer end, but in general I find that range too close to human vision. Too familiar. Too mundane in a way.

You can combat this to some degree by using depth of field creatively. If I remember correctly that lens doesn't open up that wide, but remember that the closer you are to your subject, the narrower your DOF will be. Also the longer your focal length, the narrower the DOF (at the same subject distance).

And don't be afraid of the long end. Each weekend I pick a lens and go wandering for the day - including my 135mm prime. It wouldn't be my first choice for shooting the English countryside, but that's the whole point. Forcing yourself to see things a little differently. Do you need a person's whole body in the frame or maybe just a face? Or maybe just a profile of their face? And maybe a profile, shot close, blurring the background? And maybe orientating the shot so that the blurred background is a field of flowers? And on and on.

Anyway, I like what you've done so far. I think you've got a good eye for color and reasonable composition. Speaking of which - don't be afraid to recrop your photos. Perhaps I'm just a sloppy photographer, but I find that I crop just about every shot.

My gallery below has various "Santa Monica" entries. In general each one was shot over an entire day with a particular lens or with a different goal in mind. These excercises have noticeably improved my photography.
http://www.banzaifilms.com:8080

Banzai,

Thanks for the encouragement and interesting take on the focal length - it does ring true. I'll try putting your advice into practice - hopefully I'll start pushing out something approaching what you have to offer. A few of your images hit home with the kind of thing I'm trying to get at. I am jealous of your sunshine out there, mind ;-)

Thanks again.

banzai wrote:

ajchunt said:

Thanks for the encouragement and interesting take on the focal
length - it does ring true.

Click to expand...

Yes, the focal length thing can be a little funny. I'm currently in the market for a wider angle zoom and even though the Canon 24-70/2.8L is supposedly an excellent lens, I just don't think that focal length works for me. I've got my eye on the 17-40/4L specifically to get away from normal and into wide angle. The middle of the range is neglected in my lineup but I'm happy to skip it and go straight to the 70-200mm range.

Then again I have a friend who's very happy with his 28-135 IS and a 24-70/2.8L. Seems like way too much overlap in all the wrong places to me, but it works for him. To each his own!

ajchunt said:

A few of your images hit home with the kind
of thing I'm trying to get at.

Click to expand...

Glad to hear it. My shooting has gotten better, but I'm only at about a "high average" level. I still don't land enough great photos for my taste!

ajchunt said:

I am jealous of your sunshine out
there, mind ;-)

Click to expand...

Believe me, I appreciate every sunny day we get. I grew up in wintry Chicago, went to school in cruddy New Jersey, and forgot what the sun looked like behind San Francisco's fog, so finally making it to Southern California has been like landing in paradise!

Best of luck out there, looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

This one is the best for me:

http://andrewhunt.fotopic.net/p3671996.html

What I like about it is that you have the building in the background and the people in the foreground. It’s not clear if the people are the primary subject or the building, but the composting is nice and you get to see both.

The other photos are just not interesting in there presentation. Your flower photos are just clusters of flowers. You could get closer and do nice macros, but they way you present them there just there in the middle of the frame which usually is not the best place for your subject. Read about the rule of thirds. I don’t know why you take photos of tree trunks; this is not a subject that will interest most people.

I hope this helps.

Morris

ajchunt said:

I've hung around this forum a while and admired many people's
contributions, but not submitted anything myself. Now I'm hoping to
get some help with improving some of my own photographs. In
particular, I'm having trouble injecting pictures with an 'x'
factor - the move away from pleasant snaps to something with more
impact.

I'd really appreciate it if people could take a look at this set of
pictures and tell me what you think. By and large I'm not unhappy
with them, but I'd like to move on to the next level. Any
suggestions, comments, criticism etc. would be greatly appreciated.
All pictures taken with EOS300D and 28-135 IS lens.

http://andrewhunt.fotopic.net/c149558.html

Thank you all in advance.

Andrew

Click to expand...

Andrew,

I find it easier to flip this into a visual conversation, hope you don't mind. Keep in mind that these comments and critique is always subjective and considerably personal in point-of-view, so feel free to do with this whatever you want, but I hope it helps in a small way. As allways, the best teacher is experience; keep shhoting, the more the better. hang the prints up somehwere and live with them and start critiquing your own work.

ajchunt said:

I've hung around this forum a while and admired many people's
contributions, but not submitted anything myself. Now I'm hoping to
get some help with improving some of my own photographs. In
particular, I'm having trouble injecting pictures with an 'x'
factor - the move away from pleasant snaps to something with more
impact.

I'd really appreciate it if people could take a look at this set of
pictures and tell me what you think. By and large I'm not unhappy
with them, but I'd like to move on to the next level. Any
suggestions, comments, criticism etc. would be greatly appreciated.
All pictures taken with EOS300D and 28-135 IS lens.

http://andrewhunt.fotopic.net/c149558.html

Thank you all in advance.

Andrew

Click to expand...

--
Zane
http://www.pbase.com/devonshire

Be friendly to your fellow forum user, prefix your messages:

[PIC] for posting pictures [EQP] for equipment related posts
[LENS] for discussion on lenses [HELP] for when you need help
[CHLG] Challenges, Photo Assignments
[RQST] Requests, favors, etc.
[OPIN] for expressing your opinion, thoughts and Philosophy

We'll see if he minds his work being "telestrated", but I think that was a great post with some great comments. Very cool.

Now you just have to start using John Madden-like commentary: "Now see this bush here? See that guy? Just get rid of it and - boom! You've got a great shot."

banzai said:

We'll see if he minds his work being "telestrated", but I think
that was a great post with some great comments. Very cool.

Click to expand...

LOL!!

God, I don't mind at all - why ask for criticism if you can't take it when it comes?

Thanks again for all the comments, everyone. I really wasn't expecting so much constructive input. It's definitely helped me start thinking with some kind of structure, rather than just wondering why I didn't like my pictures. Hopefully I'll get a chance to push some more pixels over Easter, and I'll see what I can come up with bearing your excellent advice in mind.

Andrew