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Thread: composition

  1. #1
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    composition

    i know from other submissions that i need a filter and to find time to take from different vantage points where possible but in terms of compositions/cropping how can i do a better job.

    i am looking to take one step at a time and judging by the comments received and reading through a lot of postings, composition is the first criteria.

    when i can get that right, i can work on dof etc. as a next sept.

    i have gathered perhaps wrongly though, that actually getting horizons correct, a good balance, interesting subject matter with "eye grabbing" focal point would be a good place to really get started.

    if you can get an interesting picture, then getting the other stuff would be the next logical step. if the subject isn't interesting enough no amount of lighting/dof would make a ha'porth of difference it seems..

    so perhaps you could suggest better crops, centering etc. would be a huge step. i don't mind if you want to crop or adjust to illustrate ~ in fact i think that would be a big help.

    all of these were ad hoc. the oregon/pch 1 coast line ~ i could have stayed forever but had time constraints. ditto with the gg and the paragliding was a visit to a beach up on the top of la jolla on the way home only to find these guys jumping off a cliff gliding and doing it all over again in a big hurry (perhaps the time line for the thermals ~ no expert here).
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails composition-southern-oregon-coastline.jpg   composition-golden-gate-bridge-sanfran.jpg   composition-late-p.m.-paragliding-over-la-jolla-ii.jpg  

  2. #2
    LRPS Alison's Avatar
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    Re: composition

    Now, I am not much good at shots like this but, WOW! I love the first shot because of the sense of scale you have shown. Had there not been people by the rocks I would have assumed they were just small rocks. They're HUGE! lol
    If this shot were mine I would be tempted to crop a little from the left of the frame and a little from the bottom.
    Maybe the experts will correct me if I am wrong.

    Your composition is very pleasing in shot number 2.

    And shot number 3 is a little 2D for my liking.

    I would also say the colours need lifting a little too. A bit of contrast and maybe a bit of saturation.

    They're all great shots though :thumbsup:

  3. #3
    Senior Shooter Greg McCary's Avatar
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    Re: composition

    I love the bridge shot. A dramatic sky would have helped wonders, but it's very nice as is...
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  4. #4
    MB1
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    Re: composition

    Alison has this about right-those are mostly nice photos of very great subjects with a couple of problems.

    The images are dull colorwise (but that can easily be fixed by most photo editing programs). The real problem that all landscape photographers have is other photographers and all their good images.

    To get a landscape that is outstanding everything has to work perfectly and the light has to be fantastic. Looking at your images of the Oregon Coast and the Golden Gate Bridge the composition is quite good-major points for you BTW. The problem is the light.

    Local and/or well heeled photographers will go those locations at sunrise and sunset day after day, year after year waiting for that one time when the weather, light and conditions are perfect for an iconic image (I know about this because that is what I do in DC). When they finally get that perfect image they sell it cheap to an agency who has thousands of copies run off overseas and that fantastic image ends up selling as a poster in gift shops for $4.99.

    Still you did well with the conditions you had and have some great vacation images (assuming you bump the color and contrast a bit).
    No, I DON'T need that.

  5. #5
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    Re: composition

    thanks for the input. as i say the problems are mostly time constraints. the rocks though really are that HUGE...

    every corner came up with another one and then another one etc..

    unfortunately the big sur was fog bound. i subscribe to a magasine called international living and they listed the top 6 Epic Drives.

    # 1 Big Sur, Calfornia

    i quote: Each hairpin bend brings a new and tantalising ocean vista over precipitous headlands and wide beaches far below !!

    :mad2:

    i have olympus master and have recently purchased photoshop which another member is helping me navigate.

    my problem currently is with trying to adjust something here, only changes something there. etc etc.

    i decided to leave well enough alone other than a crop of the gg.

    i can't figure out how to change the paraglider. being in la jolla late afternoon the sun was obviously setting in the west i.e. right into the lens, and the vantage point wasn't great. i do think though i might have been able to take the picture a little differently. we were on top of a small cliff and so i wonder what could i have gotten into the photo to make it more 3 D ?? or at least attempted to other than take it on my way down to the ocean after getting too close to the edge. would have been a pullitzer winner don't you think ? (posthumously of course !! )

  6. #6
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    Re: composition

    i have tried a different crop of the oregon shot allison. i have also tried to fiddle with the colours but again adding blue removes red etc. etc. etc.

    still as i mentioned i am unable to make much difference in the colours or cloudless skies for example but does this crop make the picture better ?

    i am going to the museum of science tomorrow here in town (having been inspired by some great butterfly shots on here) as we have a tropical rain forest there. there is also tomorrow an ehibit of snakes and lizards and i hope to use this as an exercise on compostion first. i can always return (luckily it's only about 20 minutes from home) and time will not be a restraint tomorrow.

    i intend to spend all day there and perhaps manage to get something to post for more critique next week

    thanks again. the support here make me want to take on bigger challenges.

    i'll remember to thank you all when i am up there collecting my prizes !!

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails composition-southern-oregon-coastline-cropped.jpg  

  7. #7
    project forum co-moderator Frog's Avatar
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    Re: composition

    Your statement about composition is 100% correct in my book.
    I agree that the the people on the beach is what makes number 1 eye catching.
    I also have my own theory that if things aren't right for the big landscape, that one can often get the feel by getting a small part of it. Don't know how to explain it.
    I played with #1 a bit and did a fairly major crop which I think still brings out the feel of your wider angle. What photoshop are you using. I use elements 5. I also played with hue and saturation and bumped the mid tones, then I magic wanded the sky and tried to get some more blue out of it.
    Remember that I'm an amateur/hobbyist so the experts may point out flaws in my edit.
    I like that you are trying to learn and taking one step at a time. I generally learn more from your questions and the answers you get.
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  8. #8
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    Re: composition

    frog thanks for your response and input. the crop does work for me, as does the little colour.

    i have elements 5.0 and am still getting to learn how to work with it. it's a lot more complicated to olympus master and i get stuck at the very worst with re-sizing the picture.

    :mad2:

    the composition thing seems an over riding factor as can be evidenced by the featured photo. i read with interest the first post and how it moved from crop to crop eventually lending itself to a dramatic picture IMHO.

    what struck me after reading every post in the critique and i do read them all, i take the first post and then try to see what i would do with it before i move on. most times i am completely at odds with the more experienced posters.

    :cryin:

    i do think though that my first thoughts when posting here have changed and i am not so far away from the composition standpoint as i was to begin with. so i feel that i am making progress.

    with respect to dof and the other related stuff i am miles away so far away in fact i am not even a speck on the horizon ~ still a good thing i suppose at least i can't be airbrushed out !!

    with much more work to do, i thought that i would work work work on composition and then a crop can help make a good picture in an excellent one as again evidenced by the featured photo.

    so my first objective is to work on that area, and the help i have received has been immense.

    so much easier that reading a book, because at least this way you can ask questions if not sure about the content. a book cannot respond however much it might lay things our for you in easy steps.

    as i say tomorrow as exercise indoors so we will see what the lighting throws up. i am really looking forward to it and planning as much as i can before i go.

    thanks again all for your invaluable input so far.

    :thumbsup:

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