First Pictures

[F-15_Flyer]

ok, here are two pictures that i want you guys to seriousely critique, i mean give it your all. I know they probably arent good at all. You may call them snapshots, or just crap pictures, i'm here to learn and learn i shall!

I took these with a Kodak CX6330 3.1 mega pixels.(which is why im looking for a new camera)

The first one i took was at the "Scottish Games" that i go to every year. There's a farmer who brings his sheep and sheep dogs for a very cool demonstration of what the dogs can really do.



The second one i took at Keuka Lake in New York.



Let the critiquing begin!

[fgottman]

Let me first say welcome!

Okay, here goes...

First shot: A good action photo. It looks to me that you've made a mistake that has made me infamous amongst my friends. In my eye, the camera was focused in on the fence more than on the sheep. I've screwed up so many would-be excellent shots that way, it's almost comical. I also feel that a tighter shot would have improved the look. Maybe the three middle sheep, the fence, and the inner dog. This would remove the hazy, washed-out sky. Cropping might also remove a large portion of the distracting lumps of dead hay/grass that are left from cutting this field.

Second shot: I like the shot, but wish you'd have either waited a half second longer or taken it three seconds earlier and framed the shot so that the sunlight and tree were on one side of the picture and the boat on the other. The second option may have been better in that the boat would've been entering the shot, but then again, you'd lose alot of the wake this way. You could also maybe play with the levels a little so that there's more color in the sky.

In my not-at-all-educated opinion.

Again, welcome to the forums.

Fred

[F-15_Flyer]

fred, thankyou for your opinion. I like your tips on the second photo a lot and wish that i could go back to the scene and do it over again. i will remember that kind of thing in the future. for the first photo, i just noticed that i put more focus on the fence, my mistake. as far as the cropping goes, something like this maybe?



or this?



maybe neither. anyway, i appreciate your opinion and advice. My knowledge is already growing and its my second day here. Now i know this is a great community to be a part of.

[Steph_B]

The first one i took was at the "Scottish Games" that i go to every year. There's a farmer who brings his sheep and sheep dogs for a very cool demonstration of what the dogs can really do.



The second one i took at Keuka Lake in New York.



Let the critiquing begin!

Welcome to this forum! May you post many pics here!

Photo #1
This is a nice action photo. I like the dynamism of the dogs (left to right) and sheeps (right to left). Ok, the fence if a bit of a bugger, but what can you do? That would be a lot to clone out! I would suggest you to crop your photo slightly to help the viewer concentrate on the subject. I would crop out the bottom of the pic. You will end up with some kinda panoramic that might emphasize the action. If you want to keep the 24/36 format, then you will have to crop a bit on the right as well (you might need to take out the 2 sheeps at the far right).

Photo #2
This is a very difficult picture to take: one of the subject (the sun+tree) is mostly vertical (branch+reflection). The other subject (the boat and its wake) ... is mostly horizontal! So what can we do about it? Not much... I think that I would have used a landscape orientation, putting the sun/branch on the left and the boat on the right.

Another detail: the top of the boat is merging with the background. You could have avoided this by slightly changing your position while taking the picture. I realized that a good technique while in the field (and before triggering the shutter!) is always to look for merging lines.

Hope you will find this helpful!

Cheers,

Steph.

[F-15_Flyer]

thankyou steph for your opinion. yes your information is very helpful to me. for the panoramic crop. i dont fully understand what your trying to say. i tried it anyway. i did it twice, is either one what you mean?





for photo 2, i will keep in the point of view also in the future as far as things merging with other things. thankyou for your advice.

[Steph_B]

thankyou steph for your opinion. yes your information is very helpful to me. for the panoramic crop. i dont fully understand what your trying to say. i tried it anyway. i did it twice, is either one what you mean?





for photo 2, i will keep in the point of view also in the future as far as things merging with other things. thankyou for your advice.

Yeah.. sometime I just do not make much sense! Sorry for the confused post.

I took the liberty of playing a bit with your image and this what I would have done with respect to the crop. I think that keeping a bit of sky is a good idea to give some kind of reference to the viewer.

[F-15_Flyer]

ok, i see what you mean. thanks again.

i like what you did, did you sharpen it also a little bit?

[Clicker]

Welcome to PR!!! You mentioned that you are using a Kodak CX6330, are you also using the Easyshare software? if so, your options there are limited, you can change to B&W, you can brighten or darken, and crop, but not much else, Right?
Images: I like the last crop done, keeping the horizon line and some of the sky in - the trees are pretty interesting.. with all the different types and different shapes...

[Steph_B]

ok, i see what you mean. thanks again.

i like what you did, did you sharpen it also a little bit?

I couldn't help myself! Hope you don't mind...

[F-15_Flyer]

not at all steph, "watch and learn."

thankyou for the warm welcome clicker, and yes im using the easyshare software, very limited. but i do have photoshop 7 which i use a lot.

[Clicker]

thankyou for the warm welcome clicker, and yes im using the easyshare software, very limited. but i do have photoshop 7 which i use a lot.

Your Welome ! ( pun intended)

yea, I was Just wondering, because we have an easyshare at work, and the software leaves you wanting Much!

lol.

[fgottman]

Sorry it took so long, but your crop in message #3 was what I was thinking, although I also like the look of keeping some of the sky as in message #6. I think both of these look very good.