Need a load of help

Dear all,

While walking the other weekend - new camera Canon PowerShot Pro 1

I took loads of photos (172).

I liked the bush with the red berried and have cropped this one but doesn't look that good now its home - any comments?

sorry didnt mean to post on this

Quote:

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Originally Posted by readingr

Dear all,

While walking the other weekend - new camera Canon PowerShot Pro 1

I took loads of photos (172).

I liked the bush with the red berried and have cropped this one but doesn't look that good now its home - any comments?

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The first thing that comes to mind is the lack of DOF which blurs the closest berries/branches. This is mostly noticeable of the edges on the pic. (however, this shallow DOF was also responsible for blurring the BG, which is definitely nice.). In this case, a higher F value would have been better, even though a slower shutter speed would have given you more difficulties with the wind.

When taking pics of flowers/berries etc.... you should pay quite a bit of attention on your background. Red berries? Try a dark/green BG.... at least something dark so that it will not compete with the main subject. In thic pic, you have two BG: the trees and the yellow grass. Personally, I would have tried to compose the pic such that the yellow grass is outside the frame.

I do not know if you use a tripod or not. Tripods are big, bulky, heavy and a huge hassles. But they also allow you to concentrate more on your composition.... not to mention you can shoot at any shutter speed! Definitely a MUST if you want to become serious in garden/landscape photography.

Finally, this pic may (I am not sure) have benefitted from a polarizer filter (I do not know if you can put one on your lens). A pola allows you to boost the colors by removing the vegetation glare. This might have given you an edge here. However, you would have lost 2 f-stop more.

The weather is one big issue in landscape photo. It seems that the day was quite bright and overcast. I do not see much shadows in this pic. As a result, there is a limitation to what you can do.

Anyway, these are just a few thoughts I've quickly put together. I hope this helps. Keep on playing with your new toy. You will quickly learn what works and what does not work! Enjoy!

Cheers,

Steph.

Stuff like this is really hard. You see the whole bush and its surroundings, you feel the sun on your shoulders, smell the cool evening air, the berries glisten and sway, and it seems there is no better picture in the world to take.

But the camera flattens the shot, takes away the three-dimensionality of it, and only captures a small portion of the scene, let alone not capturing the atmosphere and essence of the day. So you've got to be VERY particular about exactly how you go about composing your shot, to be sure that what you see through your viewfinder can stand alone.

I've so much difficulty with this that I don't have much advice, except to remind you that this is what you must be thinking whenever you're taking shots such as this. Maybe focus on a very interesting branch filled with berries, take the picture looking down the length of the branch and use selective DOF to focus on a couple berries in a nice arrangement. Give the eye one main subject that it wants to rest on, while the surrounding elements enhance and/or lead the eye to the main subject.

One thing I notice about your picture is the overall yellow tone. I see the autumn colors in the background, see the yellow branches, realize it must be yellow evening light, and the berries are a yellow-toned red. But maybe try to cool the reds down a bit, punch up the contrast a tad. Might help you like this shot better.


--update-- I just saved your picture, and increased the contrast +11. I like it a lot better.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by readingr

I liked the bush with the red berried and have cropped this one but doesn't look that good now its home - any comments?

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Seems like the lightings flat to me. Slight levels and curves adjustments perk it up some. Do you think I went too far?

I found unless I have really spectacular lighting, a large expanse of bush like this doesn't work in a photo. No matter hiw nice it was in the sunshine lookng at it :(

I've tried concentrating on just a few berries better, and always with I took a tripod on my walks so I can use a longer exposire and get more control over DoF. At least as long as the wind isn't blowing :o

Then my only problem with the A2 is getting the subject in focus at all.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by readingr

Dear all,

While walking the other weekend - new camera Canon PowerShot Pro 1

I took loads of photos (172).

I liked the bush with the red berried and have cropped this one but doesn't look that good now its home - any comments?

---

actually its quite good.. but perhaps a focus on a small segment with a macro
background would help...
there is a ton of contrast in the picture, but not focused contrast...
its nice!

Thanks for all the comments - Tripod for Christmas!.

What great advice from one and all but the difference the contrast makes is amazing thanks Chunk will need to play with some of the software ( I have Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro).

Why didn't I find this site a long time ago.