Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
whats wrong with this picture
- Thread starter openflap
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm by no means a pro but here are a couple of comments all the same!
The 'white' flower is blown out so there's no detail. The red/green leaves at the top are a distraction
The 'white' flower is blown out so there's no detail. The red/green leaves at the top are a distraction
Yeah I agree it's good to get feedback from others. I got my camera just over a month ago and always like to hear what to work on, more than just "that's nice". The weekly photo contest and photo of the day threads are good to get involved on.
Really, it looks like you just kinda went out in your yard and snapped a picture of the first thing you saw. This is typical when you first get a camera, but I would suggest really thinking about the picture before you take it. Also, editing it (cropping, saturation, highklights, etc) afterwards will also give you better results in the end.
To me I can't really tell what is in focus. It looks like the green leaves in the bottom right hand corner, when you should have instead focused on the flower. Also, as one of the above posters mentioned, the leaves at the top of the picture are distracting and pull the viewers' eyes away from the center.
To me I can't really tell what is in focus. It looks like the green leaves in the bottom right hand corner, when you should have instead focused on the flower. Also, as one of the above posters mentioned, the leaves at the top of the picture are distracting and pull the viewers' eyes away from the center.
i edited the picture with apple aperture 2. i downloaded it from their site...it got good reviews...and seems very easy to work with...so i'll probably invest in that piece of software...and try and get good at it...
im going on a trip in about a month...nothing special...but might be able to snap up some mountains...
im a lil bummed at myself cause i've traveled a lot in my life...but never took a picture...looks like im gonna have to revisit all those place...
i never took pics cause i couldnt stand how slow my digital camera was...it was a minolta F100...about 500 bucks when i bought it...now i got a slr for less than 500...its great!
im going on a trip in about a month...nothing special...but might be able to snap up some mountains...
im a lil bummed at myself cause i've traveled a lot in my life...but never took a picture...looks like im gonna have to revisit all those place...
i never took pics cause i couldnt stand how slow my digital camera was...it was a minolta F100...about 500 bucks when i bought it...now i got a slr for less than 500...its great!
Promising subject
Crop tighter on the subject (either isolate that one low-center-left flower or switch to a vertical to capture the two flowers on the left side?), throw the background out of focus (if your equipment will permit, open up the lens more--bigger ƒ number), and make your focal point clear. You're on the way to the rule of thirds, except that I still can't tell what the primary subject is--too many distractions to the right side of the frame.
Best of luck! It's impossible to be perfect, it seems... but if you try, you'll notice the photos get progressively better until people are complimenting your ability, not just the photo.
Crop tighter on the subject (either isolate that one low-center-left flower or switch to a vertical to capture the two flowers on the left side?), throw the background out of focus (if your equipment will permit, open up the lens more--bigger ƒ number), and make your focal point clear. You're on the way to the rule of thirds, except that I still can't tell what the primary subject is--too many distractions to the right side of the frame.
Best of luck! It's impossible to be perfect, it seems... but if you try, you'll notice the photos get progressively better until people are complimenting your ability, not just the photo.
A lesson from my father - a professional photographer for 40 years-- that I try to remember when framing up a subject is this: What is the story of the photo? If the story is the flower, then you need it to take up the majority of the frame. Get right in there, as tight as your lens will focus, and let depth-of-field blur out the background. If it's a grouping, then do what you an to isolate the subject from what you don't care about. If you care about too much then yes, it's going to look like you just shot the first thing out of the door.
My problem is that I ignore distracting elements when I'm shooting, but the camera won't, and you'll see what you missed after the fact. In this shot, I was concentrating on the timing (it was windy that day), and didn't notice the darker flower head in the background. Happily, you can take as many practice shots as you like.
Sorry termina3, I didn't see your DOF comments bfore posting.
My problem is that I ignore distracting elements when I'm shooting, but the camera won't, and you'll see what you missed after the fact. In this shot, I was concentrating on the timing (it was windy that day), and didn't notice the darker flower head in the background. Happily, you can take as many practice shots as you like.
Sorry termina3, I didn't see your DOF comments bfore posting.
Attachments
It might be interesting to get a shot framing it from a lower angle - either on your knees/lying down. You'd need to consider the background when doing that though - go for a large aperture as termina3 mentioned.
Whether its film or digital photography, there is one tip I always like to pass along. Before taking a photo, ask yourself "Why am I taking this picture?" And then answer that question as best as possible. When I look at your sample photo I can't tell what your answer might have been. Was it because you liked the colours, the arrangement, the flower itself? The image by brad.c makes it very clear what the photo is about. Sometimes it is tough. You know intuitively - looking at a scene - that there is a photo there somewhere, but you can't figure out "Why?". Spend the time to figure out the question, and the answer is then just a matter of using your photo skills to answer it.
Good Luck! Shoot Lots! Just as importantly, look at lots of photos too.
Here is an interesting site to look at. Before diving in, read the "about" section first.
http://1millimeter.com
Cheers
Good Luck! Shoot Lots! Just as importantly, look at lots of photos too.
Here is an interesting site to look at. Before diving in, read the "about" section first.
http://1millimeter.com
Cheers
I actually enjoy this photo a lot. Though there are certain positive and negative points in this photo.
The objects directly behind the flower is rather annoying in some perspective towards the shot. Like a few people has said it is very distracting. I think the contrast is a little much. The colors are way to "BAM" (haha). I hope you understand what I mean by BAM! lol.
The picture is good, not great.
Best Regards!
The objects directly behind the flower is rather annoying in some perspective towards the shot. Like a few people has said it is very distracting. I think the contrast is a little much. The colors are way to "BAM" (haha). I hope you understand what I mean by BAM! lol.
The picture is good, not great.
Best Regards!
With a DSLR, the situation that drives you to think before you take a photo is when the battery warning indicator comes on. 
Otherwise, you'll have to use your own discretion.
Otherwise, you'll have to use your own discretion.
To echo some previous comments, this photo does not pass my "Why" test. "Why" can be a number of things, to capture an emotion, to freeze action, record a historic moment, demonstrate technologic or technical perfection. Unless there is some point to the picture you've taken, I think it's hard to assign it some value.
I think it's common for beginners to focus too much on the technical aspects of photography (I did the same!). Sure, it's important to understand focus and highlights and things such as that, but I still think that composition, subject selection, framing, "seeing the shot" and understanding light will ultimately pay higher dividends.
Just my 2 cents.
Keep shooting!
I think it's common for beginners to focus too much on the technical aspects of photography (I did the same!). Sure, it's important to understand focus and highlights and things such as that, but I still think that composition, subject selection, framing, "seeing the shot" and understanding light will ultimately pay higher dividends.
Just my 2 cents.
Keep shooting!
Why did you take this photo? I ask seriously. Was it to show something to some one? because you simply liked a color you saw. There are lots of reasons. How you answer determines what you should have done. Photos are all about comunication. What is it you are saying.
In real life your eye picks out a small part of the world to see and ignores the rest but cameras don't do this. What you have to do is get the camera to "see" like you do. Exclude every element that does not support the reason you are taking the picture. Yes EVERY non-needed element, get rid of it. Then make sure you have what you need.
For example if you want to show off the whiteness of the flower then you need (1) the flower and (2) something dark, because people see lightness only relative to darkness. We don't see absolutes. Lots of ways to remove and object, crop it or let a shallow DOF blur it or with light, place it in shade or not
Then you have to come up with a pleasing composition of the major elements. If you just use two rules (1) "rule of thirds" and (2) "look at all for edges and don't do anything dumb there". Doing just that much (plus the above) gets you 100 times above most people.