linda lagace

I took these last week near Mammoth Lakes Ca (Convict Lake Agnew Meadows and south of Mono Lake)
Which pic do you like the best and why
Which pic would you adjust and why
Thanks for your comments
I tried some new settings (some of which I didn't like) but I do think I will use Auto ISO in Manual from now on ... especially with birds.

john maloney Loc: Columbia,Md.

follow Nigel Danson on you tube for this question..:

john maloney Loc: Columbia,Md.

I like #7 the best here...

linda lagace

tks How are they numbered ... from the top or from the bottom?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I'd go with the first one in the series being number one.

NikonGal Loc: Central Oregon

I like #3 because I feel you've presented your subject in a clear concise way. You've eliminated the elements from image #1 which do not support your subject, the grazing horse. Nice crop. Bev

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

Composition has little or nothing to do with camera settings --apart from opting to use either a larger or smaller aperture to emphasize either a shallow or broad depth of field-- and adjustments after the fact (in processing) only matter when a scene or subject is improved --or is made to better communicate whatever it is you want to communicate-- by a conscious 'placement' of a color or tone such that doing so provides some manner of balance, a type of repetition, or as a visual cue for something you want to stress or emphasize.

There are so many guides to composition that they can strangle the brain. And there are so many forms and styles and manners of composition that those that work for me may not work for you, and vice~versa. Cropping (as you have) will obviously alter the aspect of an image, but alone it won't necessarily improve a composition.

I'm not going to suggest books or YouTube videos or anything of the kind. What I am going to suggest is that you learn to use your own eyes, and look for the sorts of 'balances' --both symmetric and asymmetric--that exist in this world and among diverse subjects, and shoot those. The 'objects' that are found within those balances will obviously matter, but they'll matter even more as they become the elements that make up a composition.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Everyone is different.

I like number one over number three because of the inclusion of the area the horse is located.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

I like #1 - it follows the rule of thirds, and has leading lines toward the horse.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

When it comes to composition I kind of do what I like with what I see in front of me. I am sure you know there are rules of composition an those rules are only guides. I bet that if you do a good Google search you are going to find plenty of tutorials on good composition.
I selected three of your shots and composed them as per my liking. I did some adjustments to the files like correcting WB, improving contrast and saturation. That is trivial, others will leave the files like they are.

Besides the rules of composition, which many times I follow, I tend to arrange the visual design as I like it. Perhaps that is not the best way to present a photograph but it is my style. We could spend the whole day talking about composition and how to arrange the different subjects in a photograph.
We are all different and we all have different tastes. Compose as per the rules but also follow your personal taste.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Forces to choose, I’ll go with the first one. It’s the best composed to me.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

My problem is that I can take the original where "I" like my initial composition, crop to <re>compose a "sub-picture", and wind up liking both..... kind of equally...
(e.g. the first in this series and the modified version by camerapapi. I like both, leaning towards the original though.)

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

My preference of the ones presented is #6. But I'll admit, that's more due to lighting than to composition. I do find it to have better balance. I'm partial to horses, so, of course I like the first one. But I think I would have walked closer in order to shoot over the fence. I do think Camerapapi's rendition of this is perhaps better, but I would have included a tad more side to side than he did. Years ago I was given the suggestion to isolate what it was that made me stop and look at the scene, then determine how much of the surroundings were required to locate that item nicely. I've tried to do that. But when shooting unstaged, found shots, it's not always possible.

Zazzy1 Loc: Northern Ca.

I like the first one best. It's very serene tells a story.

JBuckley

Your "subjects" are number one.
Sometimes just a little "tweaking" brings it all together.

You know all of the rules of composition.....sometimes breaking
a few, sells the whole photo. I like what you have.

I'm not sure of your time schedule for Convict Lake, but the best
colors (of that mountain behind the lake,) are just about sunrise.
The strata of the rocks and the colors are so red and contrasting
to the Lake below it.