Critique - which of the three compositions is better and why?
Sep 3, 2017 15:48:05 #
[quote=AP]Base_Fiddle, you made a wonderful photograph! When your at a beautiful ocean scenic as this. It is in your interest to make many different compositions while you are there. You will have many choices to choose from in making a fine photo image in the end.... I did take the liberty of showing my compositions of your beautifull photograph because it caught my attention! Hope you don't mind.
AP, great comments. I in fact took 28 shots of the scene using both my Canon 5D and Nikon 1 J5. I stood for some and knelt on peddles for others. I couldn't walk around much because of the water and private houses. But, I felt that I captured a very peaceful scene in Peggy's Cove. I could have focused solely on the boats which others have suggested, but then I could have been in Cape Cod taking the same pictures.
I like what you did with the pictures. Clearly a different perspective and focus. Good work and thanks.
BF
AP, great comments. I in fact took 28 shots of the scene using both my Canon 5D and Nikon 1 J5. I stood for some and knelt on peddles for others. I couldn't walk around much because of the water and private houses. But, I felt that I captured a very peaceful scene in Peggy's Cove. I could have focused solely on the boats which others have suggested, but then I could have been in Cape Cod taking the same pictures.
I like what you did with the pictures. Clearly a different perspective and focus. Good work and thanks.
BF
Sep 3, 2017 15:48:09 #
AlanD
Loc: TC, MN
I'm also the odd man out. I like #2 because of the nice photographic busy-ness on the left side and the calm emptiness on the right side. Cheers!
Sep 3, 2017 15:55:40 #
[quote=LouV]For me, it's #2 because it captures the most information and puts everything in context...For me, the number of boats, their positions and the way they are clustered together create an indistinguishable mass of boats rather than an attractive group of individual ones. Also I don't think the horizon is tilted. Aren't those hills in the background?
Lou, great comments. #2 was my favorite, because it told me a little bit about a small cove at Peggy's Cove. It set the scene for what grew into a fabulous lighthouse. Yes there are hills in the background. And, yes, my horizon was tilted...I know some of it was not having my camera straight, but some of it was the contour on the cove. In any case, I've posted two edited pics based on comments and posted them-hopefully the horizon is better now.
Bottom line - Nova Scotia is full of beauty!
BF
Lou, great comments. #2 was my favorite, because it told me a little bit about a small cove at Peggy's Cove. It set the scene for what grew into a fabulous lighthouse. Yes there are hills in the background. And, yes, my horizon was tilted...I know some of it was not having my camera straight, but some of it was the contour on the cove. In any case, I've posted two edited pics based on comments and posted them-hopefully the horizon is better now.
Bottom line - Nova Scotia is full of beauty!
BF
Sep 3, 2017 15:59:53 #
repleo wrote:
I think #2 has the most potential. However I would crop out most of the uninteresting dock on the left and crop out a some of the uninteresting sky to move the horizon off center. The boats, the sheds on the right and the reflections on the water are the interesting parts. Also, I would have tried to shoot from a point a little more to the left in order to show a bit more of the opening to the water beyond the harbor which would help to lead you more into the picture.
Repleo, great comments - much appreciated. I never thought of moving to the left...in the future, I will move around more.
BF
Sep 3, 2017 16:04:04 #
JCam wrote:
I, too, prefer #3, but to be brutally honest, the lack of sharp focus spoils them all for me; all the registration numbers are out of focus! Clone out or cut and paste over them. Had you done that the lack of DOF would probably be less noticible.
JCam, others made some of the same points, so I redid #3 and posted it in another response. I zoomed in on the ships, so that you could read the numbers on the boats. Hope you like the redos better.
BF
Sep 3, 2017 16:07:04 #
[quote=10MPlayer]I agree with your comments regarding #2 being the more interesting shot. It shows the entire harbor or inlet...
10MPlayer, appreciate your post and thoughts. I tried to redo #2 and #3 to incorporate comments from you and others. Great feedback. Thanks.
BF
10MPlayer, appreciate your post and thoughts. I tried to redo #2 and #3 to incorporate comments from you and others. Great feedback. Thanks.
BF
Sep 3, 2017 16:12:15 #
Sep 3, 2017 16:13:26 #
The first two shots have too much uninteresting sky and are slightly tilted. The horizon in the middle leaves the viewer wondering which half you want us to look at - top or bottom. The third shot has more and sharper reflections, and fills the frame better. It would have been even better if you could have moved to the left and eliminated the merge on the horizon of the left and right shores. With such a photogenic Vista as Peggys Cove you should move left, right, up and down to find the composition that best shows us what most excited you. Also, simplify, and simplify some more until the subject is obvious a and stands out from all other elements. The best compositional tool is your feet!
Sep 3, 2017 16:14:01 #
The third is the best of the three.
All that carpentry and fish gear on the left side is an unnecessary distraction. It contributes nothing. The third photo recognizes that. Same goes for the group of weathered structures on the right. They are, in fact, subjects for a separate image. However, in the narrower, better, shot, the remaining portion of those structures and their reflections combine with those on the left to complete a bracket that frames all the action and color along the waterway. Pulling the bright, rocky, point closer causes one to travel through the image toward it. Because it doesn't completely close off the inlet, it does not cut off the image at that point and the eye is free to travel through the subject. Good color, good focus --good Photo.
The established rules of composition should be read, considered and then treated as suggestions, not commandments. All are basically aimed at providing the eye a reason, or at least, the freedom to travel through an image to consider and enjoy its elements. Nature is complicated and composition is much of what makes photography an art. In the field, with your eye in the viewfinder, dealing with the various compositional factors in front of you is an endless challenge. I advise making lots of shots and spending some serious time considering which ones YOU like best and what about them makes the difference. In doing this, you'll pretty much become as good as good a critic as the next guy and before long, you'll develop an effective and relatively rapid sense of what's out there that will make or wreck your shot.
All that carpentry and fish gear on the left side is an unnecessary distraction. It contributes nothing. The third photo recognizes that. Same goes for the group of weathered structures on the right. They are, in fact, subjects for a separate image. However, in the narrower, better, shot, the remaining portion of those structures and their reflections combine with those on the left to complete a bracket that frames all the action and color along the waterway. Pulling the bright, rocky, point closer causes one to travel through the image toward it. Because it doesn't completely close off the inlet, it does not cut off the image at that point and the eye is free to travel through the subject. Good color, good focus --good Photo.
The established rules of composition should be read, considered and then treated as suggestions, not commandments. All are basically aimed at providing the eye a reason, or at least, the freedom to travel through an image to consider and enjoy its elements. Nature is complicated and composition is much of what makes photography an art. In the field, with your eye in the viewfinder, dealing with the various compositional factors in front of you is an endless challenge. I advise making lots of shots and spending some serious time considering which ones YOU like best and what about them makes the difference. In doing this, you'll pretty much become as good as good a critic as the next guy and before long, you'll develop an effective and relatively rapid sense of what's out there that will make or wreck your shot.
Sep 3, 2017 16:32:17 #
More to say. Picture two really has two subjects, the "stuff" on the left and the "stuff" on the right. What should I concentrate on? Red comes forward while blue recedes so the red boat would have made a great subject with blue sky and other elements behind. Think about what excites you most in a scene,then find ways to accentuate it - small depth of field, a framing element, leading lines, contrasting colors. Look online for free books on composition. There are many.
Sep 3, 2017 16:42:23 #
[quote=optic]The third is the best of the three...The established rules of composition should be read, considered and then treated as suggestions,...
Optic, I like your crisp and insightful comments. They are helpful. Thanks very much.
BF
Optic, I like your crisp and insightful comments. They are helpful. Thanks very much.
BF
Sep 3, 2017 16:43:57 #
[quote=wham121736]More to say...Think about what excites you most in a scene,then find ways to accentuate it - small depth of field, a framing element, leading lines, contrasting colors. Look online for free books on composition. There are many.
Wham, excellent suggestion. I have a lot of reading to do. Thanks.
BF
Wham, excellent suggestion. I have a lot of reading to do. Thanks.
BF
Sep 3, 2017 18:05:58 #
Still more.
As you can see, there are many suggestions and different ideas on which is the best composition. The best composition is the one which best helps the viewer experience what excited you. This is why you need to make that clear.
Here are some free e-books you can download. I've used much from them in a "Composition in Photography" course I teach to senior citizens:
Image Composition", by Markus Kapferer,"Photography Composition", by James Carren,
"The Photographers Eye", by Simon Rivera, "The Photographers Coach", by Robin Whalley,"Story Telling Photographs", By Anne Darling
Happy Reading
As you can see, there are many suggestions and different ideas on which is the best composition. The best composition is the one which best helps the viewer experience what excited you. This is why you need to make that clear.
Here are some free e-books you can download. I've used much from them in a "Composition in Photography" course I teach to senior citizens:
Image Composition", by Markus Kapferer,"Photography Composition", by James Carren,
"The Photographers Eye", by Simon Rivera, "The Photographers Coach", by Robin Whalley,"Story Telling Photographs", By Anne Darling
Happy Reading
Sep 3, 2017 18:23:11 #
Delderby wrote:
Yes, - it also shows that the horizon must be straight - those buildings are verticle, so that horizon is not sea. 
. . . those are mountains back there
Sep 3, 2017 18:27:30 #
Base_fiddle wrote:
Mike, I like it. Thanks.
BF
BF
You are Welcome Base_fiddle , would like to see a bigger Image to work from . . . feather
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