Nature 2 not accepted into PPG

[sealonsf]

What do you think? Why not PPG worthy? Thanks.

[Damn Brit]

In the first one, maybe they though the colours were bland and also the OOF twigs to the left of the head are busy and distracting. There's also a branch spearing the deer's neck.

In the second one you have blown highlights.

[netuser]

Don't feel bad.

Check this Post Your PPG Rejects

[Ash]

The first also looks quite cluttered with all the foliage taking away from the subject. Also has blown highlights that are quite distracting. It's not a striking image.

The second is a significant improvement, good lighting and detail, but again the distracting highlight just ruins the feel of the portrait.

Keep at it.

[Rense]

Besides what is mentioned allready, I think the crop of the second is too tight, especially beneath the deers chin.

I myself like both pictures though....

[sealonsf]

Thanks, all. This helps. I couldn't do much about the distracting branches in the first one, but I need to watch my highlights - still learning how to make the colors "pop" without blowing out the high end.

[Gruoso]

Putting my teaching glasses

Please dont take this as something personal, take this first comment as a "Socratic" argumentation and then I will enter the actual critique. Sometimes it helps to ask oneself why should this picture go into the gallery. Which are the strengths of the picture in your opinion?

I see many issues in the first picture and a couple of them on the second.

The first one has very few strengths. It is not sharp (actually looks blurry probably due to a slow shutter speed). THe background is quite intruding. Background should either complement the picture or not play a role at all. To have branches around the deer is obviously not your fault but you should consider to be more selective on which shoots worth keeping and which ones keeping AND submitting to a gallery like PPG. THe lighting is not bad but it doesnt excel either. It lacks contrast and you have a couple of hot spots on the rear part of the deer. I think that PPG allow burning in PP and I think that it would help you to solve the issue with the hot spots. Composition wise, there is a lot of extra-space that doesnt add anything to the picture. I tighter crop would help.

The second one is much better but still have a couple of issues. THe picture is sharp and the deer looking at the camera has impact. I think that the cropping on the neck is too close to the "chin" of the animal (as Rense mentioned). A little bit more of neck would be better. The background is not intrusive although some highlights make it look a little bit nervous. The other big minus is the noise. In these days and age, the noise on pictures is not well accepted. It is a matter of taste but very few people will look at it as a good thing.

Dont feel disheartened by the rejection, it is the way it goes. Take it as a reason to improve. If you are into wildlife look into ways of achieving better compositions efficiently, animals dont like to pose too much. Train to have rule of thirds and golden rule points well visualized. Usually, most of the cameras focus faster with the center point (which collides with harmonious composition) if you use that method make sure that the lens is sharp because you might want to crop the shoot. Try to avoid busy backgrounds. For wildlife it is a good idea to try to isolate your subject as much as you can (large aperture-small f number, long lenses and getting close helps). With time you will learn to include appealing background elements to your pictures in a complementary way.

Hope it helps

Glasses off.

[sealonsf]

>>> most of the cameras focus faster with the center point (which collides with harmonious composition) if you use that method make sure that the lens is sharp because you might want to crop the shoot

This is helpful because I struggle with the auto focusing on my K2000. Maybe if I tried this, and then just cropped to what I want after the fact I'll have better luck. Will try that soon because I'm about to have the chance to photograph wildlife again in a jungle setting. Wish me luck!

BTW, I don't get too discouraged. I'm not a professional photographer, nor do I ever intend to become one. I still like the photos because they represent memories for me. It would be nice that others enjoyed them too, but that's not the sole reason I take them. :-) Thanks again.

[Gruoso]

To center focus is not necesarily a good thing but if you have to chose between a centered picture or no picture at all...

Good luck in the jungle

[Damn Brit]

I'm assuming you are using Centre Weighted or Spot Metering. Try Matrix, I was averse to it but started using it recently and it can work quite well.

Here's a truism for you, learning to critique photographs is the fastest way to learn to take good photographs. Hang out in this forum as much as you can and critique peoples shots as well as reading all the other critiques. It doesn't matter if you're wrong because there is no absolute right or wrong, you're just saying what you see and we learn from our mistakes. Your 'eye' will change though and you'll start seeing the things that are generally accepted to make a good picture.

[yeatzee]

I actually really like #2! Shame I didn't see it, or I would've voted +

[sealonsf]

At the risk of cross posting, I wanted to tag on these 2 that did make it into the PPG. I think these made it in because of the subject matter, maybe not so much my photography skills. But I like them.

[EricT]

I think the second one is great, much better than a lot of other animal shots in the PPG, IMO. The blown highlights at the top left is a bit distracting, but it doesn't ruin the image.

What lens was this taken with?

[sealonsf]

Eric, regarding your question: What lens was this taken with?

Pentax DA 55-300. I have a K-2000 camera.

[Ian Tokeo]

I like the sheep photo very much.