Dynamic?

jbuck92 · 01-14-2012, 11:38 AM

I submitted a picture to PEG yesterday. The comment the judge left was "Good exposure, but needs to be more dynamic." What makes a photo "dynamic"? Is it a use of HDR or something else?

JohnBecker · 01-14-2012, 12:45 PM

I think that particular definition is in the eye of the beholder, so to speak. Maybe the judge wants to see motion, or juxtaposition, or contextual contrast.... Or maybe the judge doesn't have a clue about how to express what he/she means. Don't be afraid to ask for a specific explanation. Asking doesn't mean you're dumb, it means the judge isn't very good at being clear.

jbuck92 · 01-14-2012, 01:17 PM

Any idea which he/she could have meant for this one?

Anvh · 01-14-2012, 01:35 PM

I've no idea.
There is some hint of motion in the flames and i think that's enough.
For the rest... you could lift the shadows a bit, maybe he meant that?

jbuck92 · 01-14-2012, 01:37 PM

Hmm ok thanks I'll see what I can do a bit later in Lightroom. Think it's worth re-editing and resubmitting?

Anvh · 01-14-2012, 03:56 PM

Its your photo, i would let it like this.

jbuck92 · 01-14-2012, 04:01 PM

Well I played around in Lightroom a bit and actually liked what I came up with. Was able to make it look a bit more 3D and more "lifelike". I'm without Internet for now so I'm posting on my phone but I'll repost the edited version a bit later.

jbuck92 · 01-14-2012, 04:46 PM

I changed the levels a little bit. Not too much of a change, but I think it adds a little bit of life.

JohnBecker · 01-14-2012, 05:04 PM

It's clearly more dynamic. ;-)

alohadave · 01-14-2012, 05:54 PM

Originally posted by jbuck92

I changed the levels a little bit. Not too much of a change, but I think it adds a little bit of life.

It's not your levels or anything like that. There is no real flow to the composition. You attention starts at the center of the fire, and flows right out the top of the frame.

Beside the flame, there is nothing of interest in the shot. Which is fine if you are simply illustrating the flames, but not so much if you are trying to tell a story.

canajuneh · 01-15-2012, 08:09 AM

I prefer your photo after the Lightroom attention. That is something else I guess I should buy and use!

If I use the word Dynamic I tend to mean something like ' does it 'grab' me' or 'does it have something special that lifts it above and beyond a pretty picture'. I suspect individual judges use it the word in their own way though. If there is a way to ask for clarification I'd say go for it.

JohnBee · 01-15-2012, 08:19 AM

Originally posted by jbuck92

I submitted a picture to PEG yesterday. The comment the judge left was "Good exposure, but needs to be more dynamic." What makes a photo "dynamic"? Is it a use of HDR or something else?

Unless the person forgot to add RANGE to that sentence, it sounds to me as as though someone was trying to say something without saying anything

dy·nam·ic (d

-n

m

k)adj. also dy·nam·i·cal (-

-k

l)1. a. Of or relating to energy or to objects in motion.
b. Of or relating to the study of dynamics.

2. Characterized by continuous change, activity, or progress: a dynamic market.
3. Marked by intensity and vigor; forceful. See Synonyms at active.
4. Of or relating to variation of intensity, as in musical sound.

n.1. An interactive system or process, especially one involving competing or conflicting forces: "the story of a malign dynamic between white prejudice and black autonomy" (Edmund S. Morgan).
2. A force, especially political, social, or psychological: the main dynamic behind the revolution.

dominikkolendo · 01-16-2012, 07:10 AM

what drives me crazy about that photo is the top of the fireplace, crop that thing off, its abysmal composition.
also the shape of the flames is, like "alohadave" said, anticlimactic. your eyes follow them up and then they split and ...just stop.

i don't know what this contest is for, if its for technical shots, then this photo isn't bad, on a positive note you got just enough of the detail in the brick and wood from the red glow to show the contour lines of the texture.

but if the contest is for any sort of artistic aspect, then this shot is probably a little boring. i think the judge meant that he's not interested looking at a picture of a fireplace just... existing. ask yourself what did you think made this particular angle make the fireplace interesting? why did you choose that instant in the fire? was the shape interesting to you? it all just seems trivial, and triviality is the opposite of dynamism.

01-14-2012, 11:38 AM	#1
jbuck92 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 381	Dynamic? I submitted a picture to PEG yesterday. The comment the judge left was "Good exposure, but needs to be more dynamic." What makes a photo "dynamic"? Is it a use of HDR or something else?

01-15-2012, 08:19 AM	#12
JohnBee Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Newrfoundland Photos: Albums Posts: 4,667	Originally posted by jbuck92 I submitted a picture to PEG yesterday. The comment the judge left was "Good exposure, but needs to be more dynamic." What makes a photo "dynamic"? Is it a use of HDR or something else? Unless the person forgot to add RANGE to that sentence, it sounds to me as as though someone was trying to say something without saying anything dy·nam·ic (d-nmk)adj. also dy·nam·i·cal (--kl)1. a. Of or relating to energy or to objects in motion. b. Of or relating to the study of dynamics. 2. Characterized by continuous change, activity, or progress: a dynamic market. 3. Marked by intensity and vigor; forceful. See Synonyms at active. 4. Of or relating to variation of intensity, as in musical sound. n.1. An interactive system or process, especially one involving competing or conflicting forces: "the story of a malign dynamic between white prejudice and black autonomy" (Edmund S. Morgan). 2. A force, especially political, social, or psychological: the main dynamic behind the revolution.

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01-14-2012, 12:45 PM	#2
JohnBecker Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 46	I think that particular definition is in the eye of the beholder, so to speak. Maybe the judge wants to see motion, or juxtaposition, or contextual contrast.... Or maybe the judge doesn't have a clue about how to express what he/she means. Don't be afraid to ask for a specific explanation. Asking doesn't mean you're dumb, it means the judge isn't very good at being clear.

01-14-2012, 01:17 PM	#3
jbuck92 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 381 Original Poster	Any idea which he/she could have meant for this one?

01-14-2012, 01:35 PM	#4
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	I've no idea. There is some hint of motion in the flames and i think that's enough. For the rest... you could lift the shadows a bit, maybe he meant that?

01-14-2012, 01:37 PM	#5
jbuck92 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 381 Original Poster	Hmm ok thanks I'll see what I can do a bit later in Lightroom. Think it's worth re-editing and resubmitting?

01-14-2012, 03:56 PM	#6
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	Its your photo, i would let it like this.

01-14-2012, 04:01 PM	#7
jbuck92 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 381 Original Poster	Well I played around in Lightroom a bit and actually liked what I came up with. Was able to make it look a bit more 3D and more "lifelike". I'm without Internet for now so I'm posting on my phone but I'll repost the edited version a bit later.

01-14-2012, 04:46 PM	#8
jbuck92 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 381 Original Poster	I changed the levels a little bit. Not too much of a change, but I think it adds a little bit of life.

01-14-2012, 05:04 PM	#9
JohnBecker Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 46	It's clearly more dynamic. ;-)

01-14-2012, 05:54 PM	#10
alohadave Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Quincy, MA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,024	Originally posted by jbuck92 I changed the levels a little bit. Not too much of a change, but I think it adds a little bit of life. It's not your levels or anything like that. There is no real flow to the composition. You attention starts at the center of the fire, and flows right out the top of the frame. Beside the flame, there is nothing of interest in the shot. Which is fine if you are simply illustrating the flames, but not so much if you are trying to tell a story.

01-15-2012, 08:09 AM	#11
canajuneh Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 221	I prefer your photo after the Lightroom attention. That is something else I guess I should buy and use! If I use the word Dynamic I tend to mean something like ' does it 'grab' me' or 'does it have something special that lifts it above and beyond a pretty picture'. I suspect individual judges use it the word in their own way though. If there is a way to ask for clarification I'd say go for it.

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01-16-2012, 07:10 AM	#13
dominikkolendo Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: portland, or Posts: 105	what drives me crazy about that photo is the top of the fireplace, crop that thing off, its abysmal composition. also the shape of the flames is, like "alohadave" said, anticlimactic. your eyes follow them up and then they split and ...just stop. i don't know what this contest is for, if its for technical shots, then this photo isn't bad, on a positive note you got just enough of the detail in the brick and wood from the red glow to show the contour lines of the texture. but if the contest is for any sort of artistic aspect, then this shot is probably a little boring. i think the judge meant that he's not interested looking at a picture of a fireplace just... existing. ask yourself what did you think made this particular angle make the fireplace interesting? why did you choose that instant in the fire? was the shape interesting to you? it all just seems trivial, and triviality is the opposite of dynamism.