[rrstuff]

Hi,

I stumbled upon this picture on olympus facebook page (I am not the author). While overall it's a very nice shot, I noticed there is something about this composition is just slightly off to me,
I also know that lots of pictures I take end up having a very similar composition and I also don't like them as much. I don't have any examples on me at the moment.

How would you improve this shot?

https://www.facebook.com/getolympus/photos/a.112853959492.117008.63355899492...type=1&theater

Is it the line of wheat that goes to the center that's the problem? Is it the slightly central horizon level? Or perhaps the fact that clouds are a bit distracting?

[jatrax]

I'm not good enough to tell you why. But if I was taking a picture there I would have been either 10 - 20 feet to the right or maybe even the left. But just not there. You are correct, there is something wrong with that shot. I think the central horizon is part of it, cover up the top 1/4 of the image and take a look, it is better.

[aleonx3]

I am not the expert, but there are several things I could have done differently (just my taste and others may disagree)...
1) for these kind of shot of open spaces, I would have preferred a 2x3 ratio or even wider but certainly not 4/3 ratio
2) the horizon perspective is somewhere weird..
3) the object (bale of hay with shadow) does not seem to play well with the overall composition; the smaller one is too far and obscure.

Again, just MHO only, take it with heavy grain of salt....

[rrstuff]

I'm not good enough to tell you why. But if I was taking a picture there I would have been either 10 - 20 feet to the right or maybe even the left. But just not there. You are correct, there is something wrong with that shot. I think the central horizon is part of it, cover up the top 1/4 of the image and take a look, it is better.

Thanks for help. You are right, just moving the horizon helps. I think there is something about the place where the sight converges in this shot. I think it is too close to the center. I am always having trouble with shots like this - when there is a road, or some lines that converge from the corner, to the center.

---------- Post added 09-19-14 at 08:16 PM ----------

I cropped out the sky, made it wider by changing aspect ratio, photoshopped out the central part of the road, such that the road leads to a point on the crossection of golden rule division lines. Then I put the hay on the left crossection.
I think that using a very wide angle lens and cropping top and bottom might be the best bet in cases like this.

This is what I mean (I am not going to post a shot that belongs to someone else, so this is the closest thing).

---

Last edited by rrstuff; 09-19-2014 at 08:23 PM.

[abmj]

I think part of what feels "wrong" about it is the way it falls off to the left. It almost makes it seem like the horizon isn't level. It IS actually pretty level but that slope causes an optical illusion.

I actually like the subject but agree with others. I think I would have worked the scene more to come up with a more comfortable composition - perhaps a different focal length or different point of view, something. Maybe even moving left to put the bale in the lower RIGHT quadrant and adjusting the horizon to a better 1/3 - 2/3.

Like I said, nice subject. It would have been fun to play around with it.

[bossa]

This image is basically a picture of a shadow, a roll of hay and a backdrop.

What's "wrong" or How do I read it?:
1: The eye is at first dragged left to the hay - which, as has been stated, is "falling to the left" and is unbalancing the image. (Think of gravity here and a set of scales.. it's heavy to the left.)
2: The eye is then locked into the foreground by the shadow of the hay, which cuts across the foreground of the image and is, in fact, the unintentional "subject" of this photograph.
3: The eye is then swept into the background by the linear elements to the right of the hay.


How would I fix it?:
1: If the hay was a little more central it would be a picture of a roll of hay but right now it's a picture of a boring shadow..
2: If the hay was a little more central and a touch forward so that the linear elements channeled the eye into the background directly it would have a more circular perception movement pattern that would recycle your attention.
3: Chose another time of day, or vantage point, to control the shadow. Unless another time of day is also chosen the shadow will remain a major problem although it could have been moderated via raising tonal levels in LR though.

I don't have any issues with the placement of the rest of the compo'.. just the hay and the time of day (shadow)

[RDP]

I agree with the post above by Bossa, which is all spot on. One more thing that I see that bothers me in my reading you alluded to in your initial post - lines converging in the center. All the elements lead to the center of the photo, and for me, trap you there. Sky from above, land below. Mountains from the left, trees to the right. Slope of the hill from the lower left, unmown field from the lower right. All leading you to the center of the frame, where the eye can see something (the other bales) just well enough to engage the brain, but not emphasized enough to provide any real interest. In all, I find this photo to be somewhat unbalanced (left to right), and very static. I like the suggestions of moving 20 feet left or right, and I would probably have tried shooting in portrait orientation with a lot of sky, to emphasize the vast openness I always experience in farm country (I'm a city boy). I know it is not the usual way to shoot landscapes, and can be difficult with a WA lens because of perspective distortion at the edges, so it might not work out, but it would be worth trying. My two cents from a distinctly non-expert.

-Robin