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05-13-2014, 10:24 PM   #1
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Composition is my weak point
Lens: Sigma 17-70mm Contemporary Camera: Pentax K3 Photo Location: Springfield Oregon ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 5s Aperture: F11 

I am really wanting to get better at nature photography. I am learning a lot just going out and trying things, but I still feel my weakest point is composition. I come from a motion picture background where composition was important, but so was sequencing. Composition of a single shot was largely governed by what the next shot in the sequence would be. Good composition had more to do with how all the shots came together in a sequence, then the composition of any one camera setup.

Still photography is obviously a lot different. It is so automatic for me to think in terms of sequencing shots to be editing together as they would in a video. I need to stop thinking that way and focus more on just getting that really great composition for that one picture.

Anyway, with that said, I am very open to feedback that extends beyond just my shot composition.

This picture was taken with a circular polarizer and a half stop ND gradient filter. I didn't do a whole lot of post work besides a slight rotation, and a bit of contrast. Otherwise it is mostly how it came out of the camera. Exposure was fully manual, as was focus.

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05-14-2014, 02:22 AM   #2
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i think if you included a little bit of the sky in there it would make it more interesting. maybe capturing it in portrait so you could fit the sky in? or even a panoramic of 2-3 shots?
for landscapes i always find it easier to nail composition if im viewing through the screen instead of the viewfinder. I used to suck at compositions and im getting better slowly. the only piece of advice i can give you is to practice a lot!
05-14-2014, 02:29 AM   #3
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This photo is pretty nice but as previously mentioned the sky would have enhanced the composition a lot. It needed only 1/3rd of a frame more up above these distant trees and would all be nice - square format in this case would work. one was to achieve that would be to shot in portrait but I would go for another shot above the river and stitch these both expositions together with preserved smoothness of the water and added extra benefit of sharper threes and good definition to the sky.

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05-14-2014, 05:20 AM   #4
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What is the subject matter of the photo? What do you want me focus my eyes on? It appears that the stream leads my eyes to a tree trunk that is not very interesting... I also find the long grass generally distracting.

05-14-2014, 05:37 AM   #5
Brooke Meyer
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Maybe like this. Make it all about this hidden treasure of a stream, lush and green and serene. Compress the value range, knock down the lights to make it rich and reveal the water. The sky would just distract. This is forest and water. You made a very good exposure, a good negative. Then its a matter of selection and adjustment. Layers in Photoshop make that easy to implement. Understanding design elements and principles will help you approach the decisions. Don't get trapped into thinking every photo must go from 0 to 255. Nature is all about grays.

Last edited by Brooke Meyer; 12-03-2014 at 09:16 PM.
05-14-2014, 05:48 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Brooke Meyer Quote
Maybe like this.
I concur - looks even better without that distracting distant tree tops - and the sky would definitely made this scene about something else than it now is.

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05-14-2014, 07:20 AM   #7
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The cropped version has a lot going for it. As to the original photo, I think you would have done better by crouching down and shooting from a lower position, rather than from a standing position aiming downward.

05-14-2014, 09:32 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by MSL Quote
The cropped version has a lot going for it. As to the original photo, I think you would have done better by crouching down and shooting from a lower position, rather than from a standing position aiming downward.
Brooke's simple crop definitely made the image more focused. While I can understand the concept of lower perspective as something different, the lower perspective also changes your effective depth of field. I almost always shoot at a slight downward angle from a tripod because it increases my realized depth of field at any given aperture. shooting UP decreases your realized depth of field.

Neither way is right or wrong, depending on the effect you are after, but be aware of how sensor plane angle as related to your image can effect things like depth of field and perspective.

In terms of composition, your lines (stream) are nice and your exposure is very good. It's not a bad image, but the concept of focusing on your central theme (as demonstrated by the crop) is an important point. Way too many images have too much boring blue sky or other distracting backgrounds that do nothing for the central theme. In general, a tighter crop is better and less confusing to the viewer. Just like in film work, field of view control can be highly effective in still photography. It not easy though. It took me a few years to unlearn my tendency to include too much sky in my images, even sunset ones.

My final thought on the image would be to look for a foreground anchor. A rock, a log, reeds in the stream, something in the foreground in the large empty space in the bottom middle might have really enhanced the image. Because we read left to right our eyes scan photos the same way. What happens in this photo (cropped version) is that the tree trunks to the left catch our eye and so as we scan across the photo, we stay in the middle of the image (because of the ripples) and are drawn up slightly as we scan to the right edge. Only then do we come down and across the lower middle, so it feels like we have to work a little too hard to process the scene (our minds don't like backtracking). In the uncropped version, it's even tougher, because we don't know whether to go up or down, both edges have equal low impact (the semi colored sky and busy tree branches vs. the flowing stream). Something to garner attention in the lower middle would drawn the eye there immediately after the tree trunks and then we would naturally follow the line of the creek back to the log and over to the right edge. It would be more "natural" in feel, like a continuous movement.

Last edited by nomadkng; 05-14-2014 at 09:45 AM.
05-14-2014, 09:41 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by nomadkng Quote
Brooke's simple crop definitely made the image more focused. While I can understand the concept of lower perspective as something different, the lower perspective also changes your effective depth of field. I almost always shoot at a slight downward angle from a tripod because it increases my realized depth of field at any given aperture. shooting UP decreases your realized depth of field.
I was thinking in much simpler terms and I wasn't worried too much about sky or the lack of sky. Shooting from a lower height would give the feel of the photograph being taken by someone more hidden in the grass, whether aiming upward or downward. It just seemed to me to be the vantage point this scene called for.
05-14-2014, 09:48 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by MSL Quote
I was thinking in much simpler terms and I wasn't worried too much about sky or the lack of sky. Shooting from a lower height would give the feel of the photograph being taken by someone more hidden in the grass, whether aiming upward or downward. It just seemed to me to be the vantage point this scene called for.
very true. I do agree a lower vantage point may have also allowed for a better foreground if available to be included.
05-14-2014, 10:52 AM   #11
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Thank you everyone so much for the feedback. It is very helpful reading all of your thoughts on composition.

In video when I would walk into the scene it was all about capturing the whole scene and building sequences to do that. I would notice what stands out to me in the scene and figure how to build a sequence of shots to capture all of that.

Still photography is especially challenging for me because my mind still wants to do that, but in a single photograph I can only present a portion of the scene. Trying to think in terms of having to exclude so much is not how my mind wants to work. I am still defaulting to thinking about things like I would with video.

Yes, in video each shot would have a subject, but it didn't matter too much if that subject was boring or uninteresting. It was more there just to anchor the shot, give the viewers' eyes a place to go, before moving on to the next shot.

I would really enjoy any feedback that anyone would care to give on a few more shots from that same outing. I feel these may have a bit better composition. In one, there is a much clearer focal point, the setting sun. The other two are taken from the same spot, just framed differently.
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05-14-2014, 12:37 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by chesebert Quote
What is the subject matter of the photo? What do you want me focus my eyes on?
I think the above is the crux of the issue, and I believe the more successful images you posted demonstrate it.
05-14-2014, 12:41 PM   #13
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I like the first two of this recent set because the orange in the background provides a nice contrast to all the green. I'm less enthused by the crop in the third photo as it lacks both the contrast and a natural focus point.
05-16-2014, 10:07 AM   #14
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The general rule of thumb is to not include a blank sky because it affects how the viewer perceives the rest of the scene. Overcast light can be beautiful, but as soon as the viewer sees a bit of that blank sky, they subconsciously think, "Oh...it was a dull day" and translate that to the picture. However, these days HDR can let you turn an otherwise blank sky into a dramatic sky so shoot with that in mind.
05-17-2014, 08:07 PM   #15
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9-top-tips-for-shooting-waterfalls-creeks-and-streams

9 Top Tips for Shooting Waterfalls, Creeks and Streams

---------- Post added 18th May 2014 at 12:10 AM ----------

[URL="http://digital-photography-school.com/9-top-tips-for-shooting-waterfalls-creeks-and-streams/"]

This bit of reading should be time well spent.
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