[Shakey]

I'm still trying to learn the mechanics of my camera, but also trying to take some keepers in the process.
I took this photo of the resting horse with my zoom from the road as I looked into a local farm yard.
What i thought would be interesting were the various shades of grey and the muted brown showing on the wall. I kind of liked the greenish slats on the right.
In the end I think it's a pretty Blah photo.
Please, I'd love to hear your constructive criticism and advice. Feel free to show me how you would post process to make it better if you would like.
Thanks for taking the time.

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[amoringello]

Maybe blah, but you've already hit on one of the issues, no main subject. You like the horse and the green slats and the muted brown on the wall.
Although the green slats may be interesting you probably don't want them competing against the horse for attention. Photograph one or the other and make it the main subject.
On that note, get in closer (or zoom in closer) to fill the frame with your subject. More than half of the image has nothing to do with the subject(s).
(negative space can work in some cases, but it doesn't here -- probably at least in part because your subject is hidden behind a wall of negative space already.)

The image is not sharp.
The image is not completely in focus. Most likely your shutter speed is too slow and the horse moved slightly.
Finally, the subject is not very compelling (The horse also looks ill or half-asleep) and flat.

I don't believe this photo is worth a great deal of effort in saving (sorry you said have at it), mainly because it is a bit out of focus.
But improvements can start by;
- crop it such that the right wall is gone
- on the other side, put the horse's eye on about the top-left-most 1/3 intersection lines. A bit more breathing-room on the left is actually better and is a good reason to break "the rule of thirds" here, so extend the crop a bit further to the left.
- Increase contrast, and clarity.
- although you like many things in the scene, you may also want to crop severely and just get small portions of the image, Just a part of the horse's face/head. Or part of where it's mane meets its neck, etc... Or just the deteriorated wall. Or just the green slats. Any of these can make a compelling image on their own as well....

Just some suggestions. None will make this an award winner, but I think there is room for improvement on this image. Or at least some things to keep in mind for the next one.

Hopefully not too harsh.
i.e. Going to Flickr for a "good job" on every photo, helps no one.

[Shakey]

Very good comments that are extremely helpful in every way. Thank you! I've got about 20 more shots to pick from so I'll start by looking for one with more clarity. Yep, I get that you can"t put lipstick on a pig and everybody is not a winner, but I will follow your suggestions to the best of my current ability and re-post to see if I at least have the right idea. Believe it or not, one of the things I am having trouble with is determining when an image is "sharp". Maybe it's the computer I'm working on and / or my age affected eyesight. Stay tuned.

If anyone has a favorite publication on composition and subject matter please respond.

[Rico]

Shakey the image is suffering from camera motion blur which makes it lack sharpness. You are shooting at the extreme end of the zoom plus the use of the teleconverter amplifies any movement of the camera. If you were sitting in an idling car could be enough to add such blur. It looks like it was a very bright day and your subject is in shadow which adds to getting a proper exposure from such a far distance for a high contrast area.

I don't mind the subject and composition. What makes the image look blah is a lack of tonal range the way you have set it up. There are a lot of simple ways to correct this.



The image works well in B&W:

[Shakey]

Thanks Rico. I had played around with contrast and BW prior to posting. I liked it but wasn't sure (lack of posting confidence ) Thank you for another great perspective.

[SpecialK]

The image does not do anything for me, sorry. The biggest factors are: not very sharp, low contract, odd composition. Rico's adjustment makes is much better, however, for me the interest is not quite there. I understand you were constrained by accessibility, but I would like to see less wall, more horse :-)

This violates the "head in the middle" rule, but the lighter strip of wall on the left makes it OK, I think.

[photolady95]

Only one suggestion from me. Take the camera off pattern metering, and set it to spot metering.

[SpecialK]

I never recommend spot metering unless you know what you are doing :-) It's easy to mess up, and the other metering modes will usually be very close, especially in a flat scene like this, if you are shooting raw. You are shooting raw, right.

[Shakey]

The poor horse...he was actually just trying to get some shuteye and now I've exposed him to the media for critique. Shame on me .
Thanks special K. The image didn't do anything for me either and now I'm learning why. All good stuff.

[Sandy Hancock]

You have a superb camera and lens combination. You should be able to get incredible results once you get the hang of things.

The shutter speed is way too slow for the focal length. There is only so much magic that the K-3's shake reduction can manage - you should try to respect the 1/focal length rule where possible, especially with such a big heavy lens. Unless you have a tripod of course

Taking off the teleconverter and getting closer would have served you better by allowing more light in, and improving composition/perspective. Pushing the ISO a stop or two would have helped too.

The light is very soft and diffused, so the image needs to be really sharp to pop. Motion blur aside, I suspect the focus might also be off - this was taken with the lens wide open, so the focal plane is very shallow and you really have to nail it.

I'm a bit of a stickler for getting the verticals and horizontals right in a scene which has them. The tilt here is just enough to be off-putting.

Boosting contrast and saturation, and a little tilt correction will help a little as discussed above, but not enough to make this a keeper in my book.

Keep experimenting!

[photolady95]

I never recommend spot metering unless you know what you are doing :-) It's easy to mess up, and the other metering modes will usually be very close, especially in a flat scene like this,

I suggested spot because I thought the horse was what he thought of as the main subject. As for the first part of your statement, I guess I do know what I'm doing.

[Sandy Hancock]

I fail to see how the metering mode had anything to do with the result. Exposure looks pretty OK.

[clackers]

I do think there was potential there, Shakey, because you recognized both the horse and the surrounding elements have muted tones.

As has been pointed out, 1/80s was much too low a shutter speed, though, and I'm sure you don't regard this one as a 'keeper'.

[Shakey]

In this short time I've learned a lot from all of your comments. Selecting a true "subject", camera movement when shooting at such a distance, 1.4 converter considerations and the possible negative effects, cropping (framing the subject properly in the first place), shutter speed and available light. I've got to learn more about metering especially, even though it did not come up as a main problem for this photo.

Thanks for commenting on my recognition of the grey tones...that's what attracted me to the setting in the first place. While the shot was in color it had a natural black and white appeal to me. Obviously, Ansel Adams I'm not!

I agree - there isn't anything to salvage on this one so now I'll have to go out and shoot some more....darn

I'll post something new in the near future after I've worked with your suggestions. Thank you all for taking the time to post very helpful comments.

[amoringello]

I'll post something new in the near future after I've worked with your suggestions. Thank you all for taking the time to post very helpful comments.

Looking forward to it. It is interesting to look back at photos taken many years ago and see how your perceptions on all these factors change over time.

I remember using an old <$200 18-200mm lens thinking it was fantastic. At the time I could not even see the difference a better lens made.
Someone could literally have pointed out the differences and I could not tell what they were talking about.
My wife was the same way about a year ago... I think I've cerated a monster, now that she is appreciating the difference. :-)

... and you sort of have to keep in mind that you're posting photos for critique by other photographers.
It is very likely, 99% of the world around you simply won't notice, nor will they care about any of the issues we've pointed out here.
Unless you're out to make money, sometimes its just better to have fun and not sweat the small stuff.
(It's a mad world)