donaldjledet
Senior Member
To Improve these shots?
Last edited by a moderator:
What could i do?
- Thread starter donaldjledet
- Start date
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
Shot 1: Define your subject. You've got almost exactly 50% foreground and 50% skyline. Give the shot 2/3 of one, 1/3 of the other (a la Rule of Thirds).
Shot 2: I think a shallower depth of field to soften the background would have been nice here. A slower shutter speed to add a little dynamic sense of motion would have worked well here and some breathing room on the right edge so the subject appears to be entering the frame instead of exiting it would really help. Horsey's nose is almost to the very edge of the frame. Maybe pan the horses to blur the background and give that dynamic...
Shot 3: Crop, crop, crop. The subject is obvious... GIVE it to me. HIT ME with it. What's with all that superfluous fence and anonymous spectator and what not in the background? It's weakening your otherwise strong subject.
Shot 2: I think a shallower depth of field to soften the background would have been nice here. A slower shutter speed to add a little dynamic sense of motion would have worked well here and some breathing room on the right edge so the subject appears to be entering the frame instead of exiting it would really help. Horsey's nose is almost to the very edge of the frame. Maybe pan the horses to blur the background and give that dynamic...
Shot 3: Crop, crop, crop. The subject is obvious... GIVE it to me. HIT ME with it. What's with all that superfluous fence and anonymous spectator and what not in the background? It's weakening your otherwise strong subject.
Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
Would be a lot better if you posted them one at a time.
Horoscope Fish said exactly what I was going to say. In addition, I have a few more suggestions.
Shot #1: Not only the rule of thirds, which is a must, but, try to center your subject. It seems that there are more houses to the left and out of the picture, but nothing but a bunch of trees on the right. Centering the buildings horizontally would really help.
Shot #2: If possible, panning works wonders. It gives the feeling of motion because the background gets blurred but keeps the motion sharp.
Shot #3: Not just crop, crop, crop, but switch it from horizontal to vertical. Also, cutting the batter off at the hips doesn't help, unless you had no choice. A shot like that really benefits from a whole body shot.
Shot #1: Not only the rule of thirds, which is a must, but, try to center your subject. It seems that there are more houses to the left and out of the picture, but nothing but a bunch of trees on the right. Centering the buildings horizontally would really help.
Shot #2: If possible, panning works wonders. It gives the feeling of motion because the background gets blurred but keeps the motion sharp.
Shot #3: Not just crop, crop, crop, but switch it from horizontal to vertical. Also, cutting the batter off at the hips doesn't help, unless you had no choice. A shot like that really benefits from a whole body shot.
Exactly what they are saying above. You always want to tell a story, capture the moment with expression and a picture of your of your actual subject. With sports its going to be hard to get it all right if you are limited in where to stand. You do have clarity and focus, just need to tweak a few things. Sports you need to have your shutter speed cranked up to make sure you freeze the movement and not blur it. When I am taking youth sports I always run down a check list with the first being a test shot to make sure I am not over exposing or under exposing, watch your meter its the best tool for doing this.
With picture 3 if you would have turned the camera to portrait instead of landscape then you could crop out all of the noise in the background so it draws the viewers eyes to the actual subject.
You doing good, just a few tweaks with technique and your set. You have already made a big step by asking on here. Lots of good people with a lot of knowledge.
With picture 3 if you would have turned the camera to portrait instead of landscape then you could crop out all of the noise in the background so it draws the viewers eyes to the actual subject.
You doing good, just a few tweaks with technique and your set. You have already made a big step by asking on here. Lots of good people with a lot of knowledge.
donaldjledet
Senior Member
Yes Thanks guys, While reading your thoughts i can see where your ideas are right.
I'll have to remember to pan the race horses when i go again.
and the houses where more too the left.
And my Grandson Elijah batting stance from head to toe would have been the right way for that photo.
Also shorter d.o.f. to get rid of all that background mess.
I'll have to remember to pan the race horses when i go again.
and the houses where more too the left.
And my Grandson Elijah batting stance from head to toe would have been the right way for that photo.
Also shorter d.o.f. to get rid of all that background mess.
donaldjledet
Senior Member
Yes Don I see you are right it would have been better to have them not all together.
This newbie is learning all the time here. Thanks
Nope but Pedroj did.Fish and Barb said everything I wanted to say, but beat me to it.Did they mention that photo #1 is tilted to the right? Needs to horizontally straightened.
Great pics! I'm a beginner so I love seeing pics posted and everyone's suggestions. One question I have though, on the race horse pic, what does everyone mean by pan? I think I know, but I don't want to assume. Would you want to do that if you were photographing a NASCAR race as well? Just curious....
WhiteLight
Senior Member
Panning means you follow a moving subject along its path so you always have focus on the subject
[h=3]panning present participle of pan (Verb)[/h]Verb
[h=3]panning present participle of pan (Verb)[/h]Verb
- (Never Mind this definition)
- Swing (a video or movie camera) in a horizontal or vertical plane, typically to give a panoramic effect or follow a subject.
donaldjledet
Senior Member
Yes I do need to learn how to pan they said it wouls blur the background and give the feel of motion.
Hi Donald,
If you had specified "pro" or "advanced" I would have more to say… but I see
"newbie" so I will address your question very seriously keeping in mind that
that at pro level, there are some expectations as at other levels… I am just
happy to see posts coming from you.
The first shot, as pedrej noted, should be straighten. Otherwise, the houses are
at the lower third, just fine. What may irritate others is that the hills are about
half way in the frame. Personally, I think that a few clouds in the sky would
just balance this (nothing is more boring than a cloudless sky!). So for the 1st.
The second, this may be a little tricky: the exposition is wrong! Yes, I know, the
hi-lites and the shadows are well balanced… but in reality it is never like that! You
see, the backlit horses should be darker on the shadow side. The long shadows on
the groung definitely prove the early evening hours (or early morning!), and, at
these times, the scene should exhibit the dramatic light mood that is expected.
IMO, cropping the green over the roofs, afar, would help keep the eyes on the track.
Otherwise pretty good!
Your third shot is the one I fancy!
By far not as good as the others because it is containing very bad elements that
cannot be corrected as easily as in 1 & 2, but the best editorial content of the 3.
The sh…tty, ugly backstop posts are there like in every ball park… but look at the
boy, f…ck the posts, he's eye-balling the pitcher with such concentration… this is a
great shot. This is a moment in a lifetime, and a beautiful one. I, as a father, would
be proud to show a picture like this of my son. I, as a photographer, would be proud
too because the exposure is perfect, the contrast, the rendition… even the frame is
perfect (maybe too much headroom!), and other photographers would appreciate
just that: a moment in the life of a son! …for it's editorial value!
Vbrg,
Please visit the groups:
http://nikonites.com/groups/product-...#axzz2Yku2yynD
http://nikonites.com/groups/panoramas-virtual-reality/#axzz2Yku2yynD
If you had specified "pro" or "advanced" I would have more to say… but I see
"newbie" so I will address your question very seriously keeping in mind that
that at pro level, there are some expectations as at other levels… I am just
happy to see posts coming from you.
The first shot, as pedrej noted, should be straighten. Otherwise, the houses are
at the lower third, just fine. What may irritate others is that the hills are about
half way in the frame. Personally, I think that a few clouds in the sky would
just balance this (nothing is more boring than a cloudless sky!). So for the 1st.
The second, this may be a little tricky: the exposition is wrong! Yes, I know, the
hi-lites and the shadows are well balanced… but in reality it is never like that! You
see, the backlit horses should be darker on the shadow side. The long shadows on
the groung definitely prove the early evening hours (or early morning!), and, at
these times, the scene should exhibit the dramatic light mood that is expected.
IMO, cropping the green over the roofs, afar, would help keep the eyes on the track.
Otherwise pretty good!
Your third shot is the one I fancy!
By far not as good as the others because it is containing very bad elements that
cannot be corrected as easily as in 1 & 2, but the best editorial content of the 3.
The sh…tty, ugly backstop posts are there like in every ball park… but look at the
boy, f…ck the posts, he's eye-balling the pitcher with such concentration… this is a
great shot. This is a moment in a lifetime, and a beautiful one. I, as a father, would
be proud to show a picture like this of my son. I, as a photographer, would be proud
too because the exposure is perfect, the contrast, the rendition… even the frame is
perfect (maybe too much headroom!), and other photographers would appreciate
just that: a moment in the life of a son! …for it's editorial value!
Vbrg,
Please visit the groups:
http://nikonites.com/groups/product-...#axzz2Yku2yynD
http://nikonites.com/groups/panoramas-virtual-reality/#axzz2Yku2yynD
Last edited:
donaldjledet
Senior Member
Kodiak, Thanks for the insight.And yes I'm very proud of him. But I'm his grandfather, which i believe makes it even more special!
Have to learn the better camera settings too blur the background.
It was his very first ballgame.
Have to learn the better camera settings too blur the background.
It was his very first ballgame.
donaldjledet
Senior Member
Oh Kodiak i just remembered on the second photo it is evening time there in new orleans,la.
And i was going to leave the horses alone but being new i thought i needed to have the horses lighten up.
And i was going to leave the horses alone but being new i thought i needed to have the horses lighten up.
donaldjledet
Senior Member
Here is the other picture.
So maybe just cropping it would be ok.
So maybe just cropping it would be ok.
Hi Donald,
That's right, this photograph has the expected tonal range for the hour!
And yes, a cropping that will give more "picture real-estate" to the subjects.
View attachment 43457
Vbrg,
That's right, this photograph has the expected tonal range for the hour!
And yes, a cropping that will give more "picture real-estate" to the subjects.
View attachment 43457
Vbrg,