what's wrong with this?

this one not only got rejected from one of the stock sites but they trashed it in the area that i thought was its strong point - framing/composition..



what i see is leading lines (parking spots and lamp posts) and the subject somewhat off-center to make it interesting (imo) and framed right inside the last lamp post. opinions appreciated.

Although it does follow some rules it really is just that interesting. The parking lot just does not look that good.

Have you considered going back and reshooting in the summer time ?

Cheers, Don

The sidewalk has a weird angle against the lines? Doesn't look too bad to me.

Maybe a tight crop? But there is still no actual subject.



I will delete this copy in a few days, or immediately if requested.

WayneF said:

Maybe a tight crop? But there is still no actual subject.

I will delete this copy in a few days, or immediately if requested.

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I do like this one better. It is just rare that a parking lot looks good.

I'm not seeing it, seems like a technically fine image to me. Granted, it's not all that interesting but stock photos seldom are. The only thing I can imagine, and it's a bit of a stretch too, is that the parking lot is empty and with no cars it then becomes incongruent with the overall image content? But then again, I know very little about the needs of a stock library.

Leading lines should lead you toward the subject. Your leading lines lead you out of the photo. I flipped your pic so you are lead from left to right into the subject.

singlerosa said:

Leading lines should lead you toward the subject. Your leading lines lead you out of the photo. I flipped your pic so you are lead from left to right into the subject.

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Huh? I don't think there's a consensus on the directionality of leading lines. Lines are meant to pull your eye toward the subject or away from the subject, depending upon your story line.

I'm no expert, but I think I can see what their objections are. What should be the highlight of the photo, the red at the top of the tower is stuck in no-man's land, while the lamp on the right drags the eye away. Perhaps you should have taken the shot a little more to the left and from a bit lower down? This would raise the tower up a bit to the 3/3 position, would balance the distance on each side of the photo and would get rid of the distracting lamp on the right.

As I said before, I am no expert on these things but these came instantly to mind.

No expert here either but my opinion is there is no color pop anywhere. I see nothing wrong but nothing stands out. Maybe try using the tower as the main point of interest with a closer wide angle from down lower?

Here is a good rule of thumb. Go to 500px and type in the what you shot (theme, story, whatever) and look what others have taken. Sometimes look through other eyes may help. We have already seen what others did in cropping.

​Lou Cioccio

LouCioccio said:

Here is a good rule of thumb. Go to 500px and type in the what you shot (theme, story, whatever) and look what others have taken. Sometimes look through other eyes may help. We have already seen what others did in cropping.

​Lou Cioccio

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not sure what you mean by 500px and telling a story..

Slipperman said:

not sure what you mean by 500px and telling a story..

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500px is Photography

What I meant is that sometimes an image doesn't work looks good to me but to others it doesn't. So start looking at what others done;lets say you do landscape 500px / Popular Photos see what others are doing. It gives you an idea how to improve. Lets say you take an image and open it in Photoshop Elements looks okay then you add levels to and it pops! wow looks a little better. So by looking you are creating your own "visual" library.
I shoot weddings but I do look at others to improve what I am shooting.

Lou Cioccio

LouCioccio said:

What I meant is that sometimes an image doesn't work looks good to me but to others it doesn't. So start looking at what others done;lets say you do landscape 500px / Popular Photos see what others are doing. It gives you an idea how to improve. Lets say you take an image and open it in Photoshop Elements looks okay then you add levels to and it pops! wow looks a little better. So by looking you are creating your own "visual" library.
I shoot weddings but I do look at others to improve what I am shooting.

Lou Cioccio

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My philosophy in life is that I can learn something from everyone I meet. Sometimes it may even only be how NOT to do something. The key in photography is to look at as many different photographers and see what about their style you like and almost as important is to see what you don't like.

I would suggest retaking the photo with only your object centered against the sky. The whole parking lot, light poles, and trees kinda give it a bad taste. Not trying to diss ya or anything. Just my two potatoes