Looking for a little constructive criticism

-westy-

-westy-

-westy-

Soldato
Joined
7 Nov 2002
Posts
12,566
Location
Snorbans, UK
Gents,

I’m after a little constructive criticism, if that’s allowed in here?

I’m recently picked up the camera, got hold of a Canon 40D, along with a 50mm f/1.8 lens, which I’m mainly using.

My most recent outing was at the Great Dorset Steam Fair.

https://flickr.com/photos/159773911@N07/sets/72157694843582730

Please do feel free to post anything helpful, thoughts, comments, suggestions to improve, it would be much appreciated :)

Thanks in advance.
 
Would be better if you linked to your favorite 5 photos and then asked for specific critique.

In general I think you need to work on composition.
 
As above , there are some nice pics in there ... some which to me would benefit from being cropped to narrow in on things a little to focus the eye on a subject.

Similarly , the composition of some could be better. Ie if you have a person looking to the side , what are they looking at ? Is your photo conveying that?

And further from this, a good tip I learned from watching a YouTube photo blogger was when setting up your pic, ask yourself what do I not want in the picture? What’s in the background that’s ugly ? How can I avoid having it in there. When you take out what you don’t want then your left with what is nice about the shot and more likely to be better.
 
Absolutely, I am no expert by any means , but some simple things can help you to get nicer shots on a more regular basis. I firmly beleive that there is plenty of advice and information out there by very knowledgable people, but no single style that all should aim for. A prime example for me is Jared Polin. I quite like his reviews of stuff and advice ... but I'm not the biggest fan of his final images which I think often appear a little grungy for me personally. If you like your own work, then thats what matters for your enjoyment of it.

Going back to composition ... rule of thirds is worth a read, and the photo that made my comment of 'if someones looking ... what are they looking at?' stemmed from the pic linked below.

It also applies to the comment 'whats in the pic that I dont like?'

IMG_3510 by Benjamin West, on Flickr


Yes, he's kind of in the middle of the pic, but there is that post in the foreground taking your eye away from him, and object you may not want.

A crop, rotation ( and a little bit of photoshopping to fill in the gaps created from rotation ) could give you this ... Its now just him, looking into the middle of the picture ... which is the work he is doing.

gpYATLw.jpg


Dont be afraid to rotate the camera to make it fit better, to concentrate more on a detail rather than the whole shot, to crop afterwards, and most importantly ... enjoy it and find your own style.
 
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