Your photos (1)

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Your photos (1)
with comments from Philip Grosset

Take Better Photos

Hints and tips
by Philip Grosset

Sunset

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"I am new to all this, but could you let me know what you think of the attachment. I took this from my back garden where the river flows by. Best Regards, Brenda."

I think your picture falls a bit between two stools: it might have been better either to have come in closer so that we saw the swans more clearly (preferably doing something interesting!), or to have moved further away to show a more general scenic view, with the swans just as foreground interest.

"I just bought an Elan IIe and a Canon 28-105 USM lens about 3 weeks ago. I have taken about 8 rolls of film. Here (on the left) is a picture of the Nebraska State capitol in Lincoln. The person who scanned it bleached it out. The effects of the circular polarizer is hard to notice in the scan as well. I like this building and thought you might give me a couple clues on getting some photos with a little more excitement. This is my first SLR camera and I am trying to get the hang of it." (Joe Power, Lincoln NE, USA)

I think you might do better getting closer in, omitting the road below and some of the sky, as shown in my version on the right.
The vertical format is usually better suited to a tall building. Or, if you want to show the left-hand side of the building too, try to frame the picture with a few more branches in the foreground. Some photographers even carry their own branches around with them - but that might be overdoing it! I'd also reduce the effect of the polarising filter, unless you really want such a very unreal-looking sky!

"I only started three weeks ago. Never used a camera much before. I thought I would include 2 photos." (Serge Doublet, Australia)

Well, congratulations on this one! It's an attractive scene, nicely framed by the trees on each side. The path leads you into the picture, the colours and the lighting are effective too, and the strong diagonal lines add to the dramatic appeal. The more I look at it, the more I like it!

This is rather less pleasing because the composition is a bit muddled. The viewer doesn't know quite what he is meant to be looking at. It might have been better to concentrate on the most interesting part (presumably the horses) as shown on the right.

I've cropped off the unnecessary part, and find the result more effective. It would have been even better to have waited until the whole of the horse's head was out of the foreground shadow!

Reply from Serge Doublet: "Thank you for your comments. Sorry about the length of the files. I only realised after I pressed the 'send' button how long they were. I appreciated your advice. I would like the opportunity to send more photos in the future, if you don't mind.Regards."

Now go on to YOUR PHOTOS (2)