Your photos 47

Your photos (47)

Take Better Photos

Hints and tips
by Philip Grosset

Click photo above
for contents list

with comments from Philip Grosset

"Attached with this mail are photos i have taken with a bunch of buddies: i) taken at a chinese temple in kuala lumpur malaysia...was trying to get perspective image...first time taking images like this... ii) taken at the temple too... iii) taken at a waterfall...tried to capture the running water... thanks!!" (Julian Chow Weng San, Malaysia)

The problem with this photo is that we can't really see what it is! The picture below is much more successful ...

... as we can now see that it is a temple. However, if you had moved in just a bit closer, as on the right, you could have removed some of the empty black space on the top and on the right of the original picture. This might have made it look even more impressive.

I seem to get sent lots of photos of waterfalls, but they have to be quite spectacular to be really interesting. This one, I must admit, doesn't seem to have anything so very special about it, and I am left wondering why you took it - was it just an experiment with a longer shutter speed to see if you could capture the look of moving water?

Reply from Julian Chow Weng San: "Thanks for the tip!!

Here are my final two submissions for your comments, they were both taken at my sons wedding. The first, Helen, I tried to get a romantic, reflective moment using only natural light, this is the one photo that the majority of people liked, I personally think it's too dark, your comments please. The second I used a black and white film, but had it developed as sepia, hoping to recreate an olde worlde image, again your comments will be invaluable. Thank you for your help and I will continue to read your hints and tips." (Jean Walley)

Your photo of Helen (on the left) is very imaginatively composed, although, for my own taste, I'd prefer to exclude the lamp on the left, as shown in my version on the right. I presume the picture was deliberately kept slightly out of focus, but was this such a good idea? Personally, I'm not too keen on soft focus effects - unless, with older people, you feel you really have to conceal lines and wrinkles! I agree with you that the picture is rather too dark. A little fill-in lighting or a reflector might have helped. But I still very much like the way the way the photo was set up, and the serene "waiting for something to happen" feeling it communicates.

I've a suspicion this photo would look even better in color (but I'm afraid I often feel that way about b&w or sepia prints)! Once again the focus seems very soft - the railings in the background looking sharper than the subjects. But this would be an effective addition to a family album as long as there are also plenty of close-ups - and plenty of color in other shots! I agree that the sepia does suggest an old world image.

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