Your photos (6)

Your photos (6)

Take Better Photos

Hints and tips
by Philip Grosset

Sunset

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with comments from Philip Grosset

"Here are a couple of pictures that I took and would welcome your comments. I'm new to photography and my first SLR camera! I'm interested in pursuing sports photography...although these are not "action" shots I would like to hear your critque of them. Thank you for your time." Dawn Woodard, Abilene, Texas.

A very clear and effective photo with the subject well positioned. You've managed to leave not only slightly more space ahead of where he's walking (bottom right) but also more space in front of where he's looking (top left)! The result looks very professional. The telephoto conveniently throws the background slightly out of focus.

He's not so well positioned here. It would be better without the empty space on the right. Also, his head gets lost in the confusing background. An uncluttered background is best - but the white lines in the picture above are acceptable as they are an essential part of the sport.

"Can I improve the picture below by cropping it?" Susie, Chester.

You can improve practically any photo by cropping it! First, decide which part of the picture matters most. Is it baby in the pram?

I hope this isn't the picture you want, because you aren't nearly close enough to see the baby properly, so just selecting the pram like this isn't a good idea!

This is better because you can see more of the flowers, and less of the empty space top left on the original, but there is too much tree! And you lose any real sense of the location. I think I'd try an old-fashioned vignette effect as shown below:

The easiest way to produce a vignette effect is by masking the print when you frame it. It's also simple to produce it with a suitable computer image editing program, as I did. This composition not only associates the pram with the flowers but also suggests the spacious setting. Pity we still can't see the baby's face! It makes the whole picture seem a bit pointless....

"This is a pic. of the New Jersey Shore here in the U.S. It was shot prior to Hurricane Floyd hitting the area in Sept. of 1999." Gene Zonis.

A fine dramatic picture that owes much of its effect to the clever inclusion of the white gull in the right foreground. The least interesting part is perhaps the sky, so I think I'd experiment by.....

.....reducing the amount of sky, and featuring the gull more prominently by cutting out the foreground to position it as shown. This emphasises it looking at the waves. It almost seems like a black & white photo - but this adds to the dramatic effect.

Reply from Gene Zonis: "Thank you for your input. It is appreciated"

Now go on to YOUR PHOTOS (7)

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