Which is the best photo?
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 Hints and tips by Philip Grosset If you'd like to submit photos for criticism, click here. |
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| Both the photos below show the old fort in the harbour at Paphos in Cyprus. But which is the better photo? |
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| I prefer the picture on the right. It avoids all the clutter of the harbour in the foreground, and the gentle evening light brings out more attractive colors. It also suggests what the fort must once have been like, without all the visiting tourists. It really doesn't look like the same place, does it? It all goes to show the importance of choosing just the right viewpoint, and just the right lighting.... but can you see a way of making it more dramatic? |
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| Here's the fort again, but this time silhouetted in the sunset, with the masts of a sailing ship rising up on its left. This is my favourite of the three photos (even though you don't see much of the fort), but it took much more time and effort to set it up. Once again, the most obvious view (the top one) isn't necessarily the best! Now here are three more pictures to compare: |
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| This is a very boring photo of the harbour of Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife - and, anyway, what's it meant to show? No attempt has been made to create an effective composition - and one poor person has even been caught part in and part out of the picture! | |||||||||||||||||
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| Include relevant foreground objects like these boats, and not only is there an added feeling of depth, but the whole picture becomes more interesting. | |||||||||||||||||
| Wait until a fisherman resumes work on his boat, and you've added human interest too. Notice how I've been able to position both man and fort near intersections of thirds (see the foot of this page for an explanation of this). The result seems to me to be by far the most effective of these three photos. | |||||||||||||||||
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NEXT PAGE PICKING THE BEST VIEWPOINT |
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