Your photos (103)


Hints and tips
by Philip Grosset



If you'd like to submit photos for criticism,
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with comments from Philip Grosset




"Hi! I noticed your website and i like it a lot. I'm from Romania (Transilvania), my english knowledge is not very good therefore please forgive my mistakes. I've seen your website and your comments look constructive and useful. I have found great joy in taking pictures. I'm always interested to hear what people think about my pictures, after all, it's the only way I'm going to get better. I take photos with a Pentax MZ-50/with Tamron 28-200 mm. I have a web-site where i put some of my photos. Here i send you a couple of them, wich i consider good. I would be very glad to hear your opinion about them, which you like the best. Also i'd like to invite you to see the photos on my web-site, I would feel honored to have you comment on my work . Please i want your honest opinion. The URL is: http://communities.msn.com/BZolieskepei You'll find the photos in "Album2" and "Photos". Some of them are personal, but that's OK, they have artistic value just for me. Thank you very much for your time in advance. The titles of photos are in hungarian, but that's not important i think. Regards/ PS: the third photo was taken in the night." (B. Zoli)
Photo Snowy peaks
I assume your photo on the left shows the lights from passing traffic. If you'd shown us the person in red looking bewildered, perhaps there would have been more point to it! Your photo on the right is arresting but doesn't communicate any idea of scale. It just leaves you wanting to know more - not necessarily a bad thing.
Evening scene This I like. The gentle coloring is attractive and the soft slightly out of focus effect seems very appropriate. A really atmospheric picture. I thought there were other good photos on your website too.
Reply from B. Zoli: "First of all i'd like to thank you for your valuation. It's nice to have someone experienced like you.It means a great help to me. About the first photo i have to say that there wasn't any passing traffic but a skating-rink with some Christmas scenery. I took the photo with a long exposure and in the meantime i turned the zoom-ring. The person seen in the photo is my girlfriend who was illuminated by the flash-light of my camera. About the 2nd photo do you think i should've made it with a human presence? Also i allow myself to send you more photos (4) if you don't mind, i'd like to hear your comments on them. Last time i gave you the link to my web-site. Could you give a look to my photos? I would welcome your comments on them. Best Regards!! Zoli."


Yes, a human presence would have provided a sense of scale. I'm afraid I can't offer to criticise a whole website of photos, although, as I said above, I think they are some good pictures there!
Hillside cropped
Hillside
It's a pity that the sun is so largely hidden by the tree in your photo on the left. As an experiment, I've tried cropping it in my version on the right, positioning the sun at the intersection of thirds so as to draw more attention to it - but it isn't really spectacular enough to work all that well.




"Hello. I'm interested in sending some of my pictures to you for your comments but I've just read the comments in 'Your photos (9)'... I am using a digitial camera and most of my pictures are around 200 -300 kb - I use an iMac and when I view them on screen it uses Quick Time Picture Viewer. I know how to reduce my pictures once I've put them through a editing package, we have adobe photoshop elements, but othen when I've "messed" around with them and then emailed them to friends they can't open them. ! odd! So I sent them unadulterated.. and they are rather large ! Pictures attached are of Brighton Pavilion at night taken with a Kodak digicam. One with flash - one without. I prefer the without. Your comments and help would be appreciated. Thanks." (Michelle Elliott, Brighton England)


All the best people use iMacs!!! But you shouldn't have any problem sending edited pictures as long as they are jpg files. Try emailing one to yourself and see if you can open it. As for me, I'm no longer so worried about the size of files as I now have a cable modem connection! Here are your pictures:
Brighton pavilion
Another view of pavilion
Your two photos are on the left and in the middle. I agree with you that the one taken without flash (the middle one) is the more successful as the lit bushes (on the left) only distract from the Pavilion, and the flash setting did not give you a long enough exposure to capture the background properly. However, you might have done even better to have moved in closer, as I have done on the right. This concentrates attention on the Pavilion rather than on the black area surrounding it. I like the framing effect produced by the trees.


Reply from Michelle Elliott: "Thank you Philip for your opinion on how to improve my photographs. It certainly makes a difference when most of the black background was removed. I wish I'd sent over a couple more of various subjects to get your overall view of my pictures. It is difficult to be objective about one's own pictures! I have posted other comments in your guest book. I think from your site, the main points I've learnt are about filling the frame/ rule of thirds /framing the picture...but then if it was always this easy we'd all be professional photographers !!! Still ... I'll keep on practising and taking advice. Thanks again."




"I am not a professional photographer....but when I see a nice view i make a picture of it! Here are some pictures of Brighton. What do u think of them?" (Elina Doyle, Brighton, UK)
Brighton beach
Pier
I'm afraid I don't think these are very successful photos. In both of them, the skyline or the pier almost cuts them in half, and neither photo seems properly sharp. There's no foreground framing either. May I suggest you have a look at relevant pages on this site (you can use the contents list to find them) - or at least see the landscape and summary pages. Nice views are fine - but to do them justice requires careful composition. Or did you deliberately choose to throw the picture on the right so out of focus? If so, I'm sorry, but I don't really think it works.




To find out how to send me photos for review please click here.




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