Your photos (122) |
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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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with comments from Philip Grosset "I have tremendously enjoyed your site! I try to be a photographer myself (try to be, since most pictures I see on the internet are of compositions and quality I wish I could think of...) I currently live in North Carolina, near Charlotte. If I may trouble you, I would like your opinion on some of my pictures. The first one I am sending you is a flower. I was trying to capture the colour and complexity of the flower. I used the available sunlight, a +3 macro filter, and as shallow a depth-of-field as I could get in the bright light to show some depth. The second one is of a nest of Dachshund puppies and their mother watching over them. Once again, just available light, the puppies on a pillow covered by a white sheet. No filters, except my A1 to protect the lens. Having known both parent dogs for a long time, the mother was watching the puppies more than she was keeping an eye on me :-) The third picture is of a landscape in Holland, where I was born. It is a old village, and my main goal was to show the nostalgia of a village like this, but try to make it interesting by including some foreground. Just using a 1A. The fourth and last one is one of my best friends tuning his guitar to play in a recording session. This one was taking using an on-camera flash with a Pocket Bouncer. What can I say, I am a sucker for shallow depth-of-field..... 1A I appreciate your time, and look forward to hearing back from you. Of course, you being a photographer yourself, I can trust you respecting copyrights. You are welcome to feature any of these images on your site. Once again, thank you in advance!" (Richard van der Kraan) |
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| The problem with both these photos is that nothing in them is really sharp. At least the centre of the flower should be pin sharp. If it were, this might be really pleasing, although I suspect it still might benefit from a more extended depth of field. All the puppies are potentially interesting, so all of them would gain from being in focus. You could then crop out some of the empty space on the right to concentrate all attention onto them. |
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| Your photo on the left is not helped by having the horizon exactly half way up it. On the right, I've moved in a bit closer to reduce the out-of-focus grass in the foreground, straightened the horizon so that it no longer slopes down on the left, and moved it up a bit. It was a good idea to include this foreground grass - but, once again, it might be even better if it were more in focus, especially when it takes up quite a large area of the picture. |
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| This is by far the most successful of your photos. The distortion is deliberate, and you've got just the effect you want. It's certainly an arresting picture, and here the selective focusing looks absolutely intentional! | |||||||||||||||||||
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"I took this picture at a Mardi Gras parade using Fuji film and my zoom lens. I wish I had been able to get closer or even get the lady to pose for the picture. However, I think the other people around give the picture a STAND OUT IN A CROWD EFFECT.Tell me what you think." (Kyle Stephens) |
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| Your photo on the left is certainly striking, but, when your subject is looking sideways, it's better to have her eyes central, as on the right, then there's space left for her to look into. Also, if you move in a bit, you can avoid including the top of someone's head at the foot of the picture. I've also thrown the man behind her further out of focus, to make her stand out even more clearly. You've got a good eye for a picture! "I took this picture several years ago of dice on a trampoline. I used my macro lense to enlarge the image.These dice were actually used at a casino in a nearby town. I got them from a friend who works there." (Kyle Stephens) |
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| There's no indication of scale, so you need to look very carefully before you can even recognise the dice - and, if you hadn't told me what it was, I don't think I'd have known. It's certainly a bold, dramatic pattern - but to me, I'm afraid, not exactly a meaningful one. But it's not everyone who would even have thought of trying this! | |||||||||||||||||||
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