Your photos (163) |
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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 "Philip, I`ve had my digital camera for about 9 months now. Would like your view on this photo of my grandson`s first trip on a steam train. I don`t like posed shots so caught him unawares concentrating on the view outside." (Dennis Lucas, Cheltenham) |
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| Your photo on the left makes an attractive picture of your grandson, but as the most interesting part of this picture is in front of him rather than behind him, I've rearranged the framing in my version on the right. Now it looks more firmly like a picture of him - but, in situations like this, watch out for unwanted shadows on your subject's face. It remains a happy off-the-cuff shot, though. Reply from Dennis Lucas: "Philip, thank you for your picture review and quick response. I must agree that by cropping the un-needed part of the picture the result is far more pleasing. I am just compiling an album so your views are much appreciated. Thanks again." . "I'm sending the first one of my photos for critique (I'll forward the next 3 later sometime) I request ur comments on the photo titled 'Flowers gainst the sky'. (The smaller photo is just to show you a fuller picture of the subject that I've shot - not for critique) Note: This is a small patch of flowers in our terrace. I've tried a low angle to create the impression of an open field of flowers under a blue sky Some personal details abt me: Name: Ravi Kittu Location: Bangalore, India Camera experience: 2 yrs with a Nikon compact. Barely one month with my new Canon Elan IIe(and the supposedly horrendous Canon EF 28-80 USM V kit lens) Thanks a million" (Ravi Kittu) |
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| Your dramatic photo on the left certainly suggests an open field of flowers against the sky as you wanted, but it might have been even more interesting if we could have seen a closer view of some of the flowers. But it's a very attractive viewpoint, and much more interesting than the picture you provided for comparison. "would be glad of your comments" (Bob Casserly) |
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| This is a really attractive scene and I like the use of the sunlit wall to provide appropriate foreground framing, but I can't help wondering it it wouldn't have looked even more attractive in color! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"this is the original before i converted to black &white glad of your comments" (Bob Casserly) |
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| Yes, I do prefer this color original, all except for the rather odd colored sky! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
"I just bought and read the book about taking better baby pictures. It mentions getting closer, turning off the flash, and taking a lot of pictures. I took a few rolls of my 6 month old son - some color and some b&w, after reading the book. I also recently found your website, as I am interested in learning more about photography. Would you please give some feedback about my pictures? Thank you." (Daniela Luce, Central IL) |
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| You've certainly taken some very good advice (was it from the How to Photograph Your Baby book, recommended on my More Books page?) But here you could perhaps have got in closer, as in my version on the right. The wrinkled background is a bit of a distraction, so I've thrown it further out of focus. |
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| These are pleasing photos too, but, when using wide apertures, it can be a good idea to focus on the subject's eyes as this is the part that really has to be in focus. Once again, though, do try and avoid the wrinkled background! Reply from Daniela Luce: "Thank you so much for your comments about my pictures. Yes, I was referring to the book about taking better baby pictures that is recommended on your website. I ordered the book before finding your website, so I was pleased to see it recommended by you. I didn't have any background in photography other than reading this book, so I appreciate your feedback so much. I thought I was doing good to even think about putting up a white blanket for the background - I never even thought about the wrinkled look that the comforter gives. I have some great ideas now for next time. I also hadn't read the manual for my camera (Canon SureShot) in so long that I wasn't familiar with the features anymore. I went back and reread the manual after taking these pictures. I realized that I wasn't using the focus correctly at all, so hopefully I'll get the eyes more in focus the next time around. In the first picture that you critiqued, I was as close to the baby as I could get with my camera. I was only a few feet away from him. For the desired effect that you showed an example of, would you recommend that I continue to take the pictures at that distance and then crop the final picture? Thank you again for your input. I was very encouraged. I have spent a lot of time at your site learning quite a bit. I am going to order the books that you recommended for breaking into photography, as I am very interested in pursuing this further. I am also enrolled in a class for automatic cameras, next month. I will try a class for a manual camera next" A zoom lens would enable you to get in closer. Failing that, you can always crop the final picture as you suggest. And the best of luck! |
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