composition practice

[casper]

Today, I felt the need to practice, and to play with my new tripod, so I ventured down the hall to my wife’s craft room in search of subject and colour. I found that, apart from the obvious benefits of a tripod and remote shutter release, they are great in confined spaces because you do not need room for yourself behind the camera. These are a few that I liked. As always, any constructive comments are most welcome and appreciated. All Canon EOS 7D 50mm F1.4.
1. F4, 1/50s, ISO400


2. F3.2, 1/50s, ISO400


3. F4.5, 1/15s, ISO250


Thanks for looking.
- Noel

[Geoff F]

For me, Noel, I like the first two which 'tell a story'. But the third is lacking somewhere.

It seems a good idea though.

Possibly a bit too much distant blurred space? And maybe the lamp needs to either be in the top left corner or where it is and angled slightly upwards so it draws the view into the scene instead towards the bottom edge.

[FrankMi]

Hi Noel, technically they all are sharp, have good bokeh, are properly exposed and have good contrast.

If you are concentrating on just the technical aspects of shooting then please ignore the following comments as they will have no relevance for what you are trying to achieve.

Compositionally, they are much too busy for me. There is no single anchor element to serve as a central subject, no clear direction elements to take the vision from place to place within the composition, and no resting place for the eye to stop at before exploring further. To make the composition more effective, try to simplify the scene.

[casper]

Geoff and Frank, thank you both for taking the time to evaluate and respond. You are both absolutely correct in your assessment, of course. I probably should not have included the word "composition" in the title, as that is not an accurate description of what I was working on - more setting up a shot and making setting adjustments in an effort to improve it, and trying to understand the results of each change. I tried not to disturb what was in the work space so it did not appear contrived (although I did add and reposition a few things on the first one). It was also a reasonably small room, so I was limited in what angles I could achieve. No excuse. I should have also been looking for truly compositional ways to get better results.
- Noel

[Shadowman]

For me, Noel, I like the first two which 'tell a story'. But the third is lacking somewhere.

It seems a good idea though.

Possibly a bit too much distant blurred space? And maybe the lamp needs to either be in the top left corner or where it is and angled slightly upwards so it draws the view into the scene instead towards the bottom edge.

I like the third for its angle, the other two are too straight on.

[GrahamH]

Some peopel never grow - but hey, why should they!
Play to your hearts content.
And then there's you with camera to take advantage.
Some great opportunities for portraits of an artist in action.
I like the lamp shot the best, but with an even more shallow DoF.
Graham

[GrahamH]

Something like this.
Graham

[casper]

hi Graham. Thank you for your comments, but I don't quite understand what you mean in the first three lines. Hope you can explain for me. Yes, great opportunity to get the artist involved - I will try that next time. I also liked the blurred effect on the lamp shot. I have another from the same set where I did this, but I thought the lamp was a bit soft. This one was taken at F1.8, 1/80s, ISO 250.