Help

[mhikzmhikz]

Need of your opinion and critique ^_^

Help me improve my shots

[Kodiak]

Help me improve my shots

I think you have to work your shot… you have a subject, an approach but the
final idea is not clear. I am not sure of what you wanted to achieve because
your composition is not supporting a definite idea.

[mhikzmhikz]

Ahryt.. thanks kodiak.. i will try more..thanks a lot..

[DanK]

What seems to be the central element is the second drop from the left, but it is out of focus. Usually, whatever you want to be the focus of attention should be crisp and should stand out.

I couldn't get exif information from your photo, so I can't comment on settings, etc.

[HaseebM]

If you are looking for DoF, you have a good one in here. Was your focus on dew drops?

[IzzieK]

The idea is there but the composition is a little bit on the confusing side...

[Geoff F]

It is a tricky scene to photography well. Most of my successes have been accidental when I have been shooting something else like a flower or insect.

As other people have mentioned, you need to to get close and have just one drop as the subject, or make sure several drops are all equally well focused. Which means trying many positions until you find something which works.

Exposure is another potential problem because the drop can be reflecting light which will cause over exposure, and exposing for that bright area will make everything else dark. Sometimes, keeping away from bright sunlight can help. But watch for problems with long exposures; which means using a tripod and avoiding any subject movement.

[xpatUSA]

Need of your opinion and critique ^_^

Help me improve my shots

There are many ways to skin a cat but possibly a macro shot on the left-hand drop - because that has the most contrast and a lesser need for DOF in the overall shot. I was lucky enough to snap some drops which were more-or-less the same distance from the camera and against a dark-ish background, so there was no doubt as to what the subject was:



Panasonic GH1 with 14-45mm set at 45mm.

[jcuknz]

I see some obvious problems in that the sharpest droplet is over almost on the edge of the photo ... while some depreciate the following of the 'Rule of Thirds' there is no getting away from the fact that it is effective. Another guide I try to follow is to organise dark areas on the right of frame to reduce the tendancy for the eye to go to light areas and off the image.

In following these two principles it is best if achived in the camera but if that is not possible then we havde editing to come to the rescue. In my rework I have simulated moving the camera to the left so bring the droplets closer to each other and a final point was cloning some black underneath the central droplet to make it stand out more. [ added to the background layer with the droplets left and centre being on layers above ... problem here that if you do not have an editor with layers it makes such treatment difficult or impossible ]

Adding a small frame helps to 'finish' the presentation ... at this size just a five pixel border.



Fixing the light corner is more difficult and too much to do on somebody else's photo

[mhikzmhikz]

Thank you all guys for the comments and suggestion..

[mhikzmhikz]

Will improve more shots next time..i wish i can do edit.. dunno hoe to use photoshop or light room.. sad

[jcuknz]

Will improve more shots next time..i wish i can do edit.. dunno hoe to use photoshop or light room.. sad

Practice is the key to editing and trying to do things and realising when you make mistakes and trying to avoid repeating them ... lightroom doesn't have layers and I and my son, who waas advised to get LR by somebody who knows more than him, are somewhat frustrated at his inability to work 'my way' ... Photoshop is not the only editor and I use Paint Shop Pro in preference, it is a lot cheaper too and more user freindly IMO having used PS in the past. Even the free Paint. Net will do most of what I do in editing, but I prefer PSP

edit .. P.N cannot work on a Mac which he has ... a long standing problem between us

[FrankMi]

While you concentrate on composition and style, you can drop the watermark. It distracts the eye from the image you are seeking to get feedback on (text is one on the first things that grab the viewer's attention).

When you do a shot like this, work the scene. Shoot from different angles, DoF, lighting, and backgrounds etc. and make notes as you go. When you review the possibilities later, usually one or two will pop out as the best composition and technical detail and will best present what you are trying to capture. From that exercise you will sharpen your sense of what you like, develop your 'style', and provide what works best for you. Even the most seasoned photographers will 'work the scene' looking to see if they can improve on what made them stop to capture what they first saw. Hope this helps!

[FrankMi]

Will improve more shots next time..i wish i can do edit.. dunno hoe to use photoshop or light room.. sad

If you are just starting out, don't be overly concerned about editing just yet. Concentrate on developing you 'vision' and composition. Technically perfect blah is still blah. Over time you will want to get more and more into post processing to bring out the best in your images and may very well go back to earlier images as your post processing skills improve.

[jcuknz]

Editing for some may merely getting the best out of the file but for me it is covering for the inevitable problems is taking a photo. Unless one is working in a fully equiped studio it is inevitable that there will be aspects out of ones control that skill in editing may be able to resolve.

You cannot start too soon learning what you can do with your editing programme just as learning what your camera is capable of.

... with digital the editor and the camera are of equal importance, it was probably true with film.
Knowing what you can do in editing can help you to make better choices in the field when faced with difficult situations.