2 b/w

I 'd like to get some critique and suggestions about this two pictures.



http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/3...0010lq5.th.jpg

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/2...twittw9.th.jpg

its only my opinion, but I think you need to think more about the reflectivity you subjects are displaying. The sculture, maybe slightly too much from one area, the Zebra zero making it look like a stuffed one; maybe it is

Thank's for yor reply crisscross,

When i started with photography two years ago i used to take the complete thing into the picture.
It leads to static, dull registration of the subject and now i try to leave out as much as possible.
It's difficult to find a balance in what to leave out and what to leave in a picture.

For the sculpture in my opinion i should leave out much more.
For the zebra i really don't know how to make it more vivid (it is not a stuffed one) and to leave out more or take in more of the zebra.

Some people ask what story/message tells the picture.
In my opinion a picture doesn't has to tell a story by definition, it's oke if it release/trigger a feeling.
Even if the feeling is negative.

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Originally Posted by d3debian

For the zebra i really don't know how to make it more vivid (it is not a stuffed one) and to leave out more or take in more of the zebra.
.

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Animals are one of my favourites and (for once) I agree with the basic rule that you get a catchlight in the eye and a general moistness around the muzzle
http://www.pbase.com/crisscross/animals

Chris

I think I can see what you're trying to achieve with the framing - and I think it's pretty close.

If I had to make 2 couple of comments I'd say ...

1. Increase the levels and tweak the gamma of the Zebra shot slightly - I think it looks just a touch flat and under-exposed

2. The other shot has a lot of over-bearing black in the background - perhaps a slightly tigher crop would help?

Cheers,

Colin

Thanks for yor reply Colin and excuses i didn't noticed it before.

You are right about it, for my feeling it is close but not exact what i want.
I will take your advice in account for future photography.

Hi d3Debian, I read the book Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera by Bryan Peterson.

He states that when photographing zebras was better to get a "correct exposure" pointing to a gray card. Of course, the card should have the same light as the zebra.

Oke dasle, thanks for yor reply.

It need some more exposere isn't it?
Don't you think the left upperpart get overexposed when i make it more light?

My main concern for the zebra is about composition and vividness.
Also i am in doubt about the DOF. Would it be nicer to (in the future) create a larger DOF so
all the stripes are sharp or try to get a smaller DOF so the zebra's head "comes above" more.

For the sculpture i like to try next time when i see "her" to get some closer and lower.
If possible, i am not sure if it's possible because she has some company.
The position of the sun is also an important factor in this case.

Thank you all for your reply.
It makes me, beginner for life, aware of things wich i never find myself.

Hi, I'm not a pro, however, I don't know why but with the zebra something is distracting me a lot, when I see it my eyes go directly to the right corner, it's like if the blur of that corner will bother my eyes.

About the exposure, why don't you try adjusting the exposure between 2/3 and 1 stop.

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Originally Posted by dasle

About the exposure, why don't you try adjusting the exposure between 2/3 and 1 stop.

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Because it's an old picture and the RAW-file is somewhere on DVD wich i have to find in a disordered
and unlabeled mountain of DVD's.
I don't want to recover/improve this particular picture, i aim to do things better in future-photography.

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Because it's an old picture and the RAW-file is somewhere on DVD wich i have to find in a disordered and unlabeled mountain of DVD's

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sounds like you need something like Lightroom to keep track!

on the other hand, DVDs have a limited shelf life...migth want to store that on HD instead...with multiple backups, Raid, etc...

I am aware of the limited lifetime of cd and dvd.

My photographs are not that important because of my lowlevel skills.
It's even pretentious to back up them anyway.

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My photographs are not that important because of my lowlevel skills.

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well, if you take picture, you enjoy the hobby. so there are a couple you might want to keep (like the ones you just posted..)

believe me, my skill levels are not that high, but little by little it seems I want to do more Post process, etc...
heck, I was only shooting JPG until a year ago, until I saw what could be done with Raw files (beside the usual white balance, you get more details, etc... to work with).
now, just Raw....and I am no professional, believe me.

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It's even pretentious to back up them anyway.

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Again, nothing pretentious there..remember when our parents took pictures of us or even 8mm films...well, it just got high tech, but the bottom line is that you might get back to those in the future and if you can't access those, you'll probably be pissed! :-) so nothing pretentious about backuping...just good safety habits....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by d3debian

My photographs are not that important because of my lowlevel skills.
It's even pretentious to back up them anyway.

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Hey, that's my excuse too! :)

One day I'll regret it! :eek: