How could I have composed better?

[poonamagarwals]

Hi everyone:

I am new to photography and have only now discovered aperture priority. So my query may seem amateur or even downright silly. Either way, here it goes.

I was walking by a colony when I saw a hut with a lot of pigeons on top of it .. and they seemed to be at peace with the inhabitants of the colony as there were not too scared when I went close to them. They appeared really out of place there and yet, they seemed at home. I wanted the picture to bring out this conflict - on one end the contrast between the fragile birds and the surroundings and on the other their comfort with the place. I tried a few compositions; but I have a feeling I did not do justice to the situation. I am posting one of those pictures here (as I can only upload one); but there are more in my photo stream.

Can you help me with what I could have done differently?



EXIF:

Nikon D90
98 mm
f/5.6
1/100s

Thanks a ton for looking at the post!

[Doug Sundseth]

First, you're using the word "colony" in a way that I don't understand. I'm not seeing the juxtaposition of pigeons with anything other than corrugated steel and other pigeons. For me, at least, you've not met your stated goal with this photo.

If you want to "bring out this conflict - on one end the contrast between the fragile birds and the surroundings and on the other their comfort with the place", I think you need to show more of the parts of the surroundings that your viewer might associate with problems for the birds.

I think you would have done well to move around a bit looking for a composition that shows what you want to show. This needs more changes with feet than changes with fingers.

On the technical elements of the photo:

The in-focus pigeon is down in the lower left corner facing left. That is, he is drawing the eye of the viewer out of the frame. I'd recommend composing with more space in front of your primary subject. (There are occasionally reasons to violate this, like any other photographic rule, but you need to do it consciously and for a specific effect.)

The inclusion of many birds in the photo gives the impression of a flock, but their placement dilutes their positive impact. The combination of the limited depth of field and the green and light brown bands behind the upper part of the photo make it difficult to see the birds as birds, so they end up being distracting elements for me. There's also a large gray blob in the upper right of the photo that looks quite odd. I can't tell what it is, so I find it distracting.

The photo could use a bit more contrast. Right now it has quite a low dynamic range, especially in the primary subject.

HTH

[larlyboi]

Double post?

[cmjb4ever]

I like this shot a lot! In terms of composition, I would have shifted the in-focus bird to the right third of the frame so that more of what the bird is seeing is visible. This would also cut out some of the more distracting unfocused birds in the background.