Last One....

[amywilliams]

Okay, seriously, I have been really worried about posting because, well, in all honesty.... you guys are amazing photographers. Anyway, here is a photo I took at the Hoover Dam this fall, I love the style,composition, everything but let me know what you guys would do differently.

[ilike2spike]

IMO, the angled crop is too distracting. The picture looks sharp, but the crop is distracting.

[jdwalz]

I find the crop interesting. What throws me off is the background. The foreground of the picture is structured with fascinating lines but the background is very busy - too busy perhaps.

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Canon 40D. 17-40mm f/4L, Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS, 50mm f/1.4
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No, I'm not really a photographer, I just play one on TV.

[jiminyClickit]

amywilliams, Welcome

Little everyday things respond to tilted camera work, where color, shape, and angle go abstract. Dams are different. Black and white dams tilted are perhaps too close to a disaster to be easily viewed abstractly. If you love everything about it, how can we help you take a better photograph?

[wulf]

I would probably have chosen a wider aperture to get a much shallower depth of field. If I was going for abstraction, I might also have allowed the foreground to also be out of focus and overexposed, playing with the patterns of light. Otherwise, I think I probably would have aimed at keeping those solid towers vertical rather than putting them on an angle.

Wulf

[amywilliams]

Originally Posted by wulf

I would probably have chosen a wider aperture to get a much shallower depth of field. If I was going for abstraction, I might also have allowed the foreground to also be out of focus and overexposed, playing with the patterns of light. Otherwise, I think I probably would have aimed at keeping those solid towers vertical rather than putting them on an angle.

Wulf

I have no idea how to "play" with aperture and depth of field. I literally took my camera out of the box and started clicking away. I would love to know -- I noticed you use a Nikon D40 -- any tips, advice, a quick lesson!
Also, I have another photo, taken vertically, I would like to show that one as well and see if everyone thinks it is better. I'll post it this evening as I am already at work. Uggghhh.

[wulf]

With the D40, the easiest way into that side of things is to go into Aperture Priority mode using the dial on the top right. Look through the viewfinder, find a subject and half-press the shutter button to bring up the viewfinder display. You can now use the wheel control with your right thumb to adjust the aperture up or down and the camera will take care of other settings to ensure a good exposure (see the manual for details of the display).

Take the aperture as low as it will go (if you're using the 18-55mm kit lens this will depend on the focal length you have zoomed to) and take a picture. Push it up a step and take another picture. Rinse and repeat until you have gone as far up as you can.

Now look at your pictures and look for the difference that altering that single setting made (put them on your Flickr account if you need help seeing the changes). That is playing with aperture and, as a consequence, depth of field as well and is a good step forward into learning how to use your camera as more than a clunky point and shoot device.

Wulf

[amywilliams]

So do you feel this makes a better image being vertical??

[Ewie]

Originally Posted by amywilliams

So do you feel this makes a better image being vertical??

I like this shot much better than the first one, too many strong straight lines make the tilted version look odd to me.

[wulf]

I agree with Ewie - I think this works better for the chosen subject although I think I would have experimented with position the structure towards the right of the frame (with the bridge leading the eye in from the left.

While you are getting used to the camera it might be worth leaving lots of space around the edges of the picture so you have lots of room to experiment with cropping back on your computer. Once you have developed an eye for composition you can then return to making more of the framing decisions in-camera.

Wulf