waiting by the pond

[angeleyes216]

Do you think this needs to be cropped because you cant see the foot on the ground? wasnt sure if he looks odd..should i have moved back to include both feet?

[Mischa]

Originally Posted by angeleyes216

..should i have moved back to include both feet?

I think you should. It's a very common "mistake" made when photographing people or animals.
Too bad you cannot crop it nicely, because you loose your composition (which you did very well with the diagonal line of the bank and the horizon on 2/3!) this way.

[TW1NS]

not sure on the cropping part...but the distance his foot is off the ground seems a little unnatural, or uncomfortable...
is there a way to shoot the pond and the tree without the houses in the background?

[angeleyes216]

Originally Posted by TW1NS

not sure on the cropping part...but the distance his foot is off the ground seems a little unnatural, or uncomfortable...
is there a way to shoot the pond and the tree without the houses in the background?

dont know how to do anything with the foot ...the person no longer lives close by.

[clockdoc]

For starters, the height of the stump is a little too high for the subject to comfortably place his foot there. Note the angle of his thigh is slanted upward indicating the height is a bit too much. In many cases it is better to have the leg closest to the camera elevated on the stump or raised as it provides a more "closed" view of the subjects clothing. It appears that you used an off-camera flash and handled it well. However there seems to be more illumination on the hand and arms than the face---possibly due to the direction in which the flash was aimed or closeness to the hand. All in all though a nice shot of the individual. You are on the right track here.

[angeleyes216]

unfortunatley were all a little on the short side around here but yes i can see what you mean. Funny how we dont see these things at the moment we take the photo. But im going to take notes with me next time and check before i shoot..Your help is much appreciated

[angeleyes216]

Originally Posted by angeleyes216

unfortunatley were all a little on the short side around here but yes i can see what you mean. Funny how we dont see these things at the moment we take the photo. But im going to take notes with me next time and check before i shoot..Your help is much appreciated

nearly forgot to mention, i took the photo with my point and shoot olympus 3.2 camera, that was before i got my nikon d40.
* the guys thought the foot on the stump looked macho*

[wjeverly]

Maybe try cropping much closer. Cut the bottom of the photo just below his hands, and just wide enough to include his hands & behind.

[angeleyes216]

Originally Posted by wjeverly

Maybe try cropping much closer. Cut the bottom of the photo just below his hands, and just wide enough to include his hands & behind.

[Mischa]

As I already mentioned in my first reply, you loose the 2/3 and the diagonal line which made it a nice picture.
The only "solution" is taking the picture over, but that isn't always possible.
Therefor it's important to always immediately check your picture for "chopped off bodyparts". Also with photographing animals.