Please Critique this composition set

[jprime84]

this is an excerpt from my full set of photos i took while on my honeymoon in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We came across these boats while walking on the beach and I decided they might make a good subject. I took as many shots as i could before my wife started to give me the bored look. please take a look and tell me where I did well and where i did not!

http://flickr.com/photos/jprime84/se...7606163290099/


also please view the whole vacation set here
http://flickr.com/photos/jprime84/se...7606095345308/

[Saralonde]

I think you'll find that you will get more comments if you choose 1 image from your set and post it in Critique. A lot of people will not bother to go through an entire series of shots and it can be difficult to give a critique to each shot. As for the entire vacation, I doubt you'll get anyone willing to spend the time on that.

In general, after looking at the series, I'd suggest being careful of your horizon line (the first shows too much uninteresting sky), try not to cut people's heads off (as in #2), and keep in mind the rule of thirds when composing or cropping your shots.

[jprime84]

i took your suggestions with my favorite of the set. I am not sure why I did black and white; i think because the boats had this timeless look sitting there.

I tried to observe the rule of 3rds, and worked on the contrast.

Before:


after:



feel free to move the post to a critique section if that is more appropriate.

[jiminyClickit]

jdprime84,

Compare these two:

You explore DPS, see how others use Composition to make images outstanding. Read as much of the Composition Section and its links as you find time and interest for. Place one of your best photos in Critique to see if you've gotten the ideas you've read about. This is how most everyone here does it.

-OR-

Post 16 photos for whoever has lots of free time to look at, in large versions, one at a time, trying to find something to comment on out of all those images, and then spending the time and mental agility to teach you an individual lesson about composition. This is not how everyone here does it.

Which makes more sense to you? Your wife's instincts are sound.

In your Before and After, another good section to learn from, the After is contrasted and brighter, and the Before has a better sense of boats-on-sand at bottom.

[jprime84]

is there an echo in here? I got it.

[lissykeeper]

I think jiminy was just trying to make a point. No need to be offended. As far as this picture you posted is concerned: I really like the original better. I like the contrast adjustments you made, but they seem a little to stark. And I don't like the crop, it makes me want to back up. Good eye for the shot though!

As a little side note, I opened your thread before anyone had responded, but I didn't have time to look through a lot of images so I didn't comment. So those mods are just trying to help you get the most out of your experience on dps.

[jprime84]

Thank you for your comments, and I am not offended. At least not anymore. Sometimes I can have a short fuse is all.

I never thought every single person who read the original post would look through all of my pictures, nor would I be disappointed at those who didnt. I just took the set of pictures on the one subject from many different angles in a short amount of time with the intention of looking for the better ones later. I learn best from trial and error, and it seemed silly to post 1 of each of these a day in the critique section for 16 days, as they were meant to be contrasted. For those who had time to look through them all, thanks; for the rest who dont, feel free to browse to another thread - no hard feelings, it probably took you just as long to write your post then it would have to browse a few thumbnails.

As for the whole vacation set, it wasnt really a critique request. Most of the shots are just vacation snapshots and the invitation was simply for people who may have been interested of seeing more of what Mexico has to offer for a vacation! Sometimes I see a shot on here, and it makes me curious to see the rest of the set, so I thought I would provide the link.



edit: i took lissykeeper's advice -- original cropping, increased contrast but more subtle