Help for a VERY beginning photographer

[Brittany Allison]

I'm just starting out with photography and am hoping to someday go to school and become a professional. This is my first ever post for a critique so please be honest with me!!!

Canon Powershot S3 IS
7/1/10
Max Aperture 3.34
f/4
The ISO and shutter speed don't show in the details of my photo so I'm not sure where to find it
Please let me know what could make this picture better! Some of the flowers aren't in focus and I'm not sure how to focus ALL of them in one pic!

[KansaiGreenie]

Hi Brittany,

Welcome to photography! I hope that you find it rewarding.

This is an interesting image with a lot of things going on.

The ISO and shutter speed don't show in the details

The shutter speed is indicated in the EXIF data. It is 1/160. The ISO is not listed. It might be that the camera is set not to record the ISO or that it was removed during post processing. I can't say why. However, I would guess (based on the light conditions) that it was around 100.

Some of the flowers aren't in focus and I'm not sure how to focus ALL of them in one pic!

Because of the low resolution image, I can't see exactly which flowers are out of focus. However, it looks to me that the ones in the front are out of focus. To my mind, that means that these flowers were too close to the lens. Your camera (in normal mode) focuses between 1.6 ft (wide) and 3 ft (zoomed in). I'm guessing at 8mm the minimum focusing distance is about 2 feet. Anything closer than that will be out of focus. So, I think to get all of the flowers in focus, you need to take a step back.

I hope that helps.

KG

[IABoomer]

Another thing to consider is that a smaller aperture (higher f-stop number) will yield a deeper depth of field which could help pull all the flowers into focus.

You might also take a look at rotating the image to level out the horizon, or watching the horizon when you shoot in the future.

Otherwise, it's a pretty shot.

[T.R.R]

To me the image is to busy, the flowers are too distracting. Maybe if you approached the image from an angle, and only allowed a few of them in the frame. A higher F stop, such as F-11 or so would help more of the flowers to be in focus. Also watch your horizon, try to keep it as close to level as you can.

[AshNZ]

Simplify is my formula. Get rid of the background and all the extra flowers. Also decide on what you really want to show in the picture? Do you want to show the flowers? If so then you need to eliminate the background (by using different angles, depth of field etc) and focus on the flowers alone. If you want to show the lake, focus on it alone. Remove the distractions. Simplify to the extreme. But you can only simplify when you know why you are shooting and what you want to tell viewer - do you want to show the viewer how pretty the flowers are or do you want to show the viewer how calm and soothing the lake is?

Also read on basics of composition - rule of thirds etc. There are plenty of books available and this is pretty much how I learned what I know.

[T.R.R]

This isn't my favorite pic but I thought I would share it with you. This Field was nothing but Dandelions, So I picked one, and got up-close and personal with it. Then placed it in the bottom of the frame, and used a very shallow Depth Of Field.

[mrteacherdude]

I keep coming back to look at this image because there is just something about it I like, it's peaceful and I can envision myself sitting at the edge of the dock basking in the sunshine while trying to catch a fish

Like a couple of others mentioned above, my initial thoughts were to level the horizon. However, I don't think that would work in this case because there is something else, angle you shot the picture from or something that I am not familiar with, that would not allow you to simply straighten the horizon. I've assumed the red object in the foreground is a dock, which I would also assume to be level with the surface of the water. The dock is tilting in the opposite direction of the horizon, so if the horizon were level, the dock would be tilting even more strongly in the wrong direction. I actually played with your picture a little to try straightening the horizon and I got dizzy and almost fell over because the dock was leaning so far to the right, ha ha. So even though my brain wants to straighten the horizon, it's even more confusing if the horizon were straight. So in some way I'm accepting the tilts as being fine in this picture because overall I like the feeling of the scene. I would guess that most people would be less confused if the two horizontal aspects of the photo were more parallel with one another.

I do think there is a little too much going on in the photo though and personally find the flowers in the foreground distracting. This is personal opinion of course as I'm enjoying the view of the pond with the trees beyond, but the flowers are in my way. But this is consistent with my vision of sitting on the dock. If I were to change my perspective, however, and look at the scene from the point of view of sitting or laying on the ground behind the flowers and was focused on enjoying the view of the plants, then the pond in the background would not be dominant and so is now distracting. Personally, I don't think I would worry about trying to get everything in the photo in focus, that's a lot of depth to cover I would recommend trying to figure out how to adjust your camera, as others have suggested above, to limit your depth of field.

BTW - welcome to the forum. I've been lurking here for a couple of years but still haven't been brave enough to put any of my photos out for critique. Good Job!

[Cud]

ditto above comments on angled horizon. this is a "calm" picture, and angling horizon adds an "un-calm" element.
i wouldn't worry about trying to get everything in focus all the time, just make sure your main element in the picture is!
also like how the flowers have caught the warm evening sunlight.

try and picture how a drawn picture might look like of the scene, what is included /excluded (simpler is normally better)

[Brittany Allison]

Thanks for all the comments!!! I was trying to get the line of the dock even I didn't even pay attention to the horizon of the lake!! BIG mistake. I'll pay more attention next time. This area was at a friends house so maybe I'll try to go back and re-take some pictures with everyone's suggestions.

Mrteacherdude - you'd think that the dock and lake would be even - but no, the dock was on land....so much for making the horizon issue easy! lol And there's just something I like about this pic too! Thanks

T.R.R. - I can't view your pic on this computer but I'll definitly take a look when I get home!