Is this park picture a poor composition?

[GonyeaGalleries]

Hello. This is a picture that has only "hit" twice on my site, period, so I believe it has to do with some obvious composition problem. Focus, color, lighting seems okay to me (but I could be wrong too). Does "boring" count as a composition problem? Maybe it's just boring.

If anyone can tell me what is wrong with the composition that is making this an unpopular image I would greatly appreciate it. I welcome any constructive criticism you have.

Flowering Azaleas Along Path, Maudslay State Park, Newburyport MA. Shot with Olympus SP-320 at ISO 64, f5.0, 11mm, 1/800 sec (settings from EXIF)



Thanks,

Art

[ShantDotMe]

I'm not a pro, but I guess the tree on the righ side is distracting & to make it better I would crop out the tree + the skies & get a landscape oriented shot of the passage + the colorful trees.

If I were to shoot it again, I would include a bit/part of the other side of the passage to the left/bottom of the image, I'm pretty sure that will give the photo more dept.

hope this was useful
cheers

[Sterling]

I think the problem is that the beauty of the scene you saw did not translate onto the photo. Part of the problem is that it is not clear what the focus of the shot was. Was it the pink bush? the setting in general? Was it the location along the path? Based on your title it was the pink flowers. However, by trying to get "everything" in the shot you have lost the impact of those flowers. Thed lighting seems somewhat dark to me with the dark trunk on the right and the dark path on the left not really adding anything to the shot. Perhaps moving in closer and concentrating on the azaleas themselves would provide a shot with more impact?

[KKingPhotography]

I've always thought simplicity makes the best pictures. So when I look at this picture I think it would actually look the best if the colorful bushes weren't there. You would be able to see the path and it would give it that 'park' feel. Maybe even underexpose it a little bit to give it more of a silhouette look. Advice wise, for future pictures I suggest just going with simplicity and keep exposure and time of day in mind. The bushes are too distracting.

Good Luck.

[Krusty79]

IMO, you have a couple of possible subjects in this image - the person on walking down the path or the pink bushes. My eye is drawn to both. You will have to choose one and decide how to compose it so the viewers eye is drawn to the subject without being distracted by the other elements.

[Matthew Mulford]

I agree with what was said above, i also thing that taking the exposure reading from in the shade while your subjects where in the sun was not a great choice. The Less thinking the camera has to do the better your results will be.

[GonyeaGalleries]

Thanks to all of you who replied. I never thought about those problems, but now I can see your points. You all have been very helpful, and I'll certainly be taking these factors into consideration. Also, that shot was taken a couple of years ago, when I had less knowledge about composition, so it surprised me that this one's defects had still slipped my mind.

Art

[wal]

The picture looks overly crowded.. Everything is fighting for attention..I mean the flowers, Greens and tree branch from above, even the dark trunk on the right. Try a different location, look for a location where there is not too much flora at one time.

[GonyeaGalleries]

... now that this photo has been critiqued, it has gone from least-viewed in its gallery to most-viewed. Which would make one wonder, is it now a great shot? Well, I have to admit, from what I know now - no.

So, I have decided to delete this photo from my website after taking all your input on it (thanks again for your time and consideration.) For no matter how I tried to manipulate or crop it, I could not get a result that would be both simple and have a strong impact. The best I was able to do was crop out everything but the azalea bushes - but that resulted in a dimensionally flat and boring shot of a bunch of bushes. Free from distractions, yes, but also free from interest!

As for alternative views of the path, on the day I took that shot, alas, I had none. So, I'll have to wait until next May, and go over there again, remembering all those tips, and put better thought into composition and exposure before I press that shutter.

I do admit that there are times (if you see my landscape galleries, you'll notice it) when I like to cram in a lot of elements that I think all add up to the theme, and allow the eye to travel around after seeing the main subject. But, you are right, too many such elements can all compete for attention and become a tedious view for many people.

"Everything should be as simple as possible, but not too simple" - Albert Einstein.