Majestic Mayon in the noon sun

[cristen]

I took this photo of Mayon Volcano under the hot sun. I tried to capture the colorful bougainvilla in the foreground to add color. Critique please on the camera settings, DOF and construction. Thanks.

Gear: Canon EOS 500D
F-stop: f/18
Exposure: 1/800 sec
ISO speed: 1/1600

[Browno]

Hi, I'm completely new to this but I'm trying to learn from judging other peoples pictures too and imagine what I might have done differently. I feel kind of unworthy of this but I'm told it helps me aswell. I'm struggling myself to find interesting shots and angles so don't take my word too seriously.
I like the picture but I think the branch/flowers in the foreground are too close and dominant. I want to move it out of the way to look at the volcano more clearly.

[cristen]

Originally Posted by Browno

Hi, I'm completely new to this but I'm trying to learn from judging other peoples pictures too and imagine what I might have done differently. I feel kind of unworthy of this but I'm told it helps me aswell. I'm struggling myself to find interesting shots and angles so don't take my word too seriously.
I like the picture but I think the branch/flowers in the foreground are too close and dominant. I want to move it out of the way to look at the volcano more clearly.

Thank you for your comment. I am new to this as well. I was even hesitant to post my photos after looking at the shots being shared here. Mine screams of amateurism, but hey, how would I learn if I don't get constructive criticisms?

You're right, the flowers distracted more than it enhanced the picture and took away the eye from the focal point, although it did add color. Maybe I should have taken only a little part of that and moved it further to the left and at the bottom.

[hollybug]

I am new here too. And also sorta shy to post my photos when others posted on here are way more advanced than me.

It's an interesting photo and I can see what you were going for with the flowers in the foreground. Have you tried to crop some off the bottom and the right side? Just curious how that may help to take some of the main focus off the flowers and add more focus to the volcano.

[cristen]

Originally Posted by hollybug

I am new here too. And also sorta shy to post my photos when others posted on here are way more advanced than me.

It's an interesting photo and I can see what you were going for with the flowers in the foreground. Have you tried to crop some off the bottom and the right side? Just curious how that may help to take some of the main focus off the flowers and add more focus to the volcano.

Hi, Hollybug. I never thought about editing my pics... I just post them away. Post production is far away from my mind yet. I am just too concerned about construction of my pics that I forget all other importance aspects of photography. Maybe I should start considering those, as well, if I am to get serious about this new hobby of mine. Thanks for your suggestion.

[navcom]

Hi there! I agree with the others that the branch up front is pretty distracting. The best compositional advice you can get when starting out is to first determine what you want as your subject and then eliminate anything from the image that competes or distracts you from the subject. While "framing", or using foreground elements to frame your subject is a great thing, in this case it really isn't framing the mountain but competing with it, as is the car/buggy. It might have been advantageous to change your shooting angle where you could get a better composition of the mountain with more pleasing and complementary foreground objects.

Hope that helps!

[cristen]

Originally Posted by navcom

Hi there! I agree with the others that the branch up front is pretty distracting. The best compositional advice you can get when starting out is to first determine what you want as your subject and then eliminate anything from the image that competes or distracts you from the subject. While "framing", or using foreground elements to frame your subject is a great thing, in this case it really isn't framing the mountain but competing with it, as is the car/buggy. It might have been advantageous to change your shooting angle where you could get a better composition of the mountain with more pleasing and complementary foreground objects.

Hope that helps!

you're absolutely correct, navcom. but i can't do anything about the buggy. can't find a better location for that shot or i was just too lazy and feeling hot that time...