Color & Composistion: Mr. Frog takes a Sunbath

[MeAgain]

Camera: Canon
Model: Canon EOS REBEL T1i
ISO: 800
Exposure: 1/2000 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Focal Length: 194mm
Flash Used: No

Spacific questions:

Did I go to far boosting the color?

I was extremely limited in the angle I could shoot from so I'm stuck, for the most part, composing in PP. How did I do?

My biggest weakness, besides an obvious lack of formal training, is composition. I suck at it. All critique is welcome.

Link to the orriginal file: Shot in raw

[mathgeek]

My biggest weakness, besides an obvious lack of formal training, is composition. I suck at it. All critique is welcome.

As someone who is still trying desperately to figure composition out, you do not suck at it. The picture as is is quite lovely.

If you wanted to create a more dramatic effect, I might say that the frog and lily pad being dead center is a bit distracting; I can't exactly state why but subtle cropping to bring them off center and to give only a partial lily pad might work.

I really love the purple flower, and the vibrance of the green. So I'm not sure you could've gotten better even without the limited angle.

[Krusty79]

I agree with mathgeek about not centering the composition. It's almost always better not to center your subject unless it is super-compelling. You might want to read up on the rule of thirds. Also, since you have a very simple compostion, something like a cut-off flower will be very noticeable and should be avoided, if possible. I think the colors are fine.

[MeAgain]

Thank you both. That's very helpful.

I understand rule of thirds. Unfortunatly I'm not very good at it's execution.

[Corey Thompson]

The lighting appears to be quite harsh. What might also help the photo to feel more natural is if you used diffused lighting.