Small town courthouse...

[wvusa]

I'm very new to photography, so if you would please share your thoughts and ideas on how I could improve on shots like this it would be appreciated. Thanks.

[IMG] IMG_0799a by MikeB_WV, on Flickr[/IMG]

Camera Canon EOS REBEL T3
Exposure 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 18 mm
ISO Speed 100

[IABoomer]

I like the fact that you shot this late so you wouldn't have the harsh bright light. The warm tones are nice and the reflected sky in the windows adds some color contrast.

As is common when shooting with wide angle lenses, the perspective can be fun to deal with. The building looks like it's falling away from me. You could possibly correct some of that in post if your software has a lens correction/perspective correction tool. The problem you might run into is losing something at the edge of the image.

I'm not a fan of the tree blocking so much of the building on the left, but I understand why you shot from there. You'd have to have a really wide angle lens in order to get the whole building and be in front of the tree, which would only make the above-mentioned perspective issues that much more difficult to deal with. I could also do without seeing the cars parked on the left. There also seems to be a slight level issue, where things run uphill from left to right.

What might work a bit better would be to not focus on the entire building, but maybe just the central section. Step back some, use a zoom to get away from the perspective distortion, and shoot a vertical of the central structure of the steps, the columns, all the way up to the peak of the roof. Seeing more character in the bricks and wood could help show the age and history of this building.

[Hill Country Hack]

I am a sucker for small town courthouses also. Whenever I'm travelling here in Texas, I tend to travel state roads over Interstate Hwy, I make it a point to stop at each town and take a look at the courthouse. If I can get a snap, I do it.

That location looks very familiar to me. Where you take it?

[Doug Sundseth]

I like IABoomer's suggestions. I'll add that I find the barrel distortion more disturbing than the vertical distortion. The latter can easily be fixed with a software lens correction if you are using software that supports that.

I think I might also try shooting from right and left of the building front in addition to straight on. You might be able to get more of the building without trees in the way and the angle might be interesting as well. (That all depends on what is out of this frame of course.)

[Krusty79]

This strikes me more of a shot where you wanted to document an interesting building you saw rather than an attempt at an artistic shot. The tree on the left is VERY distracting and that red truck is to a lesser degree. You are almost never going to get an artistic-looking shot by standing right in front of a building, centering the composition and taking the shot near eye level. That's what everyone else with a camera is going to do for their first shot.

To get a more artistic composition, I would recommend shooting from different perspectives. Go to one of the corners, try getting down low to the ground, wait for a time of day with the fewest shadows, etc. You'll want a perspective that minimizes distractions like that tree. Unfortunately, sometimes it's not there. In that case, you could try for more of a close-up shot featuring part of the building or an abstract shot of the texture like IABoomer suggested.

[wvusa]

Originally Posted by Hill Country Hack

I am a sucker for small town courthouses also. Whenever I'm travelling here in Texas, I tend to travel state roads over Interstate Hwy, I make it a point to stop at each town and take a look at the courthouse. If I can get a snap, I do it.

That location looks very familiar to me. Where you take it?

I agree that courthouse's have a certain charm. This is the Court House in Fayetteville, WV.