shall we picnic?

[Lois khalafalla]

I was wanting to know if this is a good compostion. I think the parking lot in the back is distracting. I am not good enough in pp to know how to get rid of that. Waiting for photoshop for dummies at the library. There are a lot of lines and angles. The ceiling, the lights and the picnic tables. Do all these things flow? Thanks for you comments.
F/stop 1/16
exposure time 1/8 sec
ISO 100
33mm
no flash
Canon EOS Rebel D1000

[KansaiGreenie]

Hi Lois,

I agree with you. I think that the parking lot is distracting. I think it is distracting because it is the brightest thing in the frame. The subject, the benches and hearth, are in shadow. I guess you could take it at night, but that would change the mood of the image a lot. Or, what I would have done, is expose for the tables under the roof and let the background blow out and maybe add some fill flash.

In terms of composition, I think that you need to be about a half step to the right. This is a symmetrical composition, but you are a little off to the left. The center line in the concrete and the line made by the conduit for the lights are slightly crooked. Also, notice that you can see four support poles on the right and only three on the left. I think that this would be a stronger composition if all of the lines were perfectly straight and the poles were balanced.

This is definitely a tough shot to get and I think that you made a great effort.

KG

[Lois khalafalla]

Thanks for your input. I see what you mean. As I go, I am learning how to eye things up. Thanks.