water goddess

[sgiedne]

shutter speed : 1/200
aperture : f/6.3
ISO : 80
focal length : 84mm

this pond just came into my sight while travelling on he highway. In the sunlight there these things looked really pretty dspite the dirty water surrounding them.So i just snapped a few. And being an amateur photographer, i do not know on what aspects must i ask you to critique upon. So a general critique, to improve my photographic skills in any way, are most welcome and would be really helpfull. Thanks

[JFSanders]

Ok, lets look at critique this way. What is it about the photograph that you think may be wrong? You must have had an idea of what you were trying to accomplish with the settings you have. What made you decide to compose the picture like you did? In your memory of the moment are there things not found in your photograph? Answer these questions or let them create a question for you. Have you printed the photo? If so what size and how did you like it? Was it washed out in the highlights? Muddy in the midtones? Not really black in the blacks? Can you see noise in the blacks or halos? Is it tack sharp?

You must become your own editor. With that said if something is bothering you about a photograph you have made and you aren't quite sure what to ask or how to frame the question then maybe telling us what it is may get you closer to your goal.

[sgiedne]

Ok. So, as far as i look at this photo, i feel happy about it. I wanted atleast one ripple and i got that. i wanted the water droplets on the leaves to come out good, and i believe thay have. So nothing, I feel, is wrong with this photo. But on the other hand, you give a homeless guy a slightly damaged Lamborghini, would he be able to identify all the faults with it, from every nook and corner? I feel this shot is good. Bur i do not know if it really is in the photography world. Is it what a professional would have taken it like. If not, what could i have done to make it so? These basically are my lines of worry, sanders. Thanks for taking out your time to help me, but could you please help me out a little more with this pic? i know it would be easier for you to comment when my question is specific. But, like i said, i dont have one. Does this mean i should not post them here?

Thanks again for your time, sanders.

[RichardTaylor]

Technical.
The exposure looks ok, as does the focus, although a bit more depth of field would be nice.(try bumping your ISO up to 200 or so and shoot around F8-F11).
A polariser may have helped to bring in a bit more saturation, particularly to the leaves.

Aesthetic:
To me there is a bit too much going on in the whole photograph and not enough to anchor the eye on one spot.
It's good, considering the lighting, as an overall view however I feel there are pictures within the scene.

Try reaching in and bringing out the details.
Like the water on the leaf -only.
Like a flower detail and/or the group of flowers.
Like the ripples (only).

[sgiedne]

Thnaks a ton for those views/suggestions. That surely does help. I'll post the cropped versions as well. Thanks again.

[Clickinit]

Hi, this is my first post on this site and I hope that it's ok if I put my two cents in real quick...
I personally like the pink colors in the photograph a lot, the greens seem a little washed out but someone had mentioned a few ideas to help out there so I thought I might comment as far as composition. I really like how you tried to fill the frame but I may have given the flowers a little more space at the top and a little more room to the right; I'd really liked to have seen the entire flower petal included. Good luck!

[sgiedne]

@clickinit : hey. Thanks for your suggestions. But might i ask which photo in particular were you referring to? the original one or one of the cropped ones? if so, which cropped one? And about the composition in the original one, that pond was really, REALLY dirty. It has scum and filth all over it.i had framed it just enough so that all those trash doesnt come in the photo. And thats why the water look kind of dark too.

[JFSanders]

sgiedne, Thank you for replying. This is the most important component " i feel happy about it." That you feel happy about what you have created is paramount. All photographers feel the pressure to get better at the craft of making photographs. Those that drive themselves consistantly and those that do not give up are the ones who gain the most bliss from the craft.

Your choice of ripples and water droplets being primary in your minds eye of the end product means they not the flowers are your subject. The flowers are there in your mind to provide contrast or support for your subject. So in composing your photograph you ask yourself, are the ripples and water droplets the center of attention? If not, what changes in composition would create that effect? So you crop out distracting elements of the photograph to reduce it down to present your subject to center stage.

The analogy you provide doesn't work with your problem. You are aware that you can grow in skill. Photography is communication by picture instead of words. And no a "professional" would not have taken the photo like you did unless his goal was different than yours is. He would have used the technique of DOF, polarisers and composition to isolate the subject he wished to communicate to the viewer in order to make his message stand out clearly.

But no one starts out at the professional level on his first day, some of us never get there. That is why professionals command good money for their product.

What Richard has written is spot on and should be a good starting point for you to rework your original to bring out those elements that you wish to communicate. Do you remember the feeling that caused you to stop and make the photograph? Does one of the cropped compositions reproduce that feeling?

Jim

[Clickinit]

Originally Posted by sgiedne

@clickinit : hey. Thanks for your suggestions. But might i ask which photo in particular were you referring to? the original one or one of the cropped ones? if so, which cropped one? And about the composition in the original one, that pond was really, REALLY dirty. It has scum and filth all over it.i had framed it just enough so that all those trash doesnt come in the photo. And thats why the water look kind of dark too.

I was referring to the original photo that was posted; I wonder if just changing your position and your camera settings might help you understand how the DoF could be different by using different apertures. It seems that you wanted to isolate the flowers away from the dirty water; changing your perspective and your aperture and understanding what changes that causes with the photograph may help you to know what type of criticism to ask for next time.

[sgiedne]

@jim : thanks for taking your time out to enlighten me on the subject. The more i read the comments, i really start seeing the flaws. Now that place is a hundered miles away from me. But next time, I most certainely will take shots which are quite specific to what i want. And about the DOF, i has actually zoomed in 35x to take this pic. Whenever i zoom, im not able to change the aperture significantly. Is this what will happen or is it some problem with the camera. If it is what that will happen, then how do you go on about making a difference with the DOF? Thanks again for your help.

@clickinit : Thanks man. I sure will keep those in mind next time. I sure must learn more about the DoF.