The great thing about San Francisco is..

[StunGunAshley]

I was recently introduced Pictory, a brand new photo story website that seems really cool. The second theme was going to be a portrait of san francisco. Having just returned from my first visit to SF, I picked one of my favorite photos that wasn't of the skyline or the bridges. I picked this one because I felt it showed the personality of the city, how unique everything it is, the feeling that no 2 buildings being the same. My photo wasn't chosen. I was bummed, but I guess I can't expect to be chosen the first time I submit a photo.

I am still new at photography, so I was wondering your thoughts on the photo. How is the composition? the exposure? saturation? context? Is it even interesting to look at?

From SF-Mission

Nov 27, 2009

ISO: 500
Exposure: 1/50 sec
Aperture: 4.0
Focal Length: 30mm
Flash Used: No

[Saralonde]

Hi StunGunAshley, welcome to DPS!

You might want to check out the Critique Forum Rules. I added your EXIF info for you.

I like the colors in your shot, but the intensity of the color to the left draws my eye away from the yellow gate which I assume is your subject. Perhaps a different angle?

[KansaiGreenie]

Hi StunGunAshley,

This is a nice image. I think it is an interesting subject and I like the color combination.

One thing that I find distracting is that the focus on the right side of the image is soft. The hinge for example. I think that it would work better if the the entire gate (your subject) had sharp focus. I think you could get that with a smaller aperture.

Thanks for the tip about Pictory. It looks interesting.
KG

[kgb224]

Welcome to DPS.
Outstanding picture captured by you.

[StunGunAshley]

Thanks for adding the EXIF Sara. As soon as I clicked 'submit' I realized that I forgot to add it.

[pbailey68]

Hi Ashley,

I'm new around here too, so welcome!

I like the simple three-color scheme in your photo. I see that it appears little soft around the edges, which might be barrel distortion due to short focal length. You could try moving your POV back, zooming in, and using a smaller aperture to increase sharpness and depth of field.

[StunGunAshley]

Originally Posted by KansaiGreenie

One thing that I find distracting is that the focus on the right side of the image is soft. The hinge for example. I think that it would work better if the the entire gate (your subject) had sharp focus. I think you could get that with a smaller aperture.

KG

I do see that the edge was blurry, since I don't have the option of re-taking this photo, I tried to crop it out. There is still a little bit that not completely in focus. What do you guys think?

Thank you for your comments. Its only my first post and I already feel that I've learned a lot, mainly to just pay more attention to detail. But sometimes that's hard to do when you're walking around a city with a couple of friends that dont really care that you want to stop every couple of feet to take a photo so you're constantly running after them... perhaps I need some photographer friends.

Thanks guys! Happy Holidays!

[IMG]

From Photos

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[KansaiGreenie]

Originally Posted by StunGunAshley

What do you guys think?

Much better!

Originally Posted by StunGunAshley

...pay more attention to detail. But sometimes that's hard to do when you're walking around a city with a couple of friends...

Yeah, I know. Paying attention to the details is one of the hardest and most important things to do in photography, whether you're with friends or not. Looking at and talking about other people's photos really helps me a lot with my own photography. So, thank you for posting an image here and letting me have a look.

Happy holidays,

KG