What is does this picture say to you?

[carryon]

It's my favorite picture of my friend, Shayna. I thought I took this picture with my camera but apparently I used Shaynas camera! I shot it in macro mode though! For my art class at school we have to enter at least one thing into an art show at school and I'm thinking of entering this one...think it is a good idea? I was just wondering what other people think of this photo! (: Thanks for your help!




EXIF Info (I don't even know what EXIF means... I'm pretty new to this, so I just copied what seemed kind of important):
Camera made by Polaroid DigitalCAM
Exposure 0.004 sec (1/228)
Aperture f/5.2
Focal Length 18.6 mm
ISO Speed 50

[Naois]

What does it say to me? - It says "Time to mow the lawn!"

You can get your EXIF information right from flicker. For this image it can be found here:
Exif | shayna | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I know you said it's your favorite picture of Shayna, but I feel that she isn't really the subject of the photo. I'm finding it hard to pick out a subject. Is it the tall grass that has focus, in which case Shayna is just part of a distracting background, or is it actually Shayna, who isn't in focus.

I'm not an artist, hell I'm not even a photographer, so I don't know if this is some fancy technique or something, but it just doesn't work for me.

I don't mean to offend you, that's not my intent, but you asked for a critique and I'm just being honest with you. Of course this is all just my opinion, and I'm no one important.

[carryon]

Originally Posted by Naois

What does it say to me? - It says "Time to mow the lawn!"

You can get your EXIF information right from flicker. For this image it can be found here:
Exif | shayna | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I know you said it's your favorite picture of Shayna, but I feel that she isn't really the subject of the photo. I'm finding it hard to pick out a subject. Is it the tall grass that has focus, in which case Shayna is just part of a distracting background, or is it actually Shayna, who isn't in focus.

I'm not an artist, hell I'm not even a photographer, so I don't know if this is some fancy technique or something, but it just doesn't work for me.

I don't mean to offend you, that's not my intent, but you asked for a critique and I'm just being honest with you. Of course this is all just my opinion, and I'm no one important.

Ha, don't worry(: I'm not a photographer, I'm a 16 year old high school student! I'm not expecting anyone to say this is awesome, there is probably all kinds of things wrong with it :P I don't take offense easily, end the end it's my opinion that matters the most anyway I like to see other peoples opinions anyway, it gives me a chance to see with someone else's eyes(:

[candidrachel]

What this photo is saying to me is that Spring in on its way. I like the way your friend is wearing a short summery top, the grass is green and I can see some buttercups and some violet/pink flowers amongs it all too!

Roll on Spring!

[artsgirl]

Hi carryon,

I think this picture is great. You may not have done it intentionally, but you used one of my favorite techniques - intentionally blurring out the primary subject of the photo through use of depth of field. (I could get into a technical definition of what that means if you like, but I'm not sure that's the kind of feedback you're looking for.)

I love the bright and sunny feel of this shot. The composition is really nice with Shayna just off-center. The low approach, taking the shot looking up from the grass, also makes the overall composition interesting and different. The combination of Shayna looking off into the distance and the fact that the grass is in focus rather than her gives the sense of a private moment that was captured - almost as if I, the viewer, am a small insect hiding in the grass that has stumbled upon this moment of peaceful reflection.

The depth of field as you've used it here is a technique I use intentionally, here are a couple examples:

This first one was for a woman who runs a yoga studio and wanted shots of herself doing yoga for her website. This is one of the shots from that session. Yoga can be a very private practice, and like with your picture, the focus on the grass rather than her gives the sense of just peering in without disrupting the moment.

IMG_2526 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

And here is another shot where the focus is on the tree branch, and the girl in the shot is slightly out of focus. The blurring of the subject is not as dramatic as the other one, but I did it this way because the girl was looking directly at the camera and I didn't want to completely blur her out. The combination of the brick wall with her gown, the vivid colors, her expression and slightly fuzzy focus gives the shot a sense of mystery.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tobiart...7625362728488/

So to come back to your original question: Yes, I think this would be a very good entry for an art show. I also think you've got some natural, instinctive talent - you may not know why you did something, but you know you like the way it looks. Spend some time here on DPS in the various critique sections and read what others have to say about various shots. There's always an element of personal taste involved, but you can learn a lot about photography just by starting to understand why people do and don't do certain things.

Good luck!

[Jill H]

I like what you have done here too, my only problem being is that you have cropped off the top of her hat.

[danbaileyphoto]

I like this technique and I use it alot in my photography. Even though the woman is the subject, the eye starts with the grass, which is in focus, and then moves back. It gives it place and environment. However, in order for this technique to really work well, you need to make sure you're framing the image so that the subject has a clear story.

I think with this one, there needs to be more story about what this shot is really about, or what she's doing, whether it's defined by activity or a different crop. Nice experimentation, though, keep at it!

[phaither]

it's different and makes me look harder at the image of your friend in the back. interesting...

[carryon]

thank you everyone (: especially to artsgirl, that was a lot of cool information i might enter it (:

[aishuclickz]

the focus seems to be on the grass.. rather than your actual subject...

if it had been focussed properly the foreground and background could have been a bokeh(blurred) and the girl s personality revealed a lot better...

go to your settings and choose single point focus and AF- area mode as single (in case of Nikon)

if you have a diff camera you should have the similar settings somewhere

cheers and good luck