kids on street..rules of third help pls.

[honeymeyou]

hello everyone! im a newbie and in us much as i wanted to keep this photo im not sure if its a keeper. i feel like im not following property the rules of third. also i would like to get some comments on the composition and lighting. is there anything i can do to improve this photo? pls feel free to recompose/edit the pic so i could see the difference to mine..also im using laptop so im not sure if brightness is ok. thank you so much!

[IMG][/IMG]

Exif data
Camera Nikon D3100
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 135 mm
Focal Length 134.5 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire:

[kristenh]

i think it's a nice action shot that captures the moment well, esp if those are your kids. i like how the fence and path lead directly to them- wish the people in background were gone, but i'm guessing you couldn't control that too easily. i love the curve of the fence and the path; i might have tried to get the whole of the last lamp in the shot or completely out of the shot. in terms of critique, i'd like to see the kids more clearly. and the birds are totally lost b/c of the complexity of the background- that's a problem, in my view. maybe if you had squatted down a bit, you might have been able to get them against only the fence and sky for a simpler and cleaner look. to me, the colors look a little washed out, but i'm also on my laptop, so i may not know for sure.

[honeymeyou]

Thanks for the comment i really appreciate it. They are not my kids..just saw them playing as im walking by. i guess i have to crop a little bit to remove the half lamp post there. Im using a telephoto that time so i wasnt able to get lower than that. Another thing that i wanted to learn is to how to control my focus. i was aiming to focus only on the kids that time...

[kristenh]

Originally Posted by honeymeyou

Another thing that i wanted to learn is to how to control my focus. i was aiming to focus only on the kids that time...

this is my current goal in life, too. i can't really blow your picture up, but i think if you did you'd find that you caught the birds rather than the kids. the birds are quite sharp, and with that aperture i don't think your dof would be deep enough to get the kids and teh birds.

[locojain]

i really like this pic.. its nice shot..
Good use of leading lines
Well composed shot.. you executed the rule of thirds really well.

But the leading lines in this pic are awesome.. be it the floor or the railing or the flyover.. ttis all good..

[carlyfan]

I really really like this shot! I love the joyful enthusiasm of the children chasing the seagulls and how their feet are hardly touching the ground! It really tells a great story and captures the essence of childhood. Oh, the simple joys of chasing after birds and watching them fly away, it's just great. On a technical aspect, yes the kids could be sharper, and the birds kind of get lost in the background, but this image has so much going for it. Great use of leading lines; the fence leads the eye right to the kids. The composition is great, certainly following the rule of thirds. And I really don't mind the people in the background behind the kids. The focus of the photo is entirely on the kids and the seagulls. The people are out of focus enough to not be distracting to me, and I would actually expect there to be people on the path. It is a great candid moment captured out of an ordinary day. Great job!

Lisa

[honeymeyou]

thanks locojain! now i got the affirmation that i CAN follow the rules of third

and to carlyfan, thanks you too, makes me wanna shoot random people again.

but guys i got another question (sorry if i keep on asking), i cant seem to manage the point where i could like to focus only. like on this picture, even if i want to focus only the kids and make everything out of focus, i cant seem to do that! Pls if someone could tell me how to do it i'll be appreciated.

Thanks!

[carlyfan]

What I do for focusing is have the AF point set to the center. The camera will focus on whatever that dot is on. So I place the center dot over what I want to be in focus, press the shutter halfway down so the camera focuses, then recompose the shot and press the shutter the rest of the way down. If you look in your manual, it should tell you how to choose your focusing point. That way, you can tell your camera what you want in focus instead of the camera deciding.

Is that what you were asking?

[aishuclickz]

for a newbie a gr8 shot indeed

would have been better if it was closely composed, if u had got closer to the subjects, the background would have been little blurred and the actual reactions of the kids would have been captured.

[aishuclickz]

your question about focussing on the subject and blurring the background is very much possible,,

choose an optimal focal length say f 60 or something..

get as close as u can to the subject..

adjust your focus in your settings.. single point focus and AF-Area mode( if its NIKON)

the closer you get the shallower the depth of field..

for example if youre using a 18- 55 mm lens.. shoot at 55 mm..

this should give you the desired results...