Working on Composition and lighting

[JoanieR]

This is a shot that I took at a local Civil War Re-enactment 2 weeks ago (before our 70 mph wind storms and floods). Generally I like the shot. It was very HOT, and although the sky was not blue but light gray, and there was plenty of smoke from the rifle fire and cannons, it was amazing how much the light bounced off the uniforms etc... I realize the grass looks hot, but also kind of feel like that was ok because my eyes were drawn to the men on horseback.

I am learning and need to understand what I did well and what I could use to improve on. I see images that I like but have not identified how to decide what makes an image good -- or not. Some things I understand, but the more I hear the more I learn and the more I understand.

The settings are listed below. I still don't know how to make the settings move from Lightroom or Photoshop over to Flickr and then to upload though... someone told me it was possible. Glad my nursing experience outshines my photography (or as it can be said, don't quit my day job quite yet).



The only other adjustment I made was to lightly vignette .. no exposure adjustments were made.

Nikon D200
Exp: 1/125 at f/10
Focal length 130 mm
Iso: 250
Flash: did not fire
Lens: 18.0-200 mm f/3.5-5.5

Thanks.

[terri33inne]

I like this shot very much... I like the crispness of the soldiers/horses with the smokiness effect, and the color palette is very nice.

I usually like vignettes, but I'd like to see this shot w/out it. I don't think it's needed with the smoke & foggyness of the scene.

Very nice!

[Mso]

I too like this shot, particularly the way the horses and men stand out from the soft pastel background. Lovely.

[fais54]

I really love this! And in a rare instance, the white vignette really works. This is a great shot, no critiques for me.

[devildogx2]

Originally Posted by fais54

I really love this! And in a rare instance, the white vignette really works. This is a great shot, no critiques for me.

Ditto, echo.... well I don't usually mind vignettes though.
Love the colors and the tones.

[Doug Sundseth]

Excellent subject, the lighting is very solid, and you nailed the exposure. I like your post-processing here as well.

The only things I might mention are that there's something quite bright on the lower right side of the frame that I'd probably try to burn down a bit and that I'd probably frame the riders just a bit to the left of their current position to balance them against the place they're moving into.

Very nice.

[kuul13]

I don't have any critique but this is such a clean shot. These warriors are wonderfully placed a beautiful background. Very well done!!

[JoanieR]

Thanks everyone. Thanks for finding that hot spot. I seem to not see those so much. I think I concentrate on looking in the center to see the main subject and somehow shut out all the rest. I have to concentrate on the whole image. I have a few other images that were duds because I didn't see the white sky. There was too much of it with the soldiers in the shots.

I have been learning ever since my husband passed away. He had the photo biz and I was the assistant. I started up with the camera in March. I used to help with his studio but never took a real class,and didn't even know what an F stop was. I am getting the hang of it, but as I said, I have a long way to go yet. Please continue to watch for my posts and let me know what I can do to make things better as well.