where did they go?

[Art]

Hi all, this girl is looking for her friends in the beach

Can you please critic composition and light?

EXIF

Focal length 300mm
f 5.6
Exposure 1/125

[Doug Sundseth]

Lighting: The up-sun lighting is fine. Unfortunately, the visible part of the face is in shadow, and that's what I'm most interested in seeing.

Composition: In general, for a photo like this you would want to have more space in front of the subject than behind, to give the viewer more context for the direction she's looking. There are situations where you want to direct the viewer's attention out of the frame, but if that's what you're going for here, it doesn't work for me.

[Hill Country Hack]

Art,

I agree with Doug.

The focus is a bit soft on your subject. I have the same gear as you, so far, I have learned a few things to sharpen up that 75-300mm lens. In VERY general terms the Canon kit lens you have can be soft at the extremes of the focal lengths. I therefore avoid those extremes if at all possible. That is not saying I haven't gotten nice sharp images at the extremem ends, I just have to put more effort into it than point, focus, shoot.

Be sure to shoot at least 1:1 ratio of shutter speed to focal length. The shot you posted was shot at 300mm focal length so your shutter speed should have been at least 1/300. If your 75-300mm is non IS like mine, keeping the ratio in mind decreases the inherent lens shake if not supported by a tripod/monopod.

When I can't maintain the minimum ratio with the desired exposure settings, I back off the focal length until I can. This also gives the added space for cropping options later.

I hope this helps and keep on shooting.

[Art]

Originally Posted by Doug Sundseth

Lighting: The up-sun lighting is fine. Unfortunately, the visible part of the face is in shadow, and that's what I'm most interested in seeing.

Composition: In general, for a photo like this you would want to have more space in front of the subject than behind, to give the viewer more context for the direction she's looking. There are situations where you want to direct the viewer's attention out of the frame, but if that's what you're going for here, it doesn't work for me.

Thanks for your comments
Art

[Art]

Originally Posted by Hill Country Hack

Art,

I agree with Doug.

The focus is a bit soft on your subject. I have the same gear as you, so far, I have learned a few things to sharpen up that 75-300mm lens. In VERY general terms the Canon kit lens you have can be soft at the extremes of the focal lengths. I therefore avoid those extremes if at all possible. That is not saying I haven't gotten nice sharp images at the extremem ends, I just have to put more effort into it than point, focus, shoot.

Be sure to shoot at least 1:1 ratio of shutter speed to focal length. The shot you posted was shot at 300mm focal length so your shutter speed should have been at least 1/300. If your 75-300mm is non IS like mine, keeping the ratio in mind decreases the inherent lens shake if not supported by a tripod/monopod.

When I can't maintain the minimum ratio with the desired exposure settings, I back off the focal length until I can. This also gives the added space for cropping options later.

I hope this helps and keep on shooting.

I appreciate your explanation, very clear
Art