Photos

cdmonson (5304) 2010-03-17 15:34

Hi Dermot:

Welcome to TE--always nice to get new blood in the mix here. :) Though I see you've posted a few shots already. Happy St. Paddy's to you.

About the shot, it's not necessarily a bad shot, but there are certainly a number of things that could be improved upon. First, the things I like. I like the fact that it's not a building one normally sees here on TE, and I think your placement of the sign on the shot is quite fine, as the eye is drawn to it immediately (I assume that was the point).

Regarding improvements I would suggest, the sharpness is quite good in the foreground, but gets steadily blurrier the farther away the buildings are. This is of course most likely due to your use of a large aperture (f/3.8). Another thing is that the composition is rather cluttered--there are lots of things to attract the eye, but in a way in which they compete with, rather than complement, each other. It gives the shot a fairly jumbled feeling. One major example is that post with the sign in the foreground--it competes with the "Gaiety" sign in the distance. To simplify and enhance the shot, it likely would have been better to zoom in on the sign, including part of the building around it for complementary variety. That's one option--there are a number of options, of course. Composition was something I really struggled with when I started. Quite frankly I still have issues with it. It's a matter of looking at a lot of photos critically and drawing inspiration from them. Learning about art helps too--my wife is a painter and I've learned a ton about composition from her.

The final thing, and this is the most important one, in my opinion, is the lighting. Lighting is my #1 consideration when I'm shooting something. It'll drive you nuts, but you'll get to the point where you plan all of your photographic excursions based on the light. I planned my trip to Europe last year in large part based on what time of day each place I wanted to see would have the best light. Sad, isn't it? :) But good lighting is absolutely essential, and this shot needs better lighting. By that I don't mean the amount of light in the picture, though that's important too. Instead, I mean the direction the light is coming from, the warmth of the light, the brilliance of it, how dramatic it is, etc. Take a look at any shot you admire, and odds are it has good lighting. Even when it's shot in harsh light, it utilizes that harsh light in a way that makes the image beautiful.

Anyway, photography is just like anything else--practice makes perfect. A lot of people give up on trying to learn more, but it's definitely worth it to try to continue to improve. Keep shooting and posting, and keep working on improving. (I certainly still am!).

All the best,

Clark