Sparklersby
dynamomomof2Comment by BMacD: Hi! Here’s a comment from the Critique Club.
I’m going to break from my normal form for critiquing for this shot. I normally use a template to cover the different aspects of photography, but a more informal approach may be more effective here.
First, welcome to DPC! This is a great site, and you have the resources of so many excellent photographers to draw upon.
Make sure you enter as many challenges as you can. Learn from the feedback, try to incorporate the learning’s into your future shots. Practice, take lots and lots of shots, try new approaches. That’s the beauty of digital! But most important “Have fun”!
You have already received lots of good feedback on this shot. Poor depth of field, out of focus, grainy, blurry and centered. No need to repeat.
Given your idea, here is how I may have approached it.
1) The sparkler is so bright that it will be totally white with no detail, so ignore the “sparkle” when setting your camera. Set your camera, pointing at what ever else you want to be in focus and properly exposed. (Assuming you are using auto focus)
2) Put the sparkler in some sort of context, totally isolated, in the hand of a child, (show the glow in their face and the sparkle in their eyes), be creative…
3) The wire rod around the sparkle itself will have a nice red/orange glow, try to capture the “heat.” The spent part of the wire will be nice and black with interesting texture. (Play with B&W but see what colours you can capture)
4) DPC voters typically like sharp photos that “pop.” Blur and out of focus need to be done very carefully. Don’t forget the basic rule of thirds. In most cases it’s a safe technique to follow.
Good luck in future challenges!
Please PM me if you have any questions. (…There are no dumb questions!!!)
Bruce
Photographer found comment helpful.