Help needed to become better than "average"

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

02/08/2006 01:54:32 PM · #1

I really liked my entries for the Free Study, Blue II, and Off Center. They scored:

5.853

5.468

5.445

I also like

from my portfolio.

My question is: What makes these average shots and what do I need to improve/change.

Edit to add: Brutality accepted!

Message edited by author 2006-02-08 13:56:28.

tate

Apple iPhone 15 Pro

02/08/2006 02:06:28 PM · #2

I'm pretty much in the same boat. Those aren't bad scores, or bad images - the photographic quality is very good. I think that things that score higher are things that aren't seen frequently, images that show creative thought/effort but are still simple and something most people can relate to. Images without people in them should have an interesting "twist" or something very tactile or mysterious to them (in other words - since your images are of somewhat common items and have no "captured moments" it keeps them lower than images that have those attributes. The score isn't necessarilly refective of the image - just how people are looking at it at that moment. My suggestion is to get people more involved in your images and play with light and shutter speed and all the things that cameras can do. Creativity will come naturally (again - who am I to talk - I just like to give my thoughts in the even that they might be valid :)

Refwhett

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/08/2006 02:07:16 PM · #3

I totally agree with metatate, that was well put.
I also left you some comments the images themselves.
Michael.

Message edited by author 2006-02-08 14:11:55.

bowronfam3

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

02/08/2006 02:16:33 PM · #4

I hope you don't mind, but I thought I would post some edits on here to show you what I mean. I think that these shots are very, very good, however, I think there's something to be said for some enhancement. I think sometimes you need to add that little something to make your images POP. Usually all that's needed is a little lighting change or to bump up the saturation a little.

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Beetle

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

02/08/2006 02:23:19 PM · #5

Some photos - by themselves, outside of context - are fine photos, but somewhat meaningless.
For example the one with the threads. After a little bit more PP work to make the colors pop a bit more, it is a fine image. Yet sitting here on DPC it doesn't really grab me.

If you turned that very same image into a large print and hung it up in a classroom where they teach sewing, or a store that sells machines, it would suddenly look quite wonderful!!!

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

02/08/2006 02:23:22 PM · #6

Thank you for your comments Michael. Actually, on the fence shot--I expected comments similar to yours and was surprised I didn't get any during the voting. I couldn't get back to that spot to re-shoot before the deadline. I would like to have more wire included and no weeds, with the pole closer to the right side and the gate not showing at all.

I thought about sharpening all the pencils but decided to be different. I now wish I had turned them pointed side up but left them in their various states of sharpness.

I have been mostly working on basics--focus, composition, processing. I think you are correct, metatate, and that I will have to start experimenting more. Just when I was safe in my little box! lol

Artifacts

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

02/08/2006 02:25:42 PM · #7

First off... these are not average pictures.

The quality of yours, like most DPC images, is far above average. It is to bad we tend to score images harshly with low scores. That conveys an erroneous signal to photographers that their pictures are not very good. By DPC standards the scores you got are good.

I find your sense for use of color and composition is excellent. Your images are concise and well thought out. You do not include extraneous elements that are not essential to your composition. I wish I were as good.

The first image contains noise that you may want to remove. It seems a little harshly focused. Focusing is difficult to master with digital camera images. It is the toughest thing for me.

The second image is soft focused in the foreground. Generally speaking it is not an error to soft focus a foreground object but in this case the near spool is an important part of your composition and might work better if it were focused sharply. It is more distracting because there is writing on it. Otherwise this is a simply wonderful image.

The third image has some digital noise near the bottom left of the container and some digital "jaggies" in the top parts of some of the pencils. Jaggies can be particularly distracting and normally you would want to remove them.

You are a fine photographer with a keen "eye". Keep up the good work!

Message edited by author 2006-02-08 14:29:04.

glad2badad

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

02/08/2006 02:34:41 PM · #8

Originally posted by chaimelle:

I like the fence/wire shot best of all. I don't know that I would move too far left to get the pole farther right. The pole would be great on the right vertical thirds line. The weeds, IMO, add character and feel to the shot. Slight boost in contrast maybe...I like the deeper sepia tone that another poster added...

Agree with Steve...you do have a good eye for an image. Keep it up! ;^)

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

02/08/2006 02:46:24 PM · #9

Originally posted by bowronfam3:

I don't mind your additions. I like the fence, but I think the other two would look better somewhere between your version and mine. A little brighter does seem to help.

bledford

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

02/08/2006 02:55:28 PM · #10

If I had one suggestion for the images you posted, I would say that you need to learn to put meaning into your photos. There is not a lot to stir the emotions in any of those shots, other than maybe the shot of the park bench.

Meaning is, to be fair, not always rewarded on this site. Still, it can be an important attribute of your work *as a whole*, moving you to the next level of achievement.

As an illustration of adding meaning to your photos, I would do the following to the shots you presented:
1.

- Use a wider angle lens, to capture more of the fence you feel has been forgotten. Make sure to put the most "forgotten" portion of the fence in a compositionally important area of the photo. Making the perspective so tight as you've done, makes me feel like I have to study each little detail to get the point of the image. Get closer and use a wider angle. The details will become less important and message clearer.
2.

- It's well known that a bottom-left to upper-right visual flow evokes action in a image. Step back from the image and look at how the spools seem to be teetering, almost to the point of falling out of the frame. This is effective when that is the message you're trying to acheive, but in this image it is at odds with the subject.
When trying to evoke simplicity and stillness as I believe you were trying to do with this image, try a top-left to bottom-right flow and actually take down the contrast and saturation (I don't agree with previous suggestions to increase saturation on this image). See my suggestion below

(I decrease contrast using Curves, slightly desaturated, and dodged the bottom left corner a bit)
3.

I actually like this image, mostly. I would have explored maybe trying to insert an additional element of meaning by having a sheet of paper to the left of the pencils with something interesting drawn on it. Maybe a stick figure or maybe a beautiful flower--depends on the meaning you seek to inject into the image. On a technical note, the image possesses a certain dirtyness (grain?) in the pencils that I'm not sure add anything to the composition.

Overall, the shots are nice, though, and you clearly have an eye for *arrangin* things into a pleasing scene. Now you need to work on telling us a story in your arrangements. Just my 2 cents.

Faye Pekas

Canon EOS-20D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

02/08/2006 03:03:57 PM · #11

Originally posted by chaimelle:

My question is: What makes these average shots and what do I need to improve/change.

Thats a question I have too. I score mid 5's almost always. I know the emotional impact is major for me when I am scoring others photos. If my first impression is "oh wow" when I look at a photo, thats going to get a high score.

I think the trick is having your "oh wows" in sync with other's "oh wows". Sometimes I submit a photo I think is an "oh wow" and others see it as a "ho hum"

The other major thing that affects your score is... does it fit the challenge. One of my problems is that I get a great shot and it turns out technically great too and I want to enter it sooo bad, so will try to sneak it in hoping the voters won't mind if it doesn't quite fit the challenge. LOL Yep they always mind :)I might get several 10's but the 1's from DNFC folks keep it in the mid 5 range.

I hope we get better with practice

Faye (the ho hum photograher)

KaDi

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

02/08/2006 03:15:46 PM · #12

The difference between ho-hum and wow in most shots is the lighting. Lighting is, for me, the single most important factor in almost every image. It needs to have a purpose beyond general illumination.