any tips....? - DPChallenge Forums

02/09/2004 02:47:41 PM · #1

even if its "throw it away" I'll listen!

I was actually looking for an old pic of a Swan flying over an old Abbey and found this..

It was taken around 6:30am and is straight out of the camera, any thoughts improving the pic would be gratefully received :)

jab119

02/09/2004 03:05:36 PM · #2

Here goes.... next time try to have the sun behind you, no worries about this really as I am just as guilty of doing this if not more guilty than others, but shooting towards or in the wide general direction of the sun can really cause your photos to be underexposed/over exposed. Like in yours the back ground is over exposed and the subject is too dark.

But if you did some creative editing you could get a nice silloutte effect and turn it into a good photo.

adjust the brightness and contrast, maybe some dodging and burning also

James

02/09/2004 03:18:04 PM · #3

Thanks for the comments James, with regards to dodging & burning I think I'm gonna be on a steep learning curve and as for the sun, well I was standing on top of a moving boat so no option.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

02/09/2004 05:48:38 PM · #4

Almost all my personal favourite shots that I took last year were taken pointing straight towards the sun or light source, with the subject back lit to one degree or another.

Something that can really help is paying attention to light, and the quality of light. Learn to recognise high contrast, low contrast, bright days and dim days. Try to notice how orange the light is inside your house, or how blue it is in the shadows on a cloudy day. If you can start really noticing shadows on objects or how sunlight changes throughout the day your pictures will only improve.

The next step - learn how to see the way the camera sees those scenes - try to understand how that light gets translated through your lens. Try and work out when the sky is too bright for your camera to capture along with the subject - actively trying to experience this and paying attention to this is another facet that will improve your pictures leaps and bounds.

This kind of shot is a good example - you've taken it at a bright time of day, with a very high contrasty scene. The exposure is somewhere between a good under exposure to get an attractive silhouette, or a strong over exposure to get a well lit bird and blown sky. It is probably a shot that in time you'd learn not to take or try to take in a different way or (my own personal approach) at a different time of day, with different light...

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM

02/09/2004 06:22:14 PM · #5

Thanks Gordon, I like the what your saying. The picture was taken at 6:30 am and mist was all around, stangely the 'other' bank didn't have the spiders webs. Maybe I should currently be called 'happy snapper'?

oh, and I found the swan pic

KarenB

Canon EOS-70D

02/09/2004 06:37:36 PM · #6

Originally posted by Ecce Signum:

Nice one.. like the lead area you have given to the right so we can visualize where the swan is heading.

Tamron AF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical for Nikon

02/10/2004 12:38:10 PM · #7

Originally posted by KarenB:

Nice one.. like the lead area you have given to the right so we can visualize where the swan is heading.

Thanks Karen :)

vtruan

Nikon D5100

02/10/2004 01:39:39 PM · #8

Your Heron shot has potential. Here's what I briefly did. I added a bit more contrast, cropped it more vertically and grayscaled it. I also added a bit of unmasking. Just a thought. Van

Message edited by author 2004-02-10 13:41:36.