Your photos (165) |
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 Hints and tips by Philip Grosset If you'd like to submit photos for criticism, click here. |
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with comments from Philip Grosset "Hi. My name is Bud Lewis. I am having a great deal of problems with flash wash out, particularly on faces and I was wondering if you could offer any suggestions. I have a Nikon 601 with an SB 27 flash. Pics 1_1 the flash was direct, on a stroboframe, pic 2_1 was bounced off the ceiling, pics 3_1 and 4_1, the flash was on the camera, a bright day in the shade of a tree. I am from Calgary, Alberta Canada and I've been playing around with photography for about four years. Thank you very much." (Bud Lewis) |
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| The main trouble with these photos is that they are all out of focus. If all your photos are blurred like this, all I can suggest is that you take your camera in for checking. As for the composition, you've positioned all your subjects right in the middle of the frame. Please see my Brief Summary page for an explanation as to why this isn't necessarily such a good idea. |
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| It can look more interesting if you position your subject a third of the way across the picture, as in my version here. As a general rule, it's often better to avoid flash unless there's really no alternative! |
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Reply from Bud Lewis: "Thank you very much for your recent evaluation of my photos. I believe the out of focus problem is with the scanner. Your cropping of the portrait definitely looks a lot better. I agree natural light pics look a lot better and I only use flash when I need it but control of it still seems to be a problem. Now that I 've sent in four pics , is it possible to do it again at a later date? Thanks again, you a great website and it's a place I spend a lot of time." (Bud) In response to many requests, I've changed the system so that there is now no limit on the number of photos you can send me - but there will be a small charge for all but the first one. Please see my submitting photos page. "I have just stumbled on your wonderful websight and decided I would like to send some of my photos for your evaluation.I have a Pentax ZX-7 that I have been using for a couple of years now. The first picture was taken while my wife was driving down the highway. Although I usually refrain from taking photos from a moving car the natural lighting was hard to resist. The second picture was of the oregon coastline and I was attracted to the contrast of the colors of the hillside and driftwood with the sand and sky. But I did end up with the horizon in the middle of the picture. The third was a scene from a small creek running through one of our parks. I was experimenting with slower shutter speeds to get the softer water effect and did use a tripod. The last one was taken at the park on the waterfront after the sun had set. I wanted to use a slow shutter speed to bring out the colors but didn't have my tripod with me so used a rock wall to set the camera on, but again ended up with the horizon in the middle of the picture. I am genuinely interested in your comments and am looking forward to them. Again your websight is fantastic with a lot of valuable information and the layout is terrific. Thanks." (Stan Adair) |
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| Both these photos feature attractive landscapes with effective use of foreground framing, but neither has much of a real main point of interest, so the result is just a little bland, although, as you say, the coloring is very pleasing. Perhaps if we could have seen the driftwood more clearly it would have added to the interest. |
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| You've got the softer water effect you wanted, but it might have been an idea to feature the stream a bit more prominently to draw more attention to it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| I like your photo on the left very much. You did very well to find something to lean your camera on - this made all the difference. You could always try cropping the picture differently, as I have done on the right, so as to move the horizon away from the middle. I think both versions make very pleasing pictures. Thanks for the kind comments about the site!
Reply from Stan Adair: "Thanks for the comments on my submissions. I have been taking photos for about four years now and someday hope to be able to sell them. I have read many books on the subject and must again say your websight is very informative and you are providing a very informative and helpful service. If I can add any advice from my meager experience, always be aware of the basics. I sometimes find myself so excited to be in the right place at the right time with my camera that I forget the rule of thirds and to make sure my camera is straight only to get the picture developed and find the horizon in the middle or slanted. Again, terrific websight and information. I will be back many times, and hopefully some day you will see one of my photos for sale. Thanks again." |
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Go on to YOUR PHOTOS (166) Please don't forget to sign my GUEST BOOK before you leave the site! NEXT PAGE PICKING THE BEST VIEWPOINT |
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