Critique please

speedygonzales 9 posts

Cathedral Rock
Sedona
Arizona

f/5.6
1/350
focal length 7mm

TheWalkerTouch 270 posts

Hmmmm! Well where to start? I think the exposure is rather high; in fact so washed out I can’t see anything….........lol

Do you have an image to add to the conversation Speedy, so we know what you are requesting critique on?

18 days ago

speedygonzales 9 posts

Hows that!

18 days ago

EvaMarie Cannon 31 posts

Here… here… “TheWalkerTouch” I agree…

18 days ago

EvaMarie Cannon 31 posts

Much better…BRB…want to stare…lol

18 days ago

Terence Russell 133 posts

A bit unbalanced and too lacking of contrast for grayscale. The foreground vegetation detracts from the central subject.

18 days ago

BecQuist 7 posts

im only new at this but is there are way to have a bit more contrast between the sky and the tree? you lose the trees definition. could you play with it a bit more? what post production program do you use? Another thing on the rule of thirds perhaps if you crop a bit of the tree so you have the tree taking up one part and the mountain taking up 3 parts of the photograph.

I love the pic tho. these are just things i would do if it were mine and it doesnt mean you feel the same. use what you will and toss my ideas if you think they are no good ok.

18 days ago

JimFilmer 820 posts

From the settings advised and the resultant image I expect that this has been taken with a “point & shoot” camera—as you have a very large depth of field with an aperture of f5.6. The camera has tried to provide a focus across the whole image, and the result is the rocks are a bit softer in focus than the trees in the left foreground – thus detracting from the main subject.
The main subject is very central… it would be better if it was offset… so perhaps some cropping from the LH side would assist in removing some of the distracting trees and also move the rocks to the left of the frame.
Try also cropping either the bottom or the top to push the rocks to the upper or lower third of the frame… see which works better. In the top of the frame are some interesting whispy clouds… however down the bottom the stones along side the river give good lins that lead the eye in…. so try each crop to see which you feel gives the best result.
I think the contrast is reasonable… however once the LH trees are cropped out then this would be worth re-assessing as the contrast present there is imapcting upon the current image.

18 days ago

PBWright 117 posts

I like the trees and the rocks. But a bit of cropping to offset the main attraction would be better. Wish the clouds stood out a bit more, too.

18 days ago

William Sanford 85 posts

The tree (left foreground) is very detracting from the capture. I would have liked to have seen the rocks, vegetation and the background.

Ideally, I would have liked to have seen the river near the center and the big rocks a little off center and without the tree.

JimF has some great points and would also like to see that.

17 days ago

Nikidun 97 posts

While I like the trees on the left, they would have made a subject all by themselves. I think cropping most of them out and cropping quite a bit from the bottom too would be nice. I think the sky adds more than those trees to the actual subject. I personally don’t find the trees at the bottom to add much to the picture at all. Make it so the cathedral rock is closer to the bottom left corner, and then you can dodge the sky (to darken the actual sky) to bring out the contrast more.

Did you take any vertical pictures of the same scene?

17 days ago

speedygonzales 9 posts

Thanks for the posts everybody,this was taken a while back and armed with a new camera and the points you’ve made I wish I could be transported back to that time and place!
I have tried cropping this but have not liked the result.I do like the trees to the left even though they are unbalancing the photo.
I suppose I like the way the eye sweeps around from the path to the tree and then the rock.
I have a few shots from here but this one is the best,here is the colour version. (hopefully!)

17 days ago

Nikidun 97 posts

I think I like the colour better. It draws your eye to the mountain so much better than the black and white does.

17 days ago

EvaMarie Cannon 31 posts

much better in color…

15 days ago

mrbean 15 posts

Definitely like the color version better. The path and foreground rocks stand out better leading up to the mountain.

18 days ago speedygonzales 9 posts	Cathedral Rock Sedona Arizona f/5.6 1/350 focal length 7mm
18 days ago TheWalkerTouch 270 posts	Hmmmm! Well where to start? I think the exposure is rather high; in fact so washed out I can’t see anything….........lol Do you have an image to add to the conversation Speedy, so we know what you are requesting critique on?
18 days ago speedygonzales 9 posts	Hows that!
18 days ago EvaMarie Cannon 31 posts	Here… here… “TheWalkerTouch” I agree…
18 days ago EvaMarie Cannon 31 posts	Much better…BRB…want to stare…lol
18 days ago Terence Russell 133 posts	A bit unbalanced and too lacking of contrast for grayscale. The foreground vegetation detracts from the central subject.
18 days ago BecQuist 7 posts	im only new at this but is there are way to have a bit more contrast between the sky and the tree? you lose the trees definition. could you play with it a bit more? what post production program do you use? Another thing on the rule of thirds perhaps if you crop a bit of the tree so you have the tree taking up one part and the mountain taking up 3 parts of the photograph. I love the pic tho. these are just things i would do if it were mine and it doesnt mean you feel the same. use what you will and toss my ideas if you think they are no good ok.
18 days ago JimFilmer 820 posts	From the settings advised and the resultant image I expect that this has been taken with a “point & shoot” camera—as you have a very large depth of field with an aperture of f5.6. The camera has tried to provide a focus across the whole image, and the result is the rocks are a bit softer in focus than the trees in the left foreground – thus detracting from the main subject. The main subject is very central… it would be better if it was offset… so perhaps some cropping from the LH side would assist in removing some of the distracting trees and also move the rocks to the left of the frame. Try also cropping either the bottom or the top to push the rocks to the upper or lower third of the frame… see which works better. In the top of the frame are some interesting whispy clouds… however down the bottom the stones along side the river give good lins that lead the eye in…. so try each crop to see which you feel gives the best result. I think the contrast is reasonable… however once the LH trees are cropped out then this would be worth re-assessing as the contrast present there is imapcting upon the current image.
18 days ago PBWright 117 posts	I like the trees and the rocks. But a bit of cropping to offset the main attraction would be better. Wish the clouds stood out a bit more, too.
18 days ago William Sanford 85 posts	The tree (left foreground) is very detracting from the capture. I would have liked to have seen the rocks, vegetation and the background. Ideally, I would have liked to have seen the river near the center and the big rocks a little off center and without the tree. JimF has some great points and would also like to see that.
17 days ago Nikidun 97 posts	While I like the trees on the left, they would have made a subject all by themselves. I think cropping most of them out and cropping quite a bit from the bottom too would be nice. I think the sky adds more than those trees to the actual subject. I personally don’t find the trees at the bottom to add much to the picture at all. Make it so the cathedral rock is closer to the bottom left corner, and then you can dodge the sky (to darken the actual sky) to bring out the contrast more. Did you take any vertical pictures of the same scene?
17 days ago speedygonzales 9 posts	Thanks for the posts everybody,this was taken a while back and armed with a new camera and the points you’ve made I wish I could be transported back to that time and place! I have tried cropping this but have not liked the result.I do like the trees to the left even though they are unbalancing the photo. I suppose I like the way the eye sweeps around from the path to the tree and then the rock. I have a few shots from here but this one is the best,here is the colour version. (hopefully!)
17 days ago Nikidun 97 posts	I think I like the colour better. It draws your eye to the mountain so much better than the black and white does.
17 days ago EvaMarie Cannon 31 posts	much better in color…
15 days ago mrbean 15 posts	Definitely like the color version better. The path and foreground rocks stand out better leading up to the mountain.

Photography 101

Critique please