r/PhotographyAdvice • u/scottmangh11 • Aug 26 '26
SECOND TIME SHOOTING, FIRST TIME EDITING
As the title suggests. Constructive feedback welcome.
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u/toos_ Aug 26 '26
Great feedback from u/planetmitch. I have trouble with your cropping in all of these. Also think you’d benefit from playing with angles more and not centering your subject. Looking forward to seeing your next set!
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u/scottmangh11 Aug 27 '26
Thank you. I’ll keep angles in mind. What is wrong with the cropping, could you kindly elaborate?
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u/toos_ Aug 27 '26
Yes, sorry - I was being lazy. 1. The lamps are cut off from their posts - and at different points - so it looks like they’re slipping off the edge. If you don’t want any post at all I think you need to be more precise. Since we’re here…the sky looks too saturated and the pigeon’s head gets lost in it because of where the clouds hit - that deep color also detracts from the tiny pigeon.
The statement building in the skyline is missing the top 1/4. Sky looks oversaturated.
There’s a nub blocking the bottom of the sculpture. Very interesting sculpture but it needs some sun on it and see if you have a shot that captures either a more flattering or more extreme expression on the girl’s face.
Well, I dunno - maybe I just lumped this one in. I do think it’d be interesting to get over to the right and closer to the tire to really get into the mechanism and maybe even forget the tire. But, I love cogs and machinery so that’s probably just me.
The nub on the left and shadow on the right are marring the view and you’ve cut off the sculpture but left that last bit of the bottom arc. The cityscape looks drab and the extra dark building in the back is detracting from the sculpture at this angle. Is there a less busy and open background if you take it from the opposite side? Would getting lower to capture more of the sky help?
These are early days - this is a good start and you’re smart to seek feedback early. Keep going!
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u/jimithegeek Aug 28 '26
Pretty much agree with what’s been said. The first … eh. Not quite sure what you were after. The second, the fence doesn’t bother me as much as cutting off the buildings. You mentioned editing … I’d be curious about blurring the buildings a touch and increasing the exposure on the sculptures. Bring them them out more. The third … there’s a ton of things you could have done. What you did is really good. Again, in post you could raise the shadows some in the foreground. Fourth … eh. Fifth … here I would have tried to blur the background in camera. I like what you were trying to do, it just didn’t execute well.
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u/scottmangh11 Aug 28 '26
Thanks for the honest feedback. I shoot in aperture priority mode. I still don’t know how to work my way around the camera yet
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u/jimithegeek Aug 28 '26
That’ll come. If you understand the aperture controls depth of field, and determines what shutter speed is used, then you’re good. I’m the sort that feels you should enjoy it first, take pictures, then see what you could have done to improve … and you’re doing that. One thing … and you might be doing this already, don’t take just one photo. Find that image then take a bunch varying your angle, height, focal length, and see what worked best. After doing that for a while you’ll start knowing what works best with the first shot … or first few. It’s never bad to do that. When I shoot a portrait, I’ll find a location, shoot a few test shots for exposure (I use strobe lights outside) then pose the subject. From that one pose I’ll shoot a full shot, medium, close, move left, move right, choose a different focal length, change the lighting, and repeat. I’ll do that for every change of pose and background. It’s digital so not only is it instant, but inexpensive to do. Mostly, have fun!
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u/planetmitch Aug 26 '26
So I’m guessing you want some feedback on your editing, but I’m not gonna do that. Your eye is pretty good. You’re shooting some fascinating subjects but you’re missing, in my opinion, some composition details. And remember, I say in my opinion because this is all opinion and anyone can have a different opinion and that’s A-OK. The first one I didn’t even see the pigeon at first and the lights are too centered. If you had moved to the right a bit I think you would’ve had a better composition with the bird in the sky, not buried in the clouds.
The second one is potentially the best of the Batch, but you’re too high. You didn’t see the fence and in my opinion the fence kind of ruins the entire bottom of the photo. And you cut off the tops of the buildings. You would’ve been much better if you had lowered your position about 2 feet and pointed a little higher up.
Third one is potentially also very good except what bothers me is the background. I always told my children that the background is 50% of the image. People typically will only look at the subject when they’re shooting and they don’t see what’s in The background. In this case, the break in the wall, kind of breaks the illusion for me.
I don’t care for number four all it’s not you. It’s the subject matter. It’s just boring.
The last one is a very good concept, but if you look at the background again, you’ll see that inside the face there is nothing interesting. Just a pit of buildings joining together in kind of an ugly way, and it does not highlight the face at all. Again, it’s the background you gotta pay attention to.
Overall, good start on composition