02-23-2023, 01:15 PM
Natalie, thanks for your kind response to this yellow rose shot. And special thanks for your questions about my composition tendencies. Your observations will make me a better photographer; in fact they influenced most of the photos I took on this morning's walk.
To answer your questions:
1) I wish I was better at composing in camera, but my final compositions are usually arrived at by cropping.
2) Sometimes a crop is determined by the need to eliminate distracting areas on any side of the subject.
3) Then I decide what I what to be my COI and make sure it isn't dead-center by positioning it in a good spot - sometimes using the "rule of thirds" overlay, other times by eye-balling it while striving for a composition in which the COI is a different distance from each 4 sides.
4) If I determine that a square crop is best, composing becomes more challenging.
5) I definitely am NOT trying to add tension to my floral photos. But thanks to your observations I now realize that I have been doing exactly that.
In the case of this photo you said you would place the rose closest to the bottom left corner, leaving more space in the direction the flower is opening. Excellent advice! Kind of like a suggestion I've read for composing (in photos or when painting or drawing) birds in flight - always leave more empty space in front of the flying bird, not behind it.
Thank you for taking the time to give me this valuable feedback.
Grant, thank you too. I try to be aware of the angle of things likes stems, but I don't remember if I needed to rotate my crop to achieve an angle in this shot. With photos of other subjects (such as buildings), if I need something to serve as an eye-stopper I often edit to have one that is more vertical.
To answer your questions:
1) I wish I was better at composing in camera, but my final compositions are usually arrived at by cropping.
2) Sometimes a crop is determined by the need to eliminate distracting areas on any side of the subject.
3) Then I decide what I what to be my COI and make sure it isn't dead-center by positioning it in a good spot - sometimes using the "rule of thirds" overlay, other times by eye-balling it while striving for a composition in which the COI is a different distance from each 4 sides.
4) If I determine that a square crop is best, composing becomes more challenging.
5) I definitely am NOT trying to add tension to my floral photos. But thanks to your observations I now realize that I have been doing exactly that.
In the case of this photo you said you would place the rose closest to the bottom left corner, leaving more space in the direction the flower is opening. Excellent advice! Kind of like a suggestion I've read for composing (in photos or when painting or drawing) birds in flight - always leave more empty space in front of the flying bird, not behind it.
Thank you for taking the time to give me this valuable feedback.
Grant, thank you too. I try to be aware of the angle of things likes stems, but I don't remember if I needed to rotate my crop to achieve an angle in this shot. With photos of other subjects (such as buildings), if I need something to serve as an eye-stopper I often edit to have one that is more vertical.
Don't blame me - I didn't vote for him!
Nikon D7500 with Nikkor 18-300 mm; PSE2021, PSCS5
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