Our local park yesterday

[KenCo]

Our local park yesterday. The weather was lousy and the park a little deserted but the kids had fun while I took some shots. The first time really that I have gone out with the specific intention of taking pics. I’m happy with the results but if anyone can give me any pointers as to how I could improve on these I’d be grateful. There are more in my gallery.








Thanks.
Ken.

 

[KenCo]

 

[CT]

Nice pics again Ken. Are some of them verging on just being a tad colour saturated? You say it was a dull day and I don't see any shadows to indicate the sun being in evidence. Use of strong diagonals is usually good compostion. You've used that to good effect in the 2nd shot but it just lacks a focal point I thought.

Your steps shot is nice but lacks foreground interest. My favourite is the pagoda shot, but again there's way too much plain foreground - something in the foreground would have added depth and interest to the shot. As it is I'd crop a lot of that foreground out and possibly someof the sky to tighten the whole thing up.

The spire shot is nice and see how the flower bed in the foreground adds depth to the shot. You could possibly gone in a little closer?

 

[CT]

LOL that last one exhibits all the good bits - foregound interest, good depth and a strong diagonal taking the eye into the picture. 8)

 

[KenCo]

I’ll have to get up earlier on a morning to get one over on you CT. I drove past the park the other day when the sun was a little stronger and the colours of the band stand, benches and plants really caught my eye against the bowling green. Unfortunately it was dull and murky when I took these and yes I did apply a tad saturation to bring the colours back out, maybe a tad to much? Maybe I need an optician! Thanks CT. I’ll remember foreground interest the next time. :wink:
Cheers mate.

 

[Biggus]

Some nice shots there, a little over saturated for my liking, but it does make otherwise dull conditions look more inviting. The other thing to be aware of is to check your vertical/horizontal lines are as straight as they should be, pics 1 (see the verticals on the handrails) & 5 (the fence) are leaning left a little :wink:

 

[KenCo]

The other thing to be aware of is to check your vertical/horizontal lines are as straight as they should be, pics 1 (see the verticals on the handrails) & 5 (the fence) are leaning left a little :wink:

Cheers Biggus, I didn’t realise the rails weren’t straight and the saturation bit is an art in itself. I can’t decide whether I’ve used too much or even if it needs it at all. Still learning! Thanks for the advice.
Ken.

 

[CT]

Use the grass as a yardstick Ken perhaps? It does look a bit Brazilian rain forest in a couple of those shots.

 

[KenCo]

Use the grass as a yardstick Ken perhaps? It does look a bit Brazilian rain forest in a couple of those shots.

Good park keeper and plenty of lawn feed!

 

[Steve]

Attention to detail as well, the last shot has a twig under the first bench, removing that before the shot would have taken just a few seconds :wink:

 

[lolyton]

Attention to detail as well, the last shot has a twig under the first bench, removing that before the shot would have taken just a few seconds

Removing it after the shot will only take a few more seconds. But Steve is right always easier to do these things before you take the image!

 

[KenCo]

Attention to detail as well, the last shot has a twig under the first bench, removing that before the shot would have taken just a few seconds :wink:

Thanks Steve, duly noted. No excuses for it and will take time to view the scene in future.
Thanks.
Ken.

 

[ppuga]

I like the second one a lot.
Nice work.

 

[lolyton]

The last one i reckon is easily the best shot, its just a shame that the benches don't lead your eye to something a little more interesting. I also think there is something about the shot of the bandstand (3rd one) i like it's simplicity and the fact that there is no one around (has a similar feel to me as the seaside in the winter [that kind of sad factor]), however there is something not quite right about it and i cannot put my finger on it. Also the B+W shot needs working on ie darkening a little and a little more contrast.

 

[Steve]

Attention to detail as well, the last shot has a twig under the first bench, removing that before the shot would have taken just a few seconds :wink:

Thanks Steve, duly noted. No excuses for it and will take time to view the scene in future.
Thanks.
Ken.

Hey no problem but don't take it too hard yourself. There is no one here that has not made a similar mistake themselves and if they deny it, they are lying As has been said, some simple editing in PS will remove it but doing so at the time of the shoot is a better way. Its easy for me sitting here viewing your images to see this, but when talking the picture you are thinking about the framing, the lighting, the rule of thirds, what F stop to use for the correct DOF, will those people in the background be moving out of frame soon so that they don't ruin the picture..you get the idea and the list goes on and so do the distractions

 

[CT]

Doing weddings you soon learn to become paranoid about little distractions like the twig. When shootng outside with wedding parties, even in well kept surroundings, it's surprising how much litter you could get in the shot if your weren't careful about removing some of it. When shooting indoors at receptions etc. when posing people you have to be very careful about things like fire extinguishers, fire buckets, toilet and exit signs, notice boards, and a host of stuff it's easy to overlook and which wont do anything at all for the finished shot.

Ken's bench shot would have been great with someone sitting on the 4th bench along. You should try shooting it again Ken, with someone sat on that bench.You could even try moving in closer to that first bench and having a prop on that first bench right in the foreground - a rolled up apparantly discarded newspaper perhaps for added foreground interest and the diagonal leading to the seated person who would be right on a third. Some decrepit old git on the bench would be nice, but it's a bit far for me to come! You have a location there which you know works well and you could play about and experiment with.

 

[lolyton]

Ken's bench shot would have been great with someone sitting on the 4th bench along.

Thats it!, I was trying to work out what could be missing from this shot and thats the perfect bench too.

 

[KenCo]

Attention to detail as well, the last shot has a twig under the first bench, removing that before the shot would have taken just a few seconds :wink:

Thanks Steve, duly noted. No excuses for it and will take time to view the scene in future.
Thanks.
Ken.

Hey no problem but don't take it too hard yourself. There is no one here that has not made a similar mistake themselves and if they deny it, they are lying As has been said, some simple editing in PS will remove it but doing so at the time of the shoot is a better way. Its easy for me sitting here viewing your images to see this, but when talking the picture you are thinking about the framing, the lighting, the rule of thirds, what F stop to use for the correct DOF, will those people in the background be moving out of frame soon so that they don't ruin the picture..you get the idea and the list goes on and so do the distractions

Don’t worry Steve, I’ve not taken it hard. (Please excuse the lack of emo icons as sometimes I’m not sure as to which one to use). I am a little peeved at the fact there were so many little things that are fundamental rules in photography and that I had not even contemplated before submitting my photo. But I have a desire to learn and only by reading everyone’s thoughts can I improve. Last but not least, I did ask for opinions on how I could improve on these and with the advice and opinions I will. I have learned a lot and I am grateful for everyone’s help.
Many thanks.
Ken.