New picture, new theme, pick this one apart!

[augustmelody]

I've learned a LOT in my first week on dgrin, and I tried to apply it to this photo. It'll be an easy reshoot, so let me know what ya don't like :deal

Is there any other info that you'd like about it? The conditions I took it in? I don't know what's customary in a post like this, so give me some pointers :dunno

Personally, I think it's too soft, and I'm not quite sure why it's so grainy. Could that be from uploading it? Also, I'm not sure whether I like the reflection off the faucet or not. I think it draws too much attention away from the drip, which was the intended focal point. I'm not sure how to fix that because unless there is NO light at all, there is going to be a reflection. Any ideas? Your opinions?
http://a891.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/84/l_f4d3f8236accec3946f5e4b6a44a20aa.jpg

[DavidTO]

Well, first thing is: The Whipping Post is for your best work. Is a soft picture your best work? :D

Have you read the rules? The WP has different rules than the rest of dgrin, meant to be great teaching tools and also for you to raise the bar on your own personal best. :ear

[augustmelody]

Well, first thing is: The Whipping Post is for your best work. Is a soft picture your best work? :D

Have you read the rules? The WP has different rules than the rest of dgrin, meant to be great teaching tools and also for you to raise the bar on your own personal best. :ear

For now, I don't have much better than that. I'm such a novice that I need more help with the technical things than the more detailed aspects of fine points of photography. How could I get a sharper image? What ISO setting should I use, what type of lighting, etc?

And yes, I have read the rules, although I very well could be forgetting something. :scratch

[DavidTO]

Well, if your questions are more technique and technology centered, then our Technique and Finishing Schools can be more help, as the WP is not intended to be a how-to. You're likely to hear back the same critiques you've already given. It's soft and noisy. But you also may be surprised and get some feedback you weren't expecting.

To be clear, I'm not asking you to move it, or anything. Just being clear. :thumb

[augustmelody]

Well, if your questions are more technique and technology centered, then our Technique and Finishing Schools can be more help, as the WP is not intended to be a how-to. You're likely to hear back the same critiques you've already given. It's soft and noisy. But you also may be surprised and get some feedback you weren't expecting.

To be clear, I'm not asking you to move it, or anything. Just being clear. :thumb

I'll clarify - What flaws, both major and minor (I'm hoping to find out some of the details that my uneducated eye didn't pick out), does this photo have? What can I fix? How can they be fixed? (Should I start a separate thread about that in the Technique and Finishing School topic? I don't know these things yet!) What are the good points that I should aim to keep if I do a re-shoot?

If this post is better suited for another forum, please do move it if you have that capability as a moderator. Thank you for the information.

[PhilCollum]

I'm a beginner, too, but I'll share my thoughts as best I can. I'm going to try to be constructive by telling you what I might suggest to shoot this again...

First, what I like: I like the overall concept you're going with. The drop of water at the sink seems like it has some decent potential as a subject. I also like your choice of shutter speed (captuing the drop in mid-stream) and DOF.

I also like the way you've captured the drop of water, although I might also like to see a drop that has separated from the stream and has been caught in mid-air.

What I don't like: The background, although blurred by DOF, still appears "inordinary" and not very well thought out. The background also tends to blend in too much with your subject, making the whole image look muddy. I might have tried placing something more unique or more appropriate in the background. Something that would add some contrast as well as some context... Say, perhaps, a selection of white plates and silverware, stacked as though waiting to be washed. Then, by limiting your DOF a bit more, you add context to your photo.

The light background area at the bottom of the frame is distriacting, since the drop of water seems to be resting on it.

I'm also not a fan of the lighting. Again, it leaves the faucet and background looking flat and muddled together. You might try checking out the strobist blog (http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/) for a lot of great advise on creative low-cost lighting techniques.

As far as focus goes, your focus appears to be on the drop... which leaves the faucet itself OOF. Tightening the aperature a bit would help both the drop AND the faucet stay in sharp focus.

Lastly, the faucet itself seems somewhat "blah" and inordinary. Not very interesting as a subject... the drops of water are far more interesting, and you might choose to frame this photo to emphisize them more (i.e. crop the top 90% of the faucet, and zoom in more). Otherwise it's a faucet. Nothing more, nothing less.

That being said, I commend you for posting and for diving into the Whipping Post. In the few photos I've posted so far, I've found the frank and specific criticism immensely helpful. So, I hope this helps you as well! :D

[augustmelody]

I'm a beginner, too, but I'll share my thoughts as best I can. I'm going to try to be constructive by telling you what I might suggest to shoot this again...

First, what I like: I like the overall concept you're going with. The drop of water at the sink seems like it has some decent potential as a subject. I also like your choice of shutter speed (captuing the drop in mid-stream) and DOF.

I also like the way you've captured the drop of water, although I might also like to see a drop that has separated from the stream and has been caught in mid-air.

What I don't like: The background, although blurred by DOF, still appears "inordinary" and not very well thought out. The background also tends to blend in too much with your subject, making the whole image look muddy. I might have tried placing something more unique or more appropriate in the background. Something that would add some contrast as well as some context... Say, perhaps, a selection of white plates and silverware, stacked as though waiting to be washed. Then, by limiting your DOF a bit more, you add context to your photo.

The light background area at the bottom of the frame is distriacting, since the drop of water seems to be resting on it.

I'm also not a fan of the lighting. Again, it leaves the faucet and background looking flat and muddled together. You might try checking out the strobist blog (http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/) for a lot of great advise on creative low-cost lighting techniques.

As far as focus goes, your focus appears to be on the drop... which leaves the faucet itself OOF. Tightening the aperature a bit would help both the drop AND the faucet stay in sharp focus.

Lastly, the faucet itself seems somewhat "blah" and inordinary. Not very interesting as a subject... the drops of water are far more interesting, and you might choose to frame this photo to emphisize them more (i.e. crop the top 90% of the faucet, and zoom in more). Otherwise it's a faucet. Nothing more, nothing less.

That being said, I commend you for posting and for diving into the Whipping Post. In the few photos I've posted so far, I've found the frank and specific criticism immensely helpful. So, I hope this helps you as well! :D

Thank you VERY much. I will try out everything you told me, and that link looks like it will be very helpful.

I have another n00b question for you, don't laugh, but what exactly does changing the aperature do? How does that change the composition of the photo? Please attempt to explain in english because camera lingo is worse than greek to me! :rolleyes Does changing the aperature "limit the DOF" as you mentioned? What does that mean?

Thank you, that was exactly the kind of constructive criticism that I was hoping to get :thumb I don't know enough to pick out the details that you saw, nor do I know how to fix the things that need to be changed.

[schmoo]

augustmelody, I admire you for jumping in with both feet! I understand this is all very confusing at first but as long as you start at the beginning and stay open to advice it'll just get better and easier. :)

You're asking some very basic questions (which is good! Lots of people don't ask questions) so checking out the link below for the glossary of photography terminology may help you out.

Dgrin has a wealth of information in it, which sometimes makes doing even a simple forum search a bit arduous, but there's a ton of knowledgeable people here willing to share. :D

[augustmelody]

augustmelody, I admire you for jumping in with both feet! I understand this is all very confusing at first but as long as you start at the beginning and stay open to advice it'll just get better and easier. :)

You're asking some very basic questions (which is good! Lots of people don't ask questions) so checking out the link below for the glossary of photography terminology may help you out.

Dgrin has a wealth of information in it, which sometimes makes doing even a simple forum search a bit arduous, but there's a ton of knowledgeable people here willing to share. :D

Thanks! I'll look at those links. I've already learned a TON. I lurked for a little while before signing up, and just reading and lurking on here is what finally inspired me to switch my camera off of the auto settings and play around with all of the manual DSLR features, and now I'm glad I did! :barb

I definitely know what you mean about having so much information that it's next to impossible to find the answers to specific questions. I did a search for "how to post exif" and I came up with a hundred threads where exifs were posted, but no step by step instructions before I gave up :huh

[gus]

Get some more light on it...by that i mean a few lights from diff angles & put something in front of the lights to diffuse them like a bit of paper/cloth. That image really stuggles for focus...maybe your too close ?

[augustmelody]

Get some more light on it...by that i mean a few lights from diff angles & put something in front of the lights to diffuse them like a bit of paper/cloth. That image really stuggles for focus...maybe your too close ?

That's a great idea, thank you! I never would have thought of something like that.

I think the focus issue was more because I just failed to focus it well manually. I was a good two feet away from the faucet.

[Scott_Quier]

Here are my thoughts:

I like your idea - it's quite dynamic. There are some things that could be improved:

Background color is too similar to that of the faucet. The faucet kind of gets lost. It might be cool to use a black background, with no light on it to focus attention on the faucet and drop of water.
If the drop is the focus, limit even more the amount of the image take up with the faucet. Slow down the flow of water to increase the possibility that you will get separated drops.
More light on the image might be a good thing. This will allow you to close down the aperture a bit, thus increasing the depth of field, improving the chances that both the faucet and the drop are in focus.
Noise - this is usually caused by either high ISO or recovery from an under-exposed image
Background - that nearly horizontal lighter color at the bottom of the frame is quite distracting. See first comment.
Usually, when water (or anything else) falls, it falls straight down. You need to straighten this image a bit.
Do you want to think about cleaning up the scum on the end of the faucet? If it's not the focus of the image, this might be a good idea.
Think about cloning out the nick(s) next to the highlight.


Please take these ideas/concepts and re-shoot. The image has lots of promise.