NDP Preview March

miki_mich · 12th August 2008

Hi,

I took this pic while the parade is going on and I saw a person being patriotic raises his flag high up for a period of time.

Did some PS on it.

Please give me some comment on the composition and other stuff.

I took this with Canon S3.

pplneedthelord · 12th August 2008

picture seems a little too noisy. was there any reason why you cropped the picture to a square?

miki_mich · 12th August 2008

Yeah.. it is noisy.. cos by this time, its evening time..

If I set my ISO lower, I will get darker image. If I tune the shutter the speed, I will get blurry photo.

So I set my ISO higher, which in turn gave me a noisy pic.

.
I am still pretty new to photo techniques. Correct me if I am wrong.

As for the crop, I thought it might looks better in a square.

What went wrong in this photo? Please advise me!

pplneedthelord · 12th August 2008

nothing went wrong with the pic. except for the noise that i pointed out

perhaps next time you could add a frame to the pic. it might look nicer in different situations

calebk · 12th August 2008

Originally Posted by miki_mich

Yeah.. it is noisy.. cos by this time, its evening time..

If I set my ISO lower, I will get darker image. If I tune the shutter the speed, I will get blurry photo.

So I set my ISO higher, which in turn gave me a noisy pic. .
I am still pretty new to photo techniques. Correct me if I am wrong.

As for the crop, I thought it might looks better in a square.

What went wrong in this photo? Please advise me!

Don't crop for cropping's sake. With the crop, you have effectively halved the flag. Do you have a copy of the original image somewhere, for us to look at?

Composition is weird too - the image is titled NDP Preview March but I see no one marching. If not for the fact that I am a Singaporean and I know what the NDP entails, I would not know what a suspended flag (with no visible person holding it up) has to do with a NDP preview march.

Exposure wise, it is a bit too bright too and the flag starts to blend into the background (which is also a close shade of white).

miki_mich · 12th August 2008

This is the original photo, without cropping and PS.

I did not manage to catch the person's hand holding the flag though.

calebk · 12th August 2008

You managed to capture the whole flag, but is there a reason why you would perform a square crop, at the expense of cutting the flag?

miki_mich · 12th August 2008

eh... i thought by showing the whole flag it looks too flat or empty..
so I thought cropping it might be a good idea.

Wat would u suggest for the composition? should i just leave it like that?

miki_mich · 12th August 2008

Originally Posted by pplneedthelord

nothing went wrong with the pic. except for the noise that i pointed out

perhaps next time you could add a frame to the pic. it might look nicer in different situations

Thanks! Will take note of that. Will try to add a frame to see how it look.

kruger · 12th August 2008

Your title does not match what your picture is trying to show. When it was cropped to square, the background was a total blur, did not even show anything about march, just the flag alone is not enough to tell people it's at NDP. At least, with your full picture, one could make out that it's at NDP but still didn't match the title. The title accompanying to a picture as it tells people what you are trying to portray in your picture.

You could start by reading through the rules and guidelines, from there, you would have a better idea.

miki_mich · 14th August 2008

Originally Posted by kruger

Your title does not match what your picture is trying to show. When it was cropped to square, the background was a total blur, did not even show anything about march, just the flag alone is not enough to tell people it's at NDP. At least, with your full picture, one could make out that it's at NDP but still didn't match the title. The title accompanying to a picture as it tells people what you are trying to portray in your picture.

You could start by reading through the rules and guidelines, from there, you would have a better idea.

Oh.. okie... Sorry for that. I will be more careful with the title next time. Thanks for that.

siriuslim · 14th August 2008

actually on the contrary, I think the composition is quite ok when I see the original uncropped photo. Did you crop it because that microphone pole at the background?
Anyway, the national flag with the background of the parade form-up tells me a story of patriotism of nation day. Probably a title alone this line might be more suitable, it depends what story you want to tell using this photo. also it will be best if have capture the hand that waving the flag... anyway, good attempt... keep shooting.

Just my 2cent...

miki_mich · 14th August 2008

Originally Posted by siriuslim

actually on the contrary, I think the composition is quite ok when I see the original uncropped photo. Did you crop it because that microphone pole at the background?
Anyway, the national flag with the background of the parade form-up tells me a story of patriotism of nation day. Probably a title alone this line might be more suitable, it depends what story you want to tell using this photo. also it will be best if have capture the hand that waving the flag... anyway, good attempt... keep shooting.

Just my 2cent...

Thanks Siriuslim.

Part of the reason is due to the mic pole too. I had a good view from my seat but everything that i captured has the mic pole in it.. haha...

This was an impromptu moment as I can't control how long does this person wanna lift up hand for, so i juZ snap whatever i can... Will try to be more alert next time!

Hm... I shall be more careful with title next time, and I have been lookin thru the forum and i realise that title is REALLY very important to the photo. Will try harder next time.

Thanks for you comment. I will try to take sharper photo next time.

cheguthamrin · 14th August 2008

I would have taken LOTS of photos of flags, cos I'm very sure thats not the only ONE flag raised up, right?
Pick the best shot, then put up for critique - I'm sure you can always do better, keep on shooting!

Lessons learnt here-
1- dont crop for fun
2- noise control
3- framing if necessary
4- titles are 1st impressions

PS: can i put up my version here?

miki_mich · 14th August 2008

haha.. yes, there were lotsa of flags raised, but hard to find one that stay high up there for long...
Yeah, I am still a newbie here, so hopefully i will get better shots next time.

Great to be able to learn so much from the experts here!~ really thanks for all ya comments!...

not so sure whether u can put yr version up here, but no harm tryin... i guesss...

cheguthamrin · 15th August 2008

My versions -

and

Thanks TS
Pointer: I realised that having included the hand would enhance the compo - what do you think

attap seed · 16th August 2008

the concept is good.

flag as foreground, marching troops as background.

but the depth of field is too shallow.

the background is a total blur and dun tell the story.

miki_mich · 18th August 2008

Originally Posted by attap seed

the concept is good.

flag as foreground, marching troops as background.

but the depth of field is too shallow.

the background is a total blur and dun tell the story.

okie.. will take note of that..

Will try again.. eh... next year? haha...

cheguthamrin · 18th August 2008

Sometimes, we cant have the luxury of having the marching troops in the background with the waving flag as the foreground. The original picture is actually ok; just that you've decided to give the title such - that it misleads the photo.

stormweaver · 18th August 2008

i realise the original image seems stronger than the 1 not cropped/tweaked with ps. image turned out to be rather... more "off" the theme n background is rather not as obvious than b4 edit.

work on the framing i gues. next yr i hope to have a chance to get back in there again too.

cheers!

12th August 2008	#1
miki_mich New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 27	NDP Preview March Hi, I took this pic while the parade is going on and I saw a person being patriotic raises his flag high up for a period of time. Did some PS on it. Please give me some comment on the composition and other stuff. I took this with Canon S3.

12th August 2008	#2
pplneedthelord Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: serangoon Posts: 1,579	Re: NDP Preview March picture seems a little too noisy. was there any reason why you cropped the picture to a square? __________________ 40D+17-50 f/2.8+30 f/1.4+430EXII www.pplneedthelord.blogspot.com l www.flickr.com/pplneedthelord

12th August 2008	#3
miki_mich New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 27	Re: NDP Preview March Yeah.. it is noisy.. cos by this time, its evening time.. If I set my ISO lower, I will get darker image. If I tune the shutter the speed, I will get blurry photo. So I set my ISO higher, which in turn gave me a noisy pic. . I am still pretty new to photo techniques. Correct me if I am wrong. As for the crop, I thought it might looks better in a square. What went wrong in this photo? Please advise me!

12th August 2008	#4
pplneedthelord Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: serangoon Posts: 1,579	Re: NDP Preview March nothing went wrong with the pic. except for the noise that i pointed out perhaps next time you could add a frame to the pic. it might look nicer in different situations __________________ 40D+17-50 f/2.8+30 f/1.4+430EXII www.pplneedthelord.blogspot.com l www.flickr.com/pplneedthelord

12th August 2008	#6
miki_mich New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 27	Re: NDP Preview March This is the original photo, without cropping and PS. I did not manage to catch the person's hand holding the flag though.

12th August 2008	#7
calebk Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Clementi Posts: 10,476	Re: NDP Preview March You managed to capture the whole flag, but is there a reason why you would perform a square crop, at the expense of cutting the flag? __________________ deviantART \| fotologue

12th August 2008	#8
miki_mich New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 27	Re: NDP Preview March eh... i thought by showing the whole flag it looks too flat or empty.. so I thought cropping it might be a good idea. Wat would u suggest for the composition? should i just leave it like that?

12th August 2008	#10
kruger Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Tampines Posts: 894	Re: NDP Preview March Your title does not match what your picture is trying to show. When it was cropped to square, the background was a total blur, did not even show anything about march, just the flag alone is not enough to tell people it's at NDP. At least, with your full picture, one could make out that it's at NDP but still didn't match the title. The title accompanying to a picture as it tells people what you are trying to portray in your picture. You could start by reading through the rules and guidelines, from there, you would have a better idea.

14th August 2008	#12
siriuslim Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Pasir Ris Posts: 391	Re: NDP Preview March actually on the contrary, I think the composition is quite ok when I see the original uncropped photo. Did you crop it because that microphone pole at the background? Anyway, the national flag with the background of the parade form-up tells me a story of patriotism of nation day. Probably a title alone this line might be more suitable, it depends what story you want to tell using this photo. also it will be best if have capture the hand that waving the flag... anyway, good attempt... keep shooting. Just my 2cent... __________________ My Flickr

14th August 2008	#14
cheguthamrin Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: 600060 Posts: 1,270	Re: NDP Preview March I would have taken LOTS of photos of flags, cos I'm very sure thats not the only ONE flag raised up, right? Pick the best shot, then put up for critique - I'm sure you can always do better, keep on shooting! Lessons learnt here- 1- dont crop for fun 2- noise control 3- framing if necessary 4- titles are 1st impressions PS: can i put up my version here? __________________ Already abused my D40 and D80 for my flickr Last edited by cheguthamrin; 14th August 2008 at 12:32 PM.

14th August 2008	#15
miki_mich New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 27	Re: NDP Preview March haha.. yes, there were lotsa of flags raised, but hard to find one that stay high up there for long... Yeah, I am still a newbie here, so hopefully i will get better shots next time. Great to be able to learn so much from the experts here!~ really thanks for all ya comments!... not so sure whether u can put yr version up here, but no harm tryin... i guesss...

15th August 2008	#16
cheguthamrin Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: 600060 Posts: 1,270	Re: NDP Preview March My versions - and Thanks TS Pointer: I realised that having included the hand would enhance the compo - what do you think __________________ Already abused my D40 and D80 for my flickr Last edited by cheguthamrin; 15th August 2008 at 11:32 PM.

16th August 2008	#17
attap seed Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 541	Re: NDP Preview March the concept is good. flag as foreground, marching troops as background. but the depth of field is too shallow. the background is a total blur and dun tell the story.

18th August 2008	#19
cheguthamrin Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: 600060 Posts: 1,270	Re: NDP Preview March Sometimes, we cant have the luxury of having the marching troops in the background with the waving flag as the foreground. The original picture is actually ok; just that you've decided to give the title such - that it misleads the photo. __________________ Already abused my D40 and D80 for my flickr

18th August 2008	#20
stormweaver Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: cck Posts: 129	Re: NDP Preview March i realise the original image seems stronger than the 1 not cropped/tweaked with ps. image turned out to be rather... more "off" the theme n background is rather not as obvious than b4 edit. work on the framing i gues. next yr i hope to have a chance to get back in there again too. cheers!