this pic that i shoot at padang was bout last few mths.. while im chilling with my cousin..ask him to rest... then i jus shoot randomly but i did focus on wat i wanna shoot.. this piece i thought was a gd composition and outcome was great. Any comments so i can improve in any areas, like exposure.... thanks
1/60s at f5.8.. ISO 200 and focal length 55mm.. D100
the first step to improvement is being extremely self-critical, but not to the point where you start putting yourself down in the hopes of people pumping you up.
first of all, i see a try in the use of thirds. that is fine, but blindly applying a rule is as bad as not knowing it. composition is the fine arrangement of elements in the picture, so that it turns out either aesthetically pleasing, or to direct attention to a clear message that the photographer intends to stand out. there are rules (or rather, guides) but they can be broken.. gaining the sense of how a pleasant arrangement feels like is important.
what is the problem with the composition here? first off, much too top heavy. i see the guy, i see the guitar, then i see a lot of empty grass. does the empty grass do anything for me in terms of the picture? does it strengthen any message (what is the message, anyways?!)? does it add? does the picture do better without it?
secondly - do you think this is the best angle of your cousin? this angle emphasises a few things - the undersides of his nostrils immediately jump into sight. to be honest, for 90% of people this is one of the worst angles to take, because they will end up looking like they have potential to costar in planet of the apes.
what do you intend to convey? i see a guy frolicking weirdly in the grass, i see his guitar, i see his guitar case (distracting, another point to note) behind him. is this meant to be a story?
lastly - the grass is much too saturated, the greens are popping out of the screen for me. that can work, if you understand it, but i don't think that was exactly your intention here.. :think:
i hope you take this the right way, because i have zero intentions of putting you down (though it may seem so, and i suspect the usual troublemakers will paint it as such).