Try Portrait, Try Landscape, Try Composition, Try Color ...

[Brian Wong]

EOS 40D, 16-35/2.8 @16mm
1 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600, tripod mount, bracketed manual exposure off sky

Try Portrait, Try Landscape, Try Composition, Try Color ...

In reading the "Eager to Learn" post by Cheryl Flory "Image needs help":

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ad.php?t=34816

I too, often find myself wondering how best to photograph a given situation. So what to do? The time is well before sunrise, is seriously backlit, and the wild subject easily spooked.

In this image, because it was so dark, I didn't think that a portrait of the subject was easy to happen. So this is my attempt at working the situation with what I had ... I thought start going wide, and try making a landscape. See if I can capture the color. In experimenting, I have found that I buck the general exposure trend here (in exposing to the rightmost histogram). In this case, I was bracketing, and have found that -1 or even -2 can really help bring out the color in the sky. Does the intense color and gradient draw you to the subject, and can you tell what the subject is? Does it work for you?

Thank you for looking, and your suggestions are always appreciated.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Brian, you did a nice job with the exposure. You hit upon the right combination to capture a pretty glow along with the gradient. Compositionally there are a number of ways to go with the image. Leave it alone is one...make it into a pano is another cropping half the shaded area off the bottom and reducing the sky by half.
Offsetting the horses from being near the middle by cropping a bit more off the left. A suggestion.... In the future, if you can, try and wait until there is separation between the subjects. The 4 horses on the left make a strong silouette compared to the others merging on the right. I know thats easier said than done but makes for a stronger image.

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Brain,
Does the intense color and gradient draw you to the subject,
It does for me. I love the colors and gradient.

and can you tell what the subject is?
Horses right;) For being so small in frame they really jump out at me.

Does it work for you?
This works for me. Nice as is but, it might be interested in looking at some different compositions. I might take a bit of the bottom and some off left (our left).

Thanks for sharing.

Phil

[Christopher Miller]

Brian, Very interesting image full of possibilites. Did a good job with the exposure. Your current composition is'nt bad at all, but I would definitely try some different comps as well. In particular would like to see the horses more to the left.

I realize this might not have been possible in this situation, but IMO zooming in more would have created a stronger silhouette since the horses would then be larger in the frame. Just an idea for future reference. :)

[Alfred Forns]

Excellent image Brian ... and great critiques !!!

I do like the intense colors and you nailed the exposure !! Agree on moving the animals left and separation would have been good. Was thinking on the pano corp but like the colors up top so much ... don't want to loose them !!! Big Congrats !!

[Lance Peters]

HI Brian - love the colours and the shilloutte - as mentioned getting the subjects out of the centre a bit would make it stronger, as would some separation between the horses. But still a nice one to have :)

[David Thomasson]

Beautiful shot, great exposure! Others mentioned the possibility of moving the animals toward one side or the other. Once you start down that road ... (hope you don't mine -- I could just "see" this in my mind and had to try it).

[Brian Wong]

Beautiful shot, great exposure! Others mentioned the possibility of moving the animals toward one side or the other. Once you start down that road ... (hope you don't mine -- I could just "see" this in my mind and had to try it).

Hi David!

Don't mind at all! And I LOVE your repost!

The image offers a possible suggestion in response to a prior post by Cheryl. Since my image only has a few simple elements, I think it is a very valuable learning experience for all of us to say WHY a change would make it better.

The image is the result of working given situation to prevent a blah "snap-shot" photograph that I am always struggling and fighting against. As I mentioned, please check out the histogram. Many stated "nailed exposure" ... and yet it is no where near "exposed the right" (which would have resulted in no color in the sky).

I was trying to work with color and I felt that the only element I had that would move the eye around to my subject was the gradient ... therefore my resistance to crop from the top as mentioned by Alfred.

The horses were mostly grazing (static) ... so where to place them, left, center, or right? ... and why??

I love what David did as the position of the single horse now has plenty of negative space for the horse to walk into (to the left). I also like the right placement (with the horse facing left) ... as it is my natural tendency to read from left to right ... and in this case it stops my eye at the subject horse after traveling CLEAR ACROSS the image. I LOVE that!

With only a few simple elements, I don't mind, please experiment and repost ... and then tell us WHY you think it is an improvement. It is a great learning situation, and we can all share and learn from it. What makes an image pop? We are all trying to create "wow" images ... and not "ordinary" images.

(P.S. I believe the forum is trying to get away from the term "shot" ... and suggest using the term "image", "photograph", "create", etc. as useful substitutions.)

[Lance Peters]

Hi Brian - in my mind there is .....

Technically correct exposure (In this case would not have been what you wanted)
Creativley correct exposure (Which gives what you see above) and in that respect its was NAILED.

Just my two cents :)