Thoughts for improvment please, compositionm and processing

[Misled]

Doug, I would tend to agree with your statement regarding depth, as it is something I often struggle with when composing but never really realized until recently. Depth highlighted or leveraged is what actually makes many photographs work, irrespective of the processing or other aspects of the composition. Understanding DOF appears to only be a start, as the rest is imagination and understanding how the DOF will affect the actual composition. I suppose the camera is no different than a paintbrush or any other tool, it takes talent, imagination and practice to master.

This is truer than you realize. Having in focus items in the foreground help to show the depth of the image. They should also tend to lead the eye to the central point of interest. Having the out of focus item won't show the depth. It can also be distracting. It does help show the point of interest when an object is not removable though. It may distract some, but the eye still goes to the focused part of the image.

I have a 77mm Nikon CP you can play with for a while if you'd like. At the cost of some lenses, it seems expensive, but you'll see the difference if comparing it to a 50 buck CP.

 

[JaYbIrD1969]

This is turning into a good thread. My photography is primarily wildlife and nature with some architecture and landscape sprinkled in. I would like to know more about composing landscape/cityscape and abstract photos. depth of field is certainly something I need to know more about. specifically deciding the most effective focus point in a complex scape scene. I really need to learn to see art in everyday scenes and exploit them with my lens. Id say my biggest deficit as a photographer is I walk right by potential masterpieces without a second glance.
I may consider taking a class to help me open my eyes to things I regularly miss

 

[IPT]

an old one of mine, not the best image but illustrates my point. Graduated ND done in post so technically an HDR since the foreground was in the shade and quite dark. Often times opportunities for good images are missed simply because was always look at things from our standing (height) vantage point. You need to bend over, stoop, or climb on things. Sometimes a simple vantage point change can make all the difference in the world. One of the best investments I ever made was a tripod that went taller then me. Then I could stand on stuff, or the edge of a cliff with a leg or two hanging over and still use the tripod.

Looking at this image I remember purposely moving to the right so the taller Lupine created a visual line that lead the eye to opening in the background where the mountains and cloudy sky were. Sometimes an inch or two is all it takes. Be mindful of the lines in your images. They present in many manners and unless your doing architecture they may not always be so apparent.



Natures natural lines draw attention and pull the viewer into an image. Once again I got way down low for this image. That allowed the creek to be wider where it entered the frame and thinner as it went back. The brain knows that taper as perspective and that can create depth.



Shadows and light can also really pull a viewer in as well as a strong foreground element.