Friday Photo Critique #29

Friday Photo Critique #29

on Apr 23rd 2010 with 15 comments

Friday Photo Critique is our weekly community project, where we publish a photograph submitted by one of our wonderful readers, then ask you all to offer constructive feedback on the image.

It’s a great way to learn more about photography, express your viewpoint, and have your own image critiqued. Your response will also be displayed with a link to your website or portfolio, so be sure to enter it correctly when submitting a comment!

Quick Ground Rules

  1. Play nice! We’ve deliberately chosen photographs that aren’t perfect, so please be constructive with any criticism.
  2. Feel free to offer any type of advice – composition, lighting, post-processing etc.
  3. You can also link to photographs that you feel offer a great example of this type of image shot exceptionally well.

Without further ado, here is this week’s candidate for Friday Photo Critique!

The Photograph

Photo Critique

Photographer: David Borel

Please let us know what you think in the comments – how would you have approached the scene or taken the photo differently? A massive thank you to everyone who commented last week.

The most constructive and helpful comments will be featured on the site, and you’ll also be given priority to feature your own work in a future Friday Photo Critique!.

David Appleyard is davidappleyard on Themeforest
 
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David Appleyard is a designer and writer based in the UK. He manages Tuts+, along with having founded several design websites including Design Shack and PixelsDaily.  

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  • http://lenkerdesign.com Jason Lenker

    I would have loved to see this same image from a higher elevation. The depth would have been nice. Still, a great photo.

    • http://simplicityssake.tumblr.com Karma

      If I know where this photo is taken (I ride the ferry past it everyday for school) that wouldn’t be possible because it’s an island with low buildings and judging by angle, this might be from a boat?

  • Adoniram

    It’s a nice, quiet moment. However, there are a few things that could make this scene shine. The entire exposure could have +1 EV to +1.5 EV. If the photographer had access to ND grads, he could have pulled more detail into the silhouettes without losing the night feel, while keeping the rich saturation in the sky.

    Even if you did not have a physical ND filter, similar ends could be achieved using the gradient tool in Adobe Raw. Dodging the building up a bit will draw the eye into the details (maybe +.25 / +.5 EV).

    Finally, while the wide angle presents an open and airy feeling scene, the subtle horizon lines and bridge could bring a lot more to the composition if the photographer were to choose a longer lens and move slightly lower to the ground. The lower angle would maintain the presence of the buildings on the right of the composition, while the longer lens would tighten up the distance between the foreground and background, drawing the eye across the scene, rather than leaving the viewer stuck in the right.

    Some small issues might remain: the light burning at the edge of the frame should probably be cropped out, as it draws the eye out of the composition entirely.

    The image has a good feel.

  • http://drecart.com/ d_rec

    I’d probably remove the antenna from the building’s roof as it leads my eye out of the image. Other than that, maybe a slightly longer exposure to bring out some detail in the wall along the waters edge

  • http://www.lukeeatondesigns.blogspot.com Luke

    I think it would be nice if you could straighten up the building so that it does not look like it is leaning. It is a little distracting to me. I also agree with the above comment about removing the antenna, it leads my eye out of the photo too.

  • http://www.nowheremanphotos.com Mike Wilson

    I’m not a landscape guy, but there’s a couple of minor things that immediately jump out at me. As d_rec said the antenna (or flagpole) on the building is kind of distracting, as is that streetlight on the far-right that’s getting cut off.

    The other thing is that, while there’s some very nice colors in the sky, having a few clouds in there could really help add some drama that I think is lacking here.

    Lastly, I’d like to see some more detail in the building. Not sure if the info’s there and you can dodge it out or if you’d need to do some subtle HDR-ing. An GND filter would have helped when shooting it.

    All in all, it’s a very nice shot and this crit is relatively minor stuff. Great job!

  • http://www.thedphoto.com Diana Eftaiha

    love it. maybe a little underexposed especially along the water edge. and yeah, id remove the antenna.
    all in all, great capture though
    more power!!

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/macbrains/ David Borel

    Hi, thanks a lot for your comments. It is really valuable for me to get your experienced remarks since I had some difficulties to find the right setup for this shot.

    The pole and far right light are distracting. Removing the light should not change dramatically the shape of the picture but the pole is difficult to cut without losing this nicely lightened building.

    Once again, I really appreciate your comments. Keep giving tips :-)
    David

  • http://flickr.com/sobjac Phillip Jacobs

    I feel like there is too much going on in the image with the left side being the bride and water and the right side have a huge building towering over it.

    It just doesn’t work in my opinion.

    You’d need to move the horizon to the top with the water below and the building smaller and further toward the center. That might help but I doubt it. I still think the perspective is off either way.

    However, I think the photo is well shot and everything is good except for the composition/concept.

  • http://flickr.com/sobjac Phillip Jacobs

    I meant bridge not bride. sorry for the misspelling.

    And I believe I was saying the same thing as Jason Lenker previously wrote…

  • Alireza Yaghoubi

    I can’t give a 100% constructive comment, because I was not there to see the surroundings, although I can comment based on my presumptions.
    Overall, it’s a great photo. Great harmony of lights and colors. Good perspective…

    Maybe you like raw photos more, but to me, almost every photo needs a little bit of post-processing.
    As our other friends already mentioned, you could have removed the antenna, or those cars or even the lamppost; but again, it depends on you. Some of the people like normal and non-ideal pictures way more (having random people, car, and other objects in the landscape).

    I would have personally preferred to take the picture from a lower altitude to achieve a higher depth (i.e. concentrating more on the sea and the building rather than the beach seen on the lower left).

    Moreover I think a bit darker sky (not too much) would have made it much better. Now the building which seems to be one of the main objects is a bit darkened in compare to its surroundings. You can edit that in Photoshop or whatever software you use by creating two layers (the sea+sky and the building) and adjust the lights.

  • JF

    I would try different cropping alternatives since I feel there is a lack of balance in the photo. The sky part is nice but offers no “hook”, the eye keeps getting pulled to the right which is dark and lacking in details. Although all elements have value they don’t seem to dance together.

  • Keith

    The building looks interesting! I think it would be nice to have some detail of it by brightening it up. Longer shutter speed perhaps? I was thinking of HDR, but it’s becoming way too common for me. Photoshop would be another great alternative.

    Overall, I think this photo’s pretty well composed. =]

    Keith

  • http://www.jscampos.com Jose Campos

    I would a little bit of negative space or take it from a farther place so i could include more of the building, the street and the river, and a higher angle would be good too

  • http://www.henryalva.com Henry

    I really like this shot as is. If I had to do anything; I would crop it down a bit. You could crop up to the bridge on the left and some of the building on the right since you can’t see to much detail anyway. I don’t think it would be missed.

    Maybe a longer exposure to soften the water a bit too.

    I would have also taken some more shots to make an HDR image just to bring out some of the detail in the building then this crop might look a lot better.

    But overall the colors and shot are great as is.