Photo Critique

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NewYorkHerper16
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Photo Critique

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bgorum
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Re: Photo Critique

Post by bgorum »

The hognose snake is pretty nice! I'd crop it a little tighter though. That picture is all about the snake's defensive display, the colors you can see when it spreads its neck, etc. I'm afraid the landscape takes away from, rather than adds to this picture. My general advice to you would be to think about what you want to communicate in each of your pictures. Once you have determined that, then you can decide what elements need to be included in the composition and what elements need to be left out.

Another example, with the frog shot I assume you wanted to show a bit of the animals habitat along with it and to that end the out of focus portion in the upper left is not adding anything to the composition. Again a closer crop, emphasizing just the grass and the frog would be stronger. Again with the first red-eared slider, those stripes on the neck are pretty interesting visually, so crop to emphasize those. The green grass just looks like someone's lawn. The racer also needs cropping. All the empty space on the right side is adding nothing. Try that one as a square aspect ratio. Finally, the second red-eared slider is a nice close-up, but the most important diagnostic feature of the turtle, (and one which would be visually interesting), the red ear stripe is hidden. That picture would be better if you had waited out the turtle until it extended its neck. (And yes, I know how long that can take)!

I hope my suggestions don't come across as negative. I'm always a little leery of responding when people ask for critiques. On the plus side you seem to have the technical stuff, exposure, focus, etc. down, so that will allow you to concentrate on the artistic end of things. Keep shooting and have fun!
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NewYorkHerper16
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Re: Photo Critique

Post by NewYorkHerper16 »

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bgorum
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Re: Photo Critique

Post by bgorum »

NewYorkHerper16 wrote:Thank you very much! I dont find your advice to be negative at all, we all need to hear others' advice to get better so it's great when people can point out the possible negatives so that they can be changed in the future. Personaly, i like a less tight crop on a photo, but then again my taste is a little different than most people. I will definitely try cropping them more though to see how they look!

Do you think it would be easier to get away with a looser crop if the DOF wasnt as shallow and the landscape was interesting? I like the idea whole herp-in-habitat style, but at 90mm it's a challenge to get enough of the landscape in the shot to be beneficial to the picture.

Thanks again for your critique and advice, much appreciated!

-Alex
I think that the point I was trying to get across may have been muddied by my making suggestions on all of the pictures you posted. Perhaps its best to only deal with one picture at a time. We photographers have a large arsenal of techniques and artistry that we can use to get our message across when we take a picture. The point is not to always crop tighter or looser, use shallow or deep depth of field, or always shoot herp in habitat or field guide type shots. The situation we are faced with and the story we want the photo to tell will dictate the techniques we use and the way we compose the shot.

If you prefer to show herps in habitat, then that's great! A lot of my own photographs do just that. Of the pictures you posted I think 3 could be classified as herp in habitat shots- the hognose snake, the frog, and the first red-eared slider. Of those three I think the hognose snake is the most successful, so lets deal with your questions concerning only that picture for now.
NewYorkHerper16 wrote: Do you think it would be easier to get away with a looser crop if the DOF wasnt as shallow...
You do have an issue with depth of field in that shot, not so much because the habitat is out of focus, but more because the back end of the snake's body is out of focus.
NewYorkHerper16 wrote:.... and the landscape was interesting?
The landscape is interesting enough. I can see that it is sandy and open. It gives me a good sense of the kind of places this species might inhabit. Personally, I much prefer the kind of landscape you have here to the grand landscapes behind obviously posed herps that we often see in "Grismeresque" style photos.
NewYorkHerper16 wrote: I like the idea whole herp-in-habitat style, but at 90mm it's a challenge to get enough of the landscape in the shot to be beneficial to the picture.
Again, I think sometimes having a little slice of the landscape is often more effective than having the whole forest/plains/desert/whatever in the background. In fact I would again argue that this picture would be more effective if you cropped even tighter. Specifically I would suggest cropping out most of the blank sky and a lot of the right side of the photo. This would have the added benefit of placing the snake's head close to one of the rule of thirds intersections, (a good compositional device to keep in mind, just don't become a slave to it). I think if you did that you would have the same sense of the animal's habitat you have here, but you would also really emphasize all that beautiful coloration on the spread hood.

Of course you will likely buy a wide-angle lens at some point, which will allow you to include more of the habitat and which will come with its own set of problems to deal with. That's what keeps photography interesting and fun!
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NewYorkHerper16
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Re: Photo Critique

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Russ Jerome
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Re: Photo Critique

Post by Russ Jerome »

They all look great, take the pics that "you" like, I really like all of them.
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dwakefield
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Re: Photo Critique

Post by dwakefield »

Hey Alex,
First of all, let me say that I've really been enjoying your photos. I'm especially fond of your recent hognose photo, it's always great to get a photo like that of a lifer!

In terms of composition, it's been said already, but you should focus on what looks good to you. As for me, I try to shoot all different types of shots to keep things interesting. Both "in situ" and posed "field guide" type shots. Both in habitat and close ups. Head shots and scale detail shots. Narrow depth of field and broad depth of field. I also love it if I can capture the snake "doing" something, such as exhibiting defensive behaviour, etc. I always try to go into the field with an idea of what kinds of shots I want to capture and then see how many different kinds I can get. I've also started experimenting with snakes I find while cruising for them after dark. I'll pose them on the yellow road stripe and use a flash in such a way that there is just pitch black in the background. I'm trying to simulate the excitement of seeing a snake pop up in your headlights when you are cruising. Anyways, those are just some things that I try to switch it up and keep things interesting. I'm not sure if any of that is helpful, but there it is!

I should also say that, like you, I try to just use natural light for shooting whenever I can. I really prefer the way it looks. However, that becomes an issue when shooting at night! I've gotten myself an external flash and softbox for nighttime shooting and I'm really liking that too.
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NewYorkHerper16
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Re: Photo Critique

Post by NewYorkHerper16 »

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dwakefield
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Re: Photo Critique

Post by dwakefield »

Those are really cool, Alex! Would you mind posting your exposure data and how many lumens your flashlight is? I tried something similar recently and the results were less than stellar :P
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NewYorkHerper16
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Re: Photo Critique

Post by NewYorkHerper16 »

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dwakefield
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Re: Photo Critique

Post by dwakefield »

Thanks!
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Stohlgren
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Re: Photo Critique

Post by Stohlgren »

You should post larger images here. I get a much different feel from the photos when viewed large on your flickr than when looking at the small images in your post.

As Bill said, your exposure and focus are spot on, so no need to worry about that. It all comes down to composition and depth of field. I actually disagree with him somewhat on the amount of out of focus area in the images, which goes to show you a lot of what makes a "good" image is in the eye of the beholder. I really like the first three images, overall, and wouldn't change them much.

On the hognose photo, I really like the shallow depth of field. It helps to isolate the hood, and I still get enough to see the sandy dune habitat it was found in. Cropping it some wouldn't hurt, but I wouldn't go too tight on the snake, as you don't want to feel like the subject is leaving the frame. Which happens when the head is too close to one of the edges of the image. The only thing I would change would be to have the snake angling towards the camera, or at least perpendicular, rather than angling away. But they always angle away when hooding, so...

On the pickerel frog, I think you could crop more. I still wouldn't go really tight, though. Again, the narrow DOF works here to make the frog stand out. You would never want to use this narrow of a DOF on a field guide style shot, and likewise, I don't think you would want to use a wide DOF on a shot like this that shows more of the habitat, because the animal would quickly get lost.

The first slider photo has some really nice lighting and I like the pose, angle, and crop. But as Bill mentioned, I wish it were on something other than grass.
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NewYorkHerper16
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Re: Photo Critique

Post by NewYorkHerper16 »

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