everything is kinda the same tone theres not enough drama to suck you into it or bring you down the path. the texture is all the same as well which isn't helping you out i just shot a path last week and i had the same troubles it looked good on site but didn't transfer well to photo (example below). this particular shot probably needed a model or animal in frame.
Shooting a bunch of trees will hardly ever work as an image, because your image lacks the third dimension and without it, the trees blend into each other.
Unless you can separate them from each other, a concept that is known as "isolation". How do you do pull that off? Depth of field, fog, light and shadow - that kind of thing.
Imagine a row of trees and then a single tree a couple of yards in front of that row of trees. Set your aperture to f/16, what happens? Everything is in focus and the lone tree will blend into the other trees. Now open the aperture of your lens all the way and take another shot. If you focused the lone tree chances are that the row of trees os now blurred and the lone tree is clearly separated from the background. You have just added the third dimesion back into the picture, because your mind works that way. You can use fog in the same manner, obviously.
The challenge in photography is to create the illusion of depth on a piece of cardboard, so to speak.
If you have a road like the one in your image you can take advantage of that, but it has to evoke the feeling of depth in the viewer. Shooting the road straight on just compresses it which takes you back to square one: the flat cardboard paper. What you need are clues such as convergent lines, leading lines, S-curves etc., something that the mind associates with depth.
It's a bit of a stretch but the picture of mine I attached to this comment should give you an idea what you're looking for when you got a road or path and need a means of adding depth to your image.
I quite like it but it seems to lack something. I do powerpoints for Church Services and sometimes I use a shot like this to print an announcement in it.Common things I type are "communion", "offering" "church prayer" or "call to worship". Photographs like this can be a tool for communication of an idea or a theme when used in this way.It can also be used if you are teaching photography to illustrate the point that Thorsten and Joseph have made.I have a motto. "Any picture taken is better than one not taken" There are so many shots in this group that can be used for various purposes and sometimes as book covers with type in the appropriate space.
Given the current composition, and the subject you had to work with, you could easily create something a little more interesting using some processing techniques to draw the eye towards the center of the image where the path is leading. Basically, all you'd have to do is make the outside parts of the image a little darker, leading to the brighter path. Ideally, there would be something at the end of the path, but we must work with what we're given.
It might take some time and I'm not going to say it would be a 4 star image, but I've seen people do more with less.
I disagree with a lot of the feedback on this photo. I think the lighting provides this photo with a lot of depth eg the shadows between the trees, and the highlights on the edge of the trees. Processing has been done well also.
Sure maybe could use a slight vignette to draw the eye but overall nice job!
I really like it. I think maybe there is too much sharpening/clarity applied and it is making everything look a little "crispy". Otherwise, I think maybe some selective darkening around the perimeter of the trees would really guide the viewer's eye down the road and through the tunnel of trees.
everything is kinda the same tone theres not enough drama to suck you into it or bring you down the path. the texture is all the same as well which isn't helping you out i just shot a path last week and i had the same troubles it looked good on site but didn't transfer well to photo (example below). this particular shot probably needed a model or animal in frame.
Shooting a bunch of trees will hardly ever work as an image, because your image lacks the third dimension and without it, the trees blend into each other.
Unless you can separate them from each other, a concept that is known as "isolation". How do you do pull that off? Depth of field, fog, light and shadow - that kind of thing.
Imagine a row of trees and then a single tree a couple of yards in front of that row of trees. Set your aperture to f/16, what happens? Everything is in focus and the lone tree will blend into the other trees. Now open the aperture of your lens all the way and take another shot. If you focused the lone tree chances are that the row of trees os now blurred and the lone tree is clearly separated from the background. You have just added the third dimesion back into the picture, because your mind works that way. You can use fog in the same manner, obviously.
The challenge in photography is to create the illusion of depth on a piece of cardboard, so to speak.
If you have a road like the one in your image you can take advantage of that, but it has to evoke the feeling of depth in the viewer. Shooting the road straight on just compresses it which takes you back to square one: the flat cardboard paper. What you need are clues such as convergent lines, leading lines, S-curves etc., something that the mind associates with depth.
It's a bit of a stretch but the picture of mine I attached to this comment should give you an idea what you're looking for when you got a road or path and need a means of adding depth to your image.
yup i second what Thorsten said..
I quite like it but it seems to lack something. I do powerpoints for Church Services and sometimes I use a shot like this to print an announcement in it.Common things I type are "communion", "offering" "church prayer" or "call to worship". Photographs like this can be a tool for communication of an idea or a theme when used in this way.It can also be used if you are teaching photography to illustrate the point that Thorsten and Joseph have made.I have a motto. "Any picture taken is better than one not taken" There are so many shots in this group that can be used for various purposes and sometimes as book covers with type in the appropriate space.
Given the current composition, and the subject you had to work with, you could easily create something a little more interesting using some processing techniques to draw the eye towards the center of the image where the path is leading. Basically, all you'd have to do is make the outside parts of the image a little darker, leading to the brighter path. Ideally, there would be something at the end of the path, but we must work with what we're given.
It might take some time and I'm not going to say it would be a 4 star image, but I've seen people do more with less.
I disagree with a lot of the feedback on this photo. I think the lighting provides this photo with a lot of depth eg the shadows between the trees, and the highlights on the edge of the trees. Processing has been done well also.
Sure maybe could use a slight vignette to draw the eye but overall nice job!
I really like it. I think maybe there is too much sharpening/clarity applied and it is making everything look a little "crispy". Otherwise, I think maybe some selective darkening around the perimeter of the trees would really guide the viewer's eye down the road and through the tunnel of trees.