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Chloe Kramer's picture

Grazer

This photo has a one star on my portfolio. I was just wondering what is wrong with it. Thanks!

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1 Comment

1. It is a bit dark. This is particularly true of the shadow areas in the upper corners and in the cow where you are losing detail. It appears there may have been a vignette applied but it appears a disproportionately heavy in the upper corners.

2. The entire image is out of focus. There is nothing wrong with front or back bokeh but, in most cases, the subject ought to be in focus. Assuming the cow is the intended subject, it is too soft. This also contributes to the grass looking muddy. Whether this is a product of motion blur resulting from hand holding a slow shutter speed or just improper focus, I cannot say.

3. Generally, when the subject is something with eyes, eye contact is critical. The exception would be the subject doing something that would preclude eye contact (for instance a predator focused on prey).

4. The telephone pole to the right distracts from the otherwise bucolic farm scene. Cropping it out would bring the edge in too close to the cow's tail but the pole could be cloned out.

5. I find the bright orange ear tags distracting in the otherwise muted scene. I would clone them out or, at the very least, desaturate them a bit.

6. The light is flat. Ideally, you try again in better light. Alternatively, get creative with dodging and burning but that's never going to be a substitute for good light.

7. Finally, a cow in a field is a very common scene. That means you have to have extraordinary conditions to make it stand out. I shoot wildlife, in addition to the landscapes on my profile. It would be a dream come true to have any images of something super rare like a snow leopard. Conversely, if I'm shooting a common grey squirrel, it had better be learning to use fire.