First Photograph For Critique

[TheArcane]

I went on an afternoon walk with my wife, and of course brought my camera along because you just never know when opportunity may strike. I know I have a lot of room to grow, and I would love to hear some critiques for this photograph.

Canon 450D
Canon Ultrasonic 28-105mm shot at 98mm
ISO 100
f/8.0
1/125
Shot originally in RAW, and processed in Lightroom 4. Minimal changes were made from the original however.

[Donald]

I think that in terms of 'seeing' the image in the first place, that's a good bit of work. I like the idea behind the composition. The lighting is very good.

In terms of composition ( and this is very subjective and others may not agree), I feel it is a bit tight. We've got bit of leaves (are they leaves) going out of the frame on the left and at the top. Now, sometimes that works okay. But I feel that everything is a bit squashed into the frame.

But this is a fairly minor point in terms of your developmental pathway. That's the sort of thing that becomes part of how you 'see' images. And that grows and is refined as you become more experienced. These comments don't detract from what is a pleasant and pleasing image.

[Mike Buckley]

A very attractive image. The composition issues that Donald mentions aren't issues for me. Considering the prominence of the stem and its gorgeous backlighting, I would prefer a depth of field that makes it sharp. I would eliminate the cobweb on the right side and I would at least try to eliminate the foreground cobweb that is out of focus, though doing so with that one will take considerably more time and may not be worth the effort. Others may feel that the cobwebs add interest.

[Bobobird]

Nice image nicely framed by the light.
The squashed feeling maybe due to the frame around the shot. Sometimes frames works, often times they do not because they are added as an afterthought.

[davidedric]

Excellent vision for spotting the shot, and lovely light. I agree with Donald about the composition. From the aspect ratio of the picture, you presumably have cropped it. Do you have enough outside the crop to try a rather less "squashed" version?

[TheArcane]

I appreciate the kind words, as well as the suggestions. The image actually wasn't cropped, and is as it was shot. Those are leaves in the background, and are in fact cat tail leaves. In regards to the spider webs, I liked the character they added personally, though not all may agree .

[TheArcane]

For the sake of argument, here it is without the frame.

[Polar01]

For some unknown reason I like this one better than the orginal posted.

Cheers:

Allan

[TheArcane]

As stated by others, it appears a little less squashed, and somehow brightens the rest of the photo by not having the frame.