Evaluation

I have chosen my four best photos for an evaluation. The first photo I've chosen is of the red Christmas candle in my concept category. The subject of this photo is a red Christmas candle. After taking this I put it into Photoshop and edited it so that the background was completely black (the room was dark, but not pitch black) by adjusting the contrast and the brightness.

I took this photo because I thought that the reflection of the flame in the melted wax looked good as well as the bright red of the candle. I also thought that the one bright red candle surrounded by darkness looked interesting. This photo means something to me as it reminds me of Christmas, as it's the candle we have out on the table every Christmas.

In this photo I ignored the rule of thirds, as I wanted the candle to be completely surrounded by the black, I think that this was a good move as if the candle was in the left or the right it would have a completely different effect. The lack of colours and any light apart from the candle makes the subject stand out, as there is literally nothing else for you to concentrate on.

This photo hasn't got many colours, but I still think that that is a large part of this photo as the red is meant to stand out a lot against the black background. There aren't any patterns or lines in this, but I think the slight symmetry and simplistic nature of this photo is what makes it work. The only visible texture is the smooth wax of the candle, and the watery melted wax in the pool below the flame. This adds some more interesting elements to the photo to help make it work, as too much simplicity is not a good thing.

To improve this photo, I would try and angle the camera better to get more of the flames reflection as at the moment it's just the base of the flame. I would also try to make sure my camera was straight to frame the candle better, and perhaps try to use a darker room so that I didn't have to use Photoshop as that may help make it look more natural.

Some people like the symbolism behind having the bright light alone in the dark, however they think that I could try and take a shot where the flame illuminated more of the candle, similar to the way that the professional photos flame does.

When compared to a professional photo, there are more similarities than differences. However, the flame is more a red/orange colour than my blueish flame, and I think the orange coloured flame fits better with the bright red of the candle. The professional photo also has more textures than mine, making it slightly more interesting. There is also a wider variety of shades of red and orange which adds some variety to a simple photo.

Professional photo

My photo

The next photo is of the bee on a buddleja, also in my concept category. The main focus in this is the bee, and although it's the smallest part of the photo it stands out well against the lilac of the buddleja flowers.

I took this because the bee was quite still which I rarely see so I took the opportunity. I also like the pattern of the flowers in a buddleja plant.

The bee stands out against the flower as the colours of the bee aren't really seen anywhere else. It breaks the soft calming colours of the flower with a small splash of dark colours, catching your eye. It also follows the rule of thirds, with the bee in the left side of the photo, which is a good trick for drawing focus.

This photo contains lots of textures; the fluffy bee, the rough looking leaves and un-bloomed flower buds behind the softer petals This adds lots of variety and some interesting things to look at within the photo. It also helps make it look more real. The colours in this also stand out well, with the two main colours - purple and green - looking bright. The colours vary in shade adding more variety instead of just having block colours. This photo also contains some patterns as the flower shape is repeated over and over within the buddleja.

This photo could be improved by having a better focus on the bee, as the bee is slightly blurred because of movement. I also might try to have the bee further in a corner of the photo to see if that improves the framing. Some people like the way the bee and the flower stand out against everything else. Someone said that they don't think it was zoomed in enough and that they'd have it zoomed further into the buddleja, but other that they like the way the photo is framed.

When compared to a professional photo, they focussed more the on bee than the buddleja. The background was also blurred, similar to my photo. In the professional photo, the bee is a lot clearer, however you can't see much of the buddleja which in my opinion takes something away from the photo, as the buddleja flowers are quite pretty.

Professional photo

My photo

The third photo is from my exhibition category. It's a photo of the lake with the sky reflected in the water. The main subject of this photo is the reflection and the effect that has. Because it's a long shot there isn't one specific subject.

I took this photo because I liked the perfect symmetry the lake created, and the way that the bushes around the edges of the photo are silhouetted.

The photo focuses on the main subject because the subject is over the entirety of the photo. I didn't follow the rule of thirds here, because the subject was so large that fitting it into one side of the photo would look odd and ruin the effect the reflection has.

This photo contains lots of patterns. The reflection in the water is the most obvious one, but there is also the pattern of the leaves on the left side and the ripples in the water. The colours in this photo are dark, but they compliment each other well. The splash of orange on the horizon stops the photo's colours from being too bland, without taking attention away from the silhouettes. There aren't any lines in this photo, but the line between the land and the water is very distinct, and splits the photo into two parts. There is only one texture - the fluffy clouds - but it helps to make the photo feel less flat.

I think this photo could be improved by using a tripod instead of just my hands. Because of the low light levels, the shutter speed was slowed in order to take a decent photo. As a result the photo was taken over a few seconds, and my hands aren't steady enough to stop the photo from blurring slightly. Although the photo isn't that blurry it might improve the photo quite a lot to have it all in complete focus.

One person I spoke to liked the symmetry of the clouds and the sky in the lake. They also liked the colours created in the sky by the time of day that it was. However someone thinks I could've chosen a more interesting location for the horizon. They also think I could've edited it to try and make the colours more vibrant.

When compared to a professional photo, they have it very in focus which suggests to me the use of a tripod. Their photo was taken at day, whereas mine was taken at sunset which changes colour schemes. In the professional, the sky is reflected almost perfectly in the lake which I think is another improvement that could be made to my photo. This may be due to blur, or because the lake wasn't still enough. If it's the second then there's not much I could've done to fix it.

Professional photo

My photo

The next one is from my event category. The main subject of this one is of a small pile of mongeese on top of a plank of wood.

I took this photo because of the way the mongeese were all piled together, and the lines that are being created in the background. The main subject of this photo follows the rule of thirds as it is in the top right corner. This helps draw focus to it. They are a large part of the photo, making it the most obvious point of focus.

This picture contains all four elements to make the photo work. The criss-cross wood in the background creates line patterns in the background, which helps make it more interesting than just a blank white wall. The runway that leads up to the mongeese creates a diagonal split across the photo, which is a part of the line elements. The mongeese have soft looking fur and the wood they're stood on is rough looking, providing contrasting textures. The colours all fit together well as they're all sombre colours like browns and dull oranges.

I could improve this photo by editing it to make the mongeese stand out more. A way I could do this is by making the photo black and white, but keeping the mongeese in colour. This would make them stand out more, making the main subject more prominent.

Someone said that they like the line that the runway creates going across the photo. Another person said that they also like the fact that all of the mongeese are facing the camera, making the photo feel more alive than if they were facing away. However, someone said that they didn't like the lack of colour in the photo but they said that this would be hard for me to try and change as I can't make the zoo more colourful.

I couldn't find any photos that are similar to mine, so I settled for the one below. This photo also contains lots of textures and lines and colours, making it as close to my photo as I could get it. The professional photo also follows the rule of thirds like mine. The fur in the professional photo is a lot more focussed, making the various colours created in it by the light more visible. In the professional photo they have a more simplistic background consisting simply of straw, whereas mine is slightly more complex with the stick diamond patterns on the wall. However, the straw consists of lots of random lines making it just as interesting as mine.

Professional photo

My Photo