What is wrong about the composition?

[ruslan]

<p>This photo was taken the day before yesterday for the pre-wedding photoshoot. I do not like it because the something wrong about the composition. I wanted to include the Cathedral, the kiss and the goblets. How should I re-compose it differntly? What do you think? I used equiv. 200 manual 'antique' lens having nice bokeh, the lighting was very harsh. </p><div></div>

[MichaelChang]

<p>Ruslan, I think a photo composed of many elements demand some level of aesthetic weighting of each element relative to its companion in order to appear balanced, but that doesn't necessarily mean symmetry. </p>

<p>Using the same perspective, another option might be moving the goblets to the girl's left, focus on it then recompose.</p>

<p>In the alternative, focus on the couple to blur the background cathedral and foreground goblets (placed to girl's left). </p>

<p>The degree of cathedral blur will also impact aesthetic perception greatly so its recognizability will be important; play with lens aperture for desired effect. </p>

[bobcossar]

<p>+1 Michael........also, bokeh should not be confused with<strong><em> 'plain old out of focus'</em></strong>, which is too extreme here for the composition to work at all.....</p>

[fotografz]

<p>You are trying to do to many things at once and succeeding at none.</p>

<p>Goblets and kiss would work if the couple were placed between the foreground goblets, but they would need to be a bit more recognizable (less out-of-focus).</p>

<p>The kiss and cathedral would work with the couple in focus and the cathedral out of focus but again, recognizable to some degree.</p>

<p>All three could work, but would need to be carefully worked out ... which is hard to do when you are "rocking" through a wedding.</p>

<p>Note that what seems to be clearer on an LCD is NOT what you will see on a computer screen or a 8"X10" print. It's always sharper looking on the LCD because it is only 2.5" or 3".</p>

<p>Also, most people have forgotten that their camera has a depth-of-field preview ... which you can press and see the real area of reasonable focus as opposed to viewing the scene TTL ... which is always at maximum aperture. So even if you are shooting at f/5.6, the TTL scene in the viewfinder is showing you f/2.8 (or whatever max aperture you lens may be).</p>

<p> </p>

[ruslan]

<p>Thank the three of you, your critique really helps and I agree with all that has been told. I am sorry for this picture having been resized from 820 pixel in length to 698 and as a result the quality of this photo was damaged and got some structure... I should have resized it directly from the original shot, which is fine at sharpness and gradations but compositionally is mediocre if not bad (a pity).<br />Now the question is - should I include it into the package of should I just delete it? I took better shots usind the Cathedral in the backgound (and with the goblets too) in that place and time... </p>

[sam_ellis]

<p>The main problem I see is that the glass blocks the bride's face. It's like the glasses are in the way. A better way to incorporate all three elements might be to have the couple hold the glasses out while they kiss, but more needs to be in focus. Maybe have the couple in focus and the glasses and cathedral slightly out of focus.</p>

[jean_yves_mead]

Or close right up on one of the glasses and focus on the image of the couple through it.

[ruslan]

<p>Thank you.</p>

[randallfarhy]

<p>Not to be mean, but there's not much about this shot that says or implies a special day for the couple beyond a warm kiss-it looks more like an advertisement for whatever beverage might be in the goblets.</p>

<p> Because of the distance involved, I'd drop the cathedral spire- really can't tell what it is because it's so oof. I'd try raising the couple to fill more of the frame, leaving the goblets in the same relative position low in the frame. Might have to raise camera angle slightly. This "should" put more emphasis on the couple without losing what you're trying to accomplish.<br>

I do like the feel you're going after with the image and it's B&W presentation.</p>

[ejder]

<p>Frame kissing couple with goblets so kiss is centered and easily visible, AND/OR<br>

Elevate kissing subjects above goblet level to separate them, AND/OR<br>

Move foreground objects to one corner of frame and move couple to other corner for diagonal opposition, AND/OR <br>

Look through a glass to find an in-focus image of the couple kissing, AND/OR<br>

Use DoF that makes the kissing couple slightly less blurred and easier to recognize, AND/OR<br>

Switch to vertical framing and put goblets closer together to mount kissing subjects above goblets, AND/OR<br>

Enhance contrast or otherwise draw out colors/contrast fore/background subjects against each other....etc...</p>

[ricardovaste]

<p>For me I think their faces should be between the glasses.. or atleast not have the glass on the left obstructing the view of her face. But it's nit-picking. I like it!</p>

[ruslan]

<p>Thank you! </p>

[ianivey]

<p>Yeah, I agree that the aspect of the composition that is the primary irritant here is that the couple's eyes are blocked by the camera-left glass. If you had the eyes in the middle of the two glasses, I suspect you'd like the feel of the image a lot better. </p>

<p>Not that it would necessarily be a keeper even then -- the comment about this feeling like an ad for the beverage is astute -- but the fact that the glasses physically obstruct what you would otherwise expect were the subjects of the photo cause the viewer to perceive the beverage itself as the subject. Centering eyes between the glasses might have mitigated that efffect.</p>