I'd like to get some opinions about the way you guys go out and shoot (I'm talking about personal practice, not professional assignements).
Here's the thing : until now, my shootings were planned, and I would have as much time as needed to get at least one satisfying shot out of it, which was fine by me.
But now my job takes a huge part of my time and I can't just go out for hours whenever I like. However, during my job, I get to travel a lot around the country, I go on location to meet clients and follow construction sites. In both urban and rural environments.
So I decided to take my camera with me everywhere, and use these few minutes I have outside to shoot as much as I can. Which proved to be very hard. Not only am I very limited in terms of time, but also space.
I was thinking that by adding those constraints I could train my eyes to catch and compose my shots in a more effective way. So far it's a bit frustrating but I'm just getting started, so I wanted some opinions on this, and also on the way you approach your shootings.
Do you think that could work, or does it seem like too much to be able to be creative in any way? Are you a quick shot, or do you need time and trials to get what you want ?
I'll post 2 or 3 shots from today morning, you've been warned, pointless stuff incoming. But feel free to be harsh, I don't mind.
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Camera-Specific Properties: Equipment Make Canon Camera Model Canon EOS 760D Image-Specific Properties: Horizontal Resolution 72 dpi Vertical Resolution 72 dpi Exposure Time 1/800 sec F-Number f/4.5 Exposure Program Aperture Priority ISO Speed Rating 200 Lens Aperture f/4.5 Exposure Bias -1 EV Metering Mode Pattern Focal Length 24.00 mm Color Space Information sRGB Exposure Mode Auto
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Camera-Specific Properties: Equipment Make Canon Camera Model Canon EOS 760D Image-Specific Properties: Horizontal Resolution 72 dpi Vertical Resolution 72 dpi Exposure Time 1/320 sec F-Number f/4.5 Exposure Program Aperture Priority ISO Speed Rating 200 Lens Aperture f/4.5 Exposure Bias 0 EV Metering Mode Pattern Focal Length 24.00 mm Color Space Information sRGB Exposure Mode Auto
>>2824596
Step 1) Stay alert for interesting/unique subjects/colors/light
Step 2) Find them
Step 3) Get camera out and start looking for a way to emphasize what I found while minimizing distractions and useless information
Step 4) Decide whether it's best to take the photo now, in the current condition/light or better to come back later at a better time.
Step 5) Take the photo
Step 6) Go process the photo to support my intent.
In your photos, I have no idea what motivated you to take the shots, as there's tons of stuff in both, but none of it is interesting, or unique, or pretty, or ugly, or emphasized. Also, they look unprocessed.
>>2824603
I shoot raw with every NR and color filter off, so the only process I always do is to solve a little bit of that if needed.
Bu just to be sure, what do you mean exactly by "unprocessed"? Because I don't think any kind of processing would make these any better.
To answer your question, I was looking for some kind of structure, symetry in which I could frame a subject, in that case, one or two trains. But yeah, it was a bad day, the light was horrible, rain, wind. And I only got to go in industrial areas, but not the cool kind.
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Camera-Specific Properties: Equipment Make Canon Camera Model Canon EOS 760D Image-Specific Properties: Horizontal Resolution 72 dpi Vertical Resolution 72 dpi Exposure Time 1/2500 sec F-Number f/4.5 Exposure Program Aperture Priority ISO Speed Rating 200 Lens Aperture f/4.5 Exposure Bias 0 EV Metering Mode Pattern Focal Length 24.00 mm Color Space Information sRGB Exposure Mode Auto
>>2824606
If you're shooting raw, you need to process your images for contrast, color balance, exposure, sharpening, and color tone. Doing no processing to your raw images before presenting them is the equivalent of putting the ingredients for a pizza in a bag, and handing them to a hungry person. It's not done. It's not ready to be consumed.
In your images, the things to look at are all under exposed, because the sky got in the frame and lowered your exposure. The colors are bland and drab, there's very little tonal difference between stuff on the ground, and it all just looks very muddy and busy.
Even after reading your intent for the photos, I can't tell what was in the frame in the first image that would make you take the photo. There's no symmetry, there are no notable structures, there are no trains entirely in the shot... It looks like a still frame from a CCTV security camera, taken completely at random.
I sort of want to look at the railroad ties, but they're clearly not the subject since they're so hard to keep my eye looking at. Then I notice the red in the doors of the trains, and that stands out as the only color in the shot, but there's so many other "almost" colors (and they're composed so far apart and detached) that that's clearly not the subject. All the cars in the background are just visual clutter, as are the trees, etc. There's just nothing intelligible in there.
>>2824616
Here's one of my "driving around and happened to see a photo opportunity along my travels" shots.
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Camera-Specific Properties: Equipment Make FUJIFILM Camera Model X-T1 Camera Software Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.4 (Windows) Maximum Lens Aperture f/2.0 Sensing Method One-Chip Color Area Focal Length (35mm Equiv) 53 mm Image-Specific Properties: Horizontal Resolution 300 dpi Vertical Resolution 300 dpi Image Created 2016:02:16 11:15:57 Exposure Time 1/400 sec F-Number f/5.6 Exposure Program Aperture Priority ISO Speed Rating 400 Lens Aperture f/5.6 Brightness 8.2 EV Exposure Bias 0.7 EV Metering Mode Pattern Light Source Daylight Flash No Flash, Compulsory Focal Length 35.00 mm Rendering Normal Exposure Mode Auto White Balance Manual Scene Capture Type Standard Sharpness Normal Subject Distance Range Unknown
