When I was there, it was beautiful! Everything looks so flat and boring in the picture. Any suggestions on how to make a larger scene look more interesting? Is there just too much going on? ( It's a flower shop my Mom just opened up.) I have close up pictures of the flowers and stuff but I want to really show what this room looks like.
I'll bet you used your on-camera flash - right? Straight-on flash makes scenes like that look flat and boring. If you could turn off the flash and use a tripod, you would get a better image.
There are many tings that make this a bad shot. First is the most prominent object in the picture is that white table, which is right in the middle of the picture, and then isn't even level. Then the flowers were just shot where they were, off centered, cluttered, and even the white hanger was in front.
You've done your mom a huge service if she wants to take it to heart. That which is photographically appealing is also visually appealing. Have her place her plants as if she is posting them. Perhaps some stands that have interesting angles and lift the flowers off the floor. Put a cover of the white table to reduce its impact. Make the shop visually attractive.
Then, not sure what camera you are having, but if it has a hot shoe for a flash, get a flash and learn to bounce it off objects. A powerful bounce flash will better fill the room with light.
Good luck and congrats on recognizing the bad picture and wanting to improve it.
One thing that I have in my photo arsenal is a monopod. At times I will set my camera on timed setting and raise the camera up for a higher angle. This might eliminate the back flash. Also if you can, put maybe 2 or 3 small stuffed animal toys maybe peeking out from behind an object. Just one thing for sure, don't stop trying
A lot of "good" photographs are very, very simple in composition. (I'm still working on this!) Make sure it's completely obvious what the main point of your photo is. Usually this means only one main object standing out visually from the background, or a singular color or theme popping out. Too much clutter and extra objects in the frame can distract from the main point of the scene.
In the case of a room like this, think about the mood you're trying to convey. Ask yourself what was it that struck you about this scene? Was it the light coming in the window, the delicate color of the flower petals, etc? Try to position your camera to best capture this mood and nothing else - a lot of times getting lower or higher can help, or moving extra objects out of the shot.
Figure out what direction the light is coming from. What temperature is it? How does the light play into the atmosphere of the room? Try to capture what's already there instead of inserting a new light into the room (your flash!). Any new light changes the mood and temperature of the light in the scene and you won't end up capturing the magic of the scene that caused you to pull out your camera in the first place.
You can almost always get a "better" picture (in my opinion) by setting the exposure manually for the light in the scene, rather than by adding artificial light. Because the existing light is probably what is making the mood you found so captivating, learning how to capture that light will help you end up with far less "boring" photos.
The best thing about this, is you realize it is flat and boring. First step. reason it is flat is you are using on camera flash versus the desired OFF CAMERA FLASH. By getting a light trigger (cactus vs, Pocket Wizard, or light sensor) you are able to get your flash off your camera and allow for shadows on your image which in turn give depth to your subject. Think of the best landscape pictures, most are done when the sun is low and cast long shadows versus high noon shots (I did say most). If you don't want a trigger, then you need to get a flash with a movable head so you can bounce off ceiling (which is alright, definitely better then direct) or bounce off a neighboring wall or someones shirt. Just remember if the wall, ceiling, shirt or whatever you will get a color cast from that object which you could use to the advantage of the picture. For instance, a gold wall could give it the feel of sunlight. White t-shirt will give the flash color.
Next you need to pick a subject and make that the focal point. I don't know if it is the table or the flowers. Use your DOF to your advantage. the smaller the number the shorter the focal plane is. This will allow for back areas to go out of focus (bokeh) and possibly some front areas. Keep in mind the small the number the focal plane gets real tight depending on how close you are to the subject, which would result in to much out of focus. Take your pictures from different angles. This one might have been better if you were low to the ground or more at the subject "eye" level instead of shooting down on it. Also crop the image more.
Lastly, if you prefer the ambient, you might need to play with the dial on your camera for ISO. Make it a larger number which makes the sensitivity to light more intense. Depending on camera make/model you start to introduce "grainy" look at certain ISO settings, but it allows for pictures in dimly lit rooms.
Hope this helps.
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You've done your mom a huge service if she wants to take it to heart. That which is photographically appealing is also visually appealing. Have her place her plants as if she is posting them. Perhaps some stands that have interesting angles and lift the flowers off the floor. Put a cover of the white table to reduce its impact. Make the shop visually attractive.
Then, not sure what camera you are having, but if it has a hot shoe for a flash, get a flash and learn to bounce it off objects. A powerful bounce flash will better fill the room with light.
Good luck and congrats on recognizing the bad picture and wanting to improve it.
I appreciate the help. I'm going to try to go back in the next few weeks and try again.
http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds
In the case of a room like this, think about the mood you're trying to convey. Ask yourself what was it that struck you about this scene? Was it the light coming in the window, the delicate color of the flower petals, etc? Try to position your camera to best capture this mood and nothing else - a lot of times getting lower or higher can help, or moving extra objects out of the shot.
Figure out what direction the light is coming from. What temperature is it? How does the light play into the atmosphere of the room? Try to capture what's already there instead of inserting a new light into the room (your flash!). Any new light changes the mood and temperature of the light in the scene and you won't end up capturing the magic of the scene that caused you to pull out your camera in the first place.
You can almost always get a "better" picture (in my opinion) by setting the exposure manually for the light in the scene, rather than by adding artificial light. Because the existing light is probably what is making the mood you found so captivating, learning how to capture that light will help you end up with far less "boring" photos.
Next you need to pick a subject and make that the focal point. I don't know if it is the table or the flowers. Use your DOF to your advantage. the smaller the number the shorter the focal plane is. This will allow for back areas to go out of focus (bokeh) and possibly some front areas. Keep in mind the small the number the focal plane gets real tight depending on how close you are to the subject, which would result in to much out of focus. Take your pictures from different angles. This one might have been better if you were low to the ground or more at the subject "eye" level instead of shooting down on it. Also crop the image more.
Lastly, if you prefer the ambient, you might need to play with the dial on your camera for ISO. Make it a larger number which makes the sensitivity to light more intense. Depending on camera make/model you start to introduce "grainy" look at certain ISO settings, but it allows for pictures in dimly lit rooms.
Hope this helps.