Critically Reviewing Your Photos IV

- What are you trying to accomplish? - The bride wanted a photo of herself gazing into the distance before the wedding.
- Can you identify the subject? - Yes, the bride.
- Is there a message? Can you find it? - The bride is looking forward to the upcoming wedding. This is a little hard to tell.
- Is it properly exposed? - No, it is slightly overexposed.
- Is it in focus? Is the right part in focus? - It is in focus, though too much is in focus. It would be easier to focus on the background if the background were not in focus.
- Is the subject in a position on the photo that draws your interest? - Yes.
- Are buildings standing straight? - No, they are leaning slightly to the left.
- Does the photo feel balanced? If off balance, is this intentional? - It is off balance, and not intentionally.
- Can you distinguish between positive and negative space? - Some things that should be negative space do not appear that way due to the brightness of the gazebo. This distracts slightly, and is not intentional.
- Is the background non-distracting? - Parts of the background (the trees) are good. However, the gazebo does distract and should be blurred more.
- Are frames present? Are they appropriate for the photo? - The vertical posts of the gazebo act as frames, and they do help keep you drawn to the bride. However, they are not well positioned.
- Do any leading lines draw you in or are they working against you? - The lines of the gazebo in the background do draw you to the bride, but they also draw you away from her to the gazebo.
- What can be removed from the photo that would give a more desirable result? - The image could be cropped so there is not quite so much empty space on the right side, and the photograph could have been taken from an angle that prevents so much of the gazebo from appearing.
- What could have been done better to accomplish your goal with the photo? - Getting the correct exposure and depth of field on this photo would have the largest impact. Reframing the image to contain less of the gazebo and empty space would also help. Get the vertical lines of the gazebo straight up and down.