Archery pic.....opinions please

joe vt · February 12, 2008, 08:12:00 AM

I want to enlarge a Archery gear pic and frame it. The hardest part is placing the items in a location that doesn't look "too busy".....compostion.

I would like to hear your opinions on this pic. What would you change?

heydeerman · February 12, 2008, 08:16:00 AM

You need to find a purtier bow man. If you want to unload that kindlin let me know.

WOW man that pic should be on the cover of TBM.

Izzy · February 12, 2008, 08:22:00 AM

You aint gonna achieve much better than that.Nice work.

La. bowhunter · February 12, 2008, 08:32:00 AM

I agree with heydeerman I think you ought to give us them bows and find yourself another one.

Awesome pics of some awesome looking bows I would frame that and hang it in my living room even if the bows didnt belong to me.

Gatekeeper · February 12, 2008, 08:35:00 AM

RayMO · February 12, 2008, 08:43:00 AM

Nothing!

vermonster13 · February 12, 2008, 08:44:00 AM

A slightly lighter background so the bows stand out a little more.

BobW · February 12, 2008, 08:49:00 AM

What Vt13 said. You are loosing the rich hues in your equipment. Could play with back lighting, and some color that accentuates the deep colors. Maybe a deep grey, something in a red, or ..... got to play with it.

Cool start, and nice presentation.

BobW

John Scifres · February 12, 2008, 09:02:00 AM

You have a lot going on there. If it were me, I'd split the items up into 2 different pics. Do them side by side with identical frames and let one lead into the other maybe by positioning the limbs or the antler so that the eye is led back and forth from one to the other. I would also put the limb bolts in the foreground. Balance the blue fletched arrow so that the eye isn't led away from the bows. I don't mind the dark background but you might try to lighten it up some.

pete p · February 12, 2008, 09:16:00 AM

yes, the picture is way too cluttered. send me the thunderhorn and then retake the pic

mmgrode · February 12, 2008, 09:29:00 AM

Looks good to me my friend!

FullCurl · February 12, 2008, 09:35:00 AM

scuse me, what kinda Broadhead is that in your picture?

snag · February 12, 2008, 09:43:00 AM

It is a lot better than I could do! But that said, I think the blue fletching detracts from the picture. It is a bit busy for me. I love the way you have the one set of limbs wrapped around the antler. To me my eye wants to look further to the right...like the camera should have framed it more to the right. There isn't enough on the left to keep my attention. Yet there is part of the one riser that is cut off and I want to see more of the back limbs and the limbs in front with more of the tops of the antlers...just me.

smilinicon · February 12, 2008, 09:48:00 AM

Hello,

When looking for critique it is good to provide photo details.

My first thought was it looks a bit cool in the white balance and I have to agree it is a bit cluttered, subject-wise.

More light and a polarizer would help reduce the glare on the bows, showing more details of the wood.

Cary

Chris Surtees · February 12, 2008, 09:48:00 AM

Tim Schoenborn · February 12, 2008, 09:53:00 AM

Hey Joe............

Your dark. Send me the full size image (High res) and I will fix it for you. You are also soft around the edges.......

Your histogram on this image is pegged left if you understand what I am talking about. First thing to check in regards to your exposure.

There are some "Hot Spots" on the risers that need to be fixed also.

Let me know if you want me to tweak it for you?

Tim

www.timschoenborn.com

Ron LaClair · February 12, 2008, 10:06:00 AM

Joe, I don't think it would look better with another background. The midnight black doesn't distract from the subject. The moose antler is good, it represents what we strive for. The bow, the broadhead, and the feathered shaft are the tools we use. The blue fletching goes good with the black background. The various angles of the limbs and bow risers has captured the style and beauty of the wood and craftsmanship of the design much better than it would with an assembled bow.

The composition is good, everything is there and displayed without looking crowded or too busy. I can't think of anything you could do to improve the picture. I like it...

Rick_H · February 12, 2008, 10:28:00 AM

I would try it without the fletching and moving the limbs in the lower right so that you can see the tips although that wouldn't highlight the belly of the limbs as much. It would be "better" if there was more balance between the left and right sides, plus the technical stuff smilinicon said. What lens are you using?

Tim Schoenborn · February 12, 2008, 10:33:00 AM

Here is a 2 second exposure correction to give you an example.

It is very hard to work with low res JPEGS...........

Hot spots still need to be removed along with some other things but it can be fixed. You will get more detail and pop to the wood grain with this treatment which should be obvious even in this low res version.

joe vt · February 12, 2008, 10:51:00 AM

thanks for all the feedback. i do this with no real knowledge of composition......and heck of taking pictures. i really should take a lesson or ten...lol

i know i want the blue feathers and broadhead in it. maybe replace the recurve limbs with the top section of a back quiver with some arrows. i for one like the black background.

Tim, I'll send you the original file. i can tell you my camera (Sony DSC-H7) is struggling with the low lighting.