What is wrong with this picture of a Highland bull?
The photographer's intention in taking this picture was obviously to capture a photograph of a Highland bull. But, it is not a very good bull "portrait," for a number of reasons, mostly having to do with poor composition. - The bull is grazing, with his muzzle partially concealed by the ground.
- He is surrounded by distracting objects, including other cattle and a building in the background, making the scene too cluttered and busy.
- He is too small in the frame. The photographer should have either moved in closer to fill the frame, or cropped the picture afterwards to achieve the same purpose.
- The image is in need of editing to improve its contrast and bring out its real color.
This image of a Highland cow shows a big improvement compared to the bull's picture.
The same photographer took this picture of a Highland cow a few minutes after shooting the bull (so to speak). He also took the time afterwards to digitally edit its brightness and contrast. The improvement is significant, thanks to a few simple steps that made all the difference.
The photographer first made sure that the background was plain and uncluttered, then he made a sound to attract the cow's attention so that she raised her head and looked towards the camera when her picture was taken. He used a telephoto lens to move in close to fill the frame, and further digitally cropped the picture afterwards to "tighten" it up that extra little bit. All good, simple steps that resulted in a much better composition without too much extra effort.
|
