Evening by the River Thames

by Miriam Mannish
(London)

Early evening by the River Thames

This is a picture taken by the River Thames early evening. I wanted to create an evening atmosphere


The Thames makes for great subject matter, especially in the evening time, and especially photographing the North Bank from the South side.

Unfortunately there’s lots about Miriam’s photo that could be improved. But, that’s what we’re here for – to show you how shots can be improved!

So let’s make a start. When looking at a photo my eyes first go to the composition. The rule of thirds is a good yardstick to use, but of course even this rule can (and should!) be broken. Click to read more on the rule of thirds.

Miriam’s photo certainly doesn’t seem to be following the rule, or anything close to it. My eye is drawn to the bright white sun/cloud right at the top of the photo, rather than any of the rule of thirds key focal areas.

Then there is the focussing. Very little seems to be in clear focus here. I’m thinking of the situation – it’s late in the day, a slow shutter speed, and any little camera movement will affect the focus. Resting the camera on a solid surface, and tripping the shutter using the self timer would have resulted in a sharper picture.

And I’m back to that sun/cloud again. It is just one large blob of white in the sky. This is a classic example of blown highlights – something that affects all digital photographers; unless they take steps to carefully avoid them. Click to read more on blown highlights.

Moving to the foreground, there’s something there, not too sure what, but whatever it is, there’s a dreadful lens flare in the bottom right hand corner. This is difficult to avoid in this type of shot, but holding your hand above the lens (to shade it) will certainly help.

My final comments (sorry about this!) relate to the post processing. Miriam has applied a blue filter of some sort, and I just don’t get the effect. I would like to see the original as I suspect it might have been a better photo than the post processed one.

Miriam, thanks for your submission. I’m glad you had a go at trying something with your photography, I’m pleased you submitted your photo, and I really hope my comments are constructive.

Ed.

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