Animals #464

The cramped composition of the image, with very little space around our main subjects, conveys successfully the (quite possibly) cramped situation that these two characters find themselves in. The success of the image hinges on the eye contact that we have with the sheep on the left, and the high contrast black and white treatment is nice, although may have been slightly overdone, with the highlights in the top left corner in particular appearing a little blown out.

Another highly engaging animal portrait, with a locked on stare from the sheep, and very pleasingly composed. It looks like the photographer has made the effort to get down to the animal's level, and close enough, which animal and child photography benefits hugely from. In an ideal world the area directly around the sheep's head would be free from sheep in the background, allowing the subject to be more clearly defined against the field.

Always pay attention to what is directly behind your main subject. In this case there is a lot of distracting detail directly behind the animal, which makes it very difficult to focus on it. One way to achieve this is to move in relation to the subject, and get a more plain background behind it. The other is to open your aperture up wider and get a more blurred background as a result. In this case it would also have been good to have gotten closer to your subject.

There's a concept called 'balance' in artistic composition, which refers to the way that the different elements of an image sit in relation to each other within the frame. To me this image hasn't got the balance quite right. It's an engaging and sharp shot of a beautiful subject in a beautiful setting, and the reflections are lovely. But with a centrally placed subject like this you need to ensure that the elements around them are well balanced. Here though we have a lot going on on the left of the shot, but very little on the right, giving an image that is heavily weighted to one side. Some cropping of the bottom and right would remedy this, but ideally balance is achieved in-camera as much as possible.

I thought this shot was worth a mention for a couple of reasons. It reminds me of Ansel Adams' shots of aspens, which are very much worth a look if you haven't seen them before. But I also do love the central placement of the deer. Sure, the shot is not quite sharp enough, but that's not the be all and end all, and I've enjoyed studying this picture.

This is a very engaging shot, nice sharp eyes, and beautiful light and colours. It's let down a little by some distracting elements in the frame that could have been easily removed in Photoshop - the two bright spots on the top edge, and the orange strip on the bottom right edge. The yellow object behind the monkey's neck would have been more of a challenge! If you crop an image to almost-square, it's best to go the whole way and make it exactly square - it's a more pleasing geometry.

On the surface this is such a straightforward shot, but it's so well done. The framing is perfect, and the cat's face is the brightest part of the image, which is as it should be. Whether that vignetting of the exposure is by luck or some thoughtful post-processing we may never know, but it's good!

Hi Teddy! Sorry to hear about the itchy feet. I like this portrait, both from a compositional standpoint, and because of the elegant simplicity of the different elements. Personally I'm a huge fan of the square format, and it's used really well here. The way that the panels of the bath, and the holder on the wall are all cropped so well within the frame is very satisfying. And of course the star of the show is doing a good job of looking sweet/melancholy/hungry/who knows what, which helps.

There's more of a storytelling feel to this image of a cat exploring a cave. The black and white adds to that more documentary feel. I do love the composition most of all, and having the cat tucked away in one corner, emphasising the rock and the cave, is very effective. The tones in the image are spot on, and the fact that the cat is the brightest element in the shot is perfect.

This is such a powerful animal portrait, incredibly engaging, and I love the high contrast black and white treatment. I have no idea what is causing the white dots around the horse (flies?) but they give the shot another dimension. The direct stare, and the central placement of the horse's head work really well. I find myself a little distracted by the top of the fencepost at the bottom of the frame, which could easily be removed.

This is one of those shots that you can study for a good while, and be awed at the form of the bird, and the photographer's skill in capturing it. The clouds are interesting enough, but not so much so that they take the focus away from the main subject, and the off-centre placement of the bird works well.

Adorable! And not much to fault here, either. It's a stunning shot, both the delightful moment that's been captured, and the technical skill used. It's a great example of how shallow depth of field can be achieved shooting at long range, but it does rely on precise focussing, which the photographer has pulled off brilliantly. Well done on being patient and reaping the rewards!

It's always refreshing to see common subjects shot in different and interesting ways, and this view of a cat from below certainly does that. It puts me in mind of Man Ray's "Rayographs", with the different elements arranged so well within the frame. The silhouette of the cat, with that wonderful tail, and the two paws, is fabulous.

Here's the rule of thirds in action, with this beautiful owl placed a third of the way in from the top of the image, and the right hand side of the image. The angle of the wings is nicely aligned in the background by the dark shadow, and overall the background works well, contrasted as it is with the browns and whites of the bird. It would be nice to try some vignetting of this image, darkening the edges and corners, so as to really bring the attention in more firmly to the main subject.

Nice idea, lovely bright colours, and the shot is sharp - not always the case when shotting into mirrors! Did you try the shot rotated 180 degrees? Craning my neck just now in front of my monitor I had the feeling it might work well.