Some feedback, please, on "vacation pictures" :)

[40oz]

These are two shots I took on vacation in Austin, Texas. They look like the kind of photo you'd find in a Civics/Social Studies textbook in high school, IMHO, which I'm not sure is praise or condemnation lol. To be fair, I think they fulfilled the intent, but I'd like some input as far as what could be done with such a "vacation shot."

Ideally, examples demonstrating what can be done with vacation photos would be shared. But that is certainly not required.

Texas Capitol

Texas Capitol 2

Thanks to whoever participates. 😎

 

[eric]

I don't see anything

 

[40oz]

I took two pictures of red X's I found while on vacation. What do you think?



j/k, I'm fixing it.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Technically they're fine and a record of your visit.

As you say the first is a standard view of this building, and I'm sure you could have bought an identical picture postcard or found a photo on the internet. So what's the point?

The second is better but wavers between a picture of the building and a picture of the person crossing the park. Perhaps if you had held the camera level to include more foreground grass it would be more interesting.

When I remember places I remember the little bits not the cathedrals or statues or touristy places, and I try to make photos in the same way. For example: in Orlando I wouldn't photograph the big parade in Disney World but I'd look for the guy in the street dressed as Mickey mouse and handing out flyers.

There must be similar details in any location.

'red X's'? I don't understand.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

If you came to my city in Portugal the tourist book would recommend the castle, the river, and the church.

But maybe you would actually remember this:

 

[Sparrow]

I like to see the ordinary parts of places. The things or people that are typical of that city or place, the travel guide type of photo, the highlights of somewhere can be found almost anywhere and don’t convey how it feels to be there; just what it looks like, when you’re actually there you can record your own personal view

Corfu

Blackpool

 

[lubitel]

After a few vacations where I took a lot of photos of buildings I realized that later on most of those pictures where really boring, even to me. They had no meaning to me, just a record of where I have been. my last vacations I tried to see as my personal photo projects. I gave my wife a digital P&S so that I dont have to waste film on every building she finds pretty 😉 that freed me up a lot.

I think your first photo is quite good, very solid composition. But I dont know: what will you feel about this photo next year? Is this image enough to tell what this place was all about? I agree with Jon, try to capture some details that characterize the place where you have been and show its character.

 

[Pherdinand]

Do you mean ideally examples demonstrating what can be done with THESE TWO vacation photos would be shared? or generally?
OK anyway
I sometimes (many times) question myself, why on earth did i waste time and effort and $ on taking those vacation shots, that I just could have bought on postcards instead. But i still do it. But i don't usially upload them here or anywhere else.🙂
The ones I upload I like to think they do have something extra, or they are somewhat of personal interest to me.

About these two:
Technically, they are probably ok, although the first one is a little blurry and missing the details, i suppose that's related to scanning and uploading not the real quality.
Otherwise...the question would be, what do YOU want to do with them? If it's just usual holiday snaps as you mention it, why would you ask us this question? If you want them to be something more than postcards, what exactly you want them to be?
Most important: IS THERE ANYTHING ON THEM THAT IS INTERESTING TO YOU, AND CAN YOU IDENTIFY THAT ELEMENT? If yes, it's easy: focus on that element. If not, it's also easy: discard them 🙂

greetz

 

[Pherdinand]

To give some base to my blah blah from above, here's a simple shot I made in Paris, at probably the most touristic place in the city.
The frame without the two girls would be a plain postcard type shot (of bad composition and horrible tones, by todays standard, so it won't sell i guess).
To you, the two sitting girls might add some interesting twist to the shot, maybe enough to make it an okay shot, maybe not.
To me it is more than that, since I know one of the girls.

 

[Nachkebia]

I like first image alot!

 

[40oz]

thanks all. I took plenty of shots of the personal and interesting variety. I was just curious what the rest of you try to do when shooting typical scenes like this. Pherdinand's shot is the kind of idea I was looking for. The background is clearly recognizable, but the inclusion of the two girls in the foreground makes the photo, IMHO. And it is doubtful he could have purchsed a postcard of the Louvre featuring someone he knew 🙂

To be fair, there are all kinds of pictures to take. I was going for a "typical travel brochure" type shot, and it appears I succeeded, based on the comments 🙂 It was important to me to include the people that work in and around the Capitol, for the same reason a photo of my local tavern requires customers and employees in the frame.

I guess my intent with these two shots wasn't to take a photo that had never been taken before, but to try to take a photo that has been taken a thousand times before, and see how I do. A technical exercise, you might say. The idea being if one can take an interesting shot of a crowded pub or a crippled dog peeing in an alley, a boring straight shot of a building ought to be cake. But now that I have done so, I was curious how others approach similar subjects.

PS: the reference to the red x's was because the images weren't showing up 🙂

 

[Pherdinand]

On a side note, you mention the people in the shot. I find it funny/uncomprehensible why people on holiday shooting their holiday shots are so angry when someone "walks into the frame". Like, they take the usual snapshot similar to postcards but they want it to look like a deserted town??
Not everybody, of course; but most people react like this.

 

[Sparrow]

On a side note, you mention the people in the shot. I find it funny/uncomprehensible why people on holiday shooting their holiday shots are so angry when someone "walks into the frame". Like, they take the usual snapshot similar to postcards but they want it to look like a deserted town??
Not everybody, of course; but most people react like this.

I find it strange how different nationalities react to being in the frame, Americans (outside NYC) usually speak, Brits tend to apologise and the French ignore you completely.........odd

 

[Todd.Hanz]

IMHO,
the first one is touristy, but not in a bad kind of way.
Funny, a few years ago I took a similar shot as your first one (see below) with a Rolleiflex.

If you have a chance to go back I would go inside and shoot the interior of the dome, it's beautiful.

Here are couple more vacation shots I've taken:

passing thru a small town in Texas I spotted this grocery store and I wanted to get a shot of the front door, the man on the bench seemed amused.

typical Mt. Rushmore shot.

I guess I try to include people in the frame like you, it bugs my wife that I shoot more pics of strangers than my family on vaction 😉

Todd

 

[35mmdelux]

Very nice fotos.

 

[shadowfox]

These are two shots I took on vacation in Austin, Texas. They look like the kind of photo you'd find in a Civics/Social Studies textbook in high school, IMHO, which I'm not sure is praise or condemnation lol. To be fair, I think they fulfilled the intent, but I'd like some input as far as what could be done with such a "vacation shot."

Ideally, examples demonstrating what can be done with vacation photos would be shared. But that is certainly not required.

Texas Capitol

Texas Capitol 2

Thanks to whoever participates. 😎

I think the two pictures are good ones. I like the semi-soft buildings in the background. I would enhance it with a title to convey the mood or story (e.g. "Power Lunch" referring to the suited-up people walking, it's the state capitol building after all).

On the second picture, I'd convert it to B/W and boost the contrast a tad bit. This will bring out the branches and the texture of the building and contrast it with the woman in the front. Again, I would put a title (e.g. "Lost?" 😀) to infuse the picture with a story or mood.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[m_arch]

I like the first photo much better. I think it could be improved if you worked to separate the building from the trees and bushes. Right now I think their tone, scale and level of detail are too alike. In Todd's photo, for example, there is more light hitting the dome and the plants appear darker. Also, he has some plants in the forground up high framing the top edges, not to mention the lamp.

It also looks like you could use some kind of haze filter.

I don't like not being able to see the dome in the second photo, which seems like the main idea behind this building.

Something you don't see too often are tourists (and living in DC there are a plenty) taking snap shots from different angles. Climb a tree, or put your belly on the ground. I think this is a good way to make something that is photographed often your own.

Thanks for putting yourself out there!

MArk

 

[steve garza]

40 oz.....Something you may want to try is to fill your frame with some detail that tells the same story.......perhaps the flag and a portion of the dome in the background.....oftentimes less is more!!!