I just started selecting images to display in the forums infobox. There is no automation available for this, so it will be an entirely manual process. For better or worse, the selection will naturally be colored by my own personal taste.

I look at the basics when doing my selection, composition, light, color and detail. How well does the background work with the subject? Is there enough depth of field on the subject? Is the framing too tight (this is one of my own weak points when I photograph) or is it not tight enough? If some parts of the subject looks unintentionally cut off, then it is not going to work and so on.

The subject itself is probably less important to me, but still there should be a wow factor, that makes the photo stand out, compared to other photos of similar subjects.

Now I would love the hear what every one else think is important in a photograph!

Include gardening related photo examples if you like. As this is a place to develop and fine tune photographic skills, it is nice to also include some basic shooting data, camera, lens, shutter speed, f/stop, ISO and so on, so we all can learn from how the photo was taken.

Personally I'm not going to post any actual examples, because I'm going to let the selection in the infobox speak for my taste. Post a photo that I like here, and I will select it for the infobox (the same is true for the image critique threads and all threads on this forum for that matter).

Hi William -

I'm not sure what you mean by the "forum's infobox".

Ann

Basically it is just a bunch of photos and a little bit of info about the forum. It doesn't actually say Infobox.

On my computer it is on the right side of the forum threads on the main page for the 'Photography Tips & Techniques' forum. On my phone it is at the very bottom and you have to scroll past the forum threads to see it. It may or may not be in other positions for you, maybe at the top of your page. Most forums have these infoboxes, often they are filled with the recent plant photos or other useful information.

It should look something like this:

Some of the best new photos posted by our forum members:

pikaia said:
https://garden.org/thread/view...

dirtdorphins said:

https://garden.org/thread/view...

blue23rose said:

https://garden.org/thread/view...

pikaia said:

https://garden.org/thread/view...

Valery33 said:


https://garden.org/thread/view...

GrammaChar said:

https://garden.org/thread/view...

Photography Techniques
This forum is for the discussion of photography as it relates to gardening. It is intended to encourage and help people become better photographers, regardless of skill level, not as a place for the general sharing of photos. We have a separate Garden Photos forum where you can share your photos of your gardens, as well as the Sandbox for non-gardening discussions and photography.

As a result, there are some general rules to follow:
- Please be considerate and polite when critiquing another's work, as they may be a beginner/novice and we want to encourage them to improve, not drive them away from the hobby.
- Only use photos as examples for the discussion; i.e. "how do I improve this shot", or "how can I take something similar", or "this is the result with these settings", etc. (in order to avoid threads simply becoming a gallery).
- Do not copy photos off the Internet that do not belong to you unless they are properly cited (include a credit to the original photographer and a link to the source), and then only as an example to support the discussion.

Finally, remember to have fun!

Hi William -

In thinking about what's important to me in selecting a photo, I believe sharpness is very important to me, especially the foreground area. I watched a Youtube video recently by Nigel Danson on this subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Shortly after seeing this video, I took my camera out to take photos of the annual mustard flower explosion. Sadly, I discovered I forgot to put an SD card in the camera so I had to take photos with my iPhone 8.

The first photo is the original, untouched version. Although my intention was to capture the burst of bright yellow flowers and have a strong foreground of mass and color, I wound up wanting to make the clouds an important part of the picture too. We often have bright blue cloudless skies so it was wonderful to see these strong cloud formations for a change.

What are your and everyone's thoughts about the before and after images? Nigel's video made me consider the idea of the eye starting in the foreground (flowers), moving up to a mid-ground (trees and hill), and ending up at the top of the picture (clouds). I tried cropping the photo to follow his suggestion.

My husband likes the photo with the strong clouds, I'm leaning towards the original pic.





Ann

Personally I prefer the first one. The clouds are nice, but this is not a picture about clouds, it is about the Brassica in the foreground. So especially for the database the first photo is more suitable.

If you want to make a picture about clouds, then I suggest that the second picture is better, but I wold also suggest that in that case you may benefit from just a little bit more proportion sky, and less ground.

Some might suggest that one should follow the basic rule of thirds here. Others might want to follow the golden ratio. Overall I don't think one should be a slave to these systems when composing an image, but they can provide a good starting point.

Thanks for your feedback William!

Ann

What a great topic. I guess the answers will differ a lot though!

To me, the best part of a photo is if it has a unique feature, that always makes me more intrigued and I usually spend 10x the amount of time just looking at the photo.

An example would be a regular flower picture VS a flower picture with a bee in it/or any other insect.
Maybe not the most unique example, but just adding small extra features does a lot for me. No matter the sharpness, apperture etc.

Next in line i believe comes composition. A great colorful background to the object in focus can improve even the worst photos.