>>3626882This is a lot more in depth than I was expecting. Thank you for giving me a second look. I feel like a lot of my photographs get glanced over b/c they don't immediately pop—a side effect from me looking at them for hours and trying to find out why I like them or why I don't.
I mentioned rule of thirds b/c it was something I used deliberately over and over when I first started out and, later, realized that none of my shots were actually improved by RoT usage. Rather, there were other compositional elements that were far more impactful in getting my message across, such as use of scale, diagonal shadows/lines, using baroque/sinister diagonals, negative space, maximizing contrast between subject and background, and proper balance between elements in the frame. Most of the good shots from my earlier work were entirely due to coincidence from using Rule of Thirds.
I tend to think that composition is more of a life-long endeavor now. Its not something you can just find a rule for online, apply it to your craft, and expect good results. I think after looking at different artists, painters, and photographers I learned that they each had their own style to their photographs that really rang out. For example, Edward Hopper (B9VsGPkFJce) was an inspiration for a lot of my interior shots through windows, especially nighthawks. Sometimes I get the aesthetic right, but often I miss the mark.
I agree that the contrast needs work. HP5+ is generally lacking in contrast that TriX 400 has, and I should stop trying to edit with maximizing dynamic range in mind, and edit with the intention of maximizing important areas of contrast. Moving forward I'll abuse the contrast slider a bit more.
Thanks again.
