Wifes left foot

by Steph
(Scotland)

Toes

This shot was taken in Crete as part of a group of body parts.

I love the B + W effect.


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This is a terrific photograph, well done Steph!

Why do I love this photo? There are many reasons; I'll run through them here so that other photographers can get a few tips on how they might improve their photography too.

Here goes . . . first of all, the composition. The subject is really neatly framed. Run your eye around the edge of the photo – nothing is cut off, it all fits neatly inside the frame with equal breathing space.

What do I mean by this? Take a look at the shadow at the bottom of the photo. The gap between the edge of the shadow and the edge of the photo is about the same size as the gap on the left side of the photograph; and about the same as the gap where the little pinky is on the top right. This gives the photo a nicely balanced feel.

There is a little more to the composition I'd like to mention. The toes go in a nice diagonal from the bottom left to the top right. Diagonals like this make a composition stronger. If the toes had been lined up along the bottom edge of the photo this compositional effect would have been lost.

Moving on from the composition there is the subject matter itself. How many of us have been on a beach and taken the classic beach shots? The waves breaking on rocks, the sand dunes . . . all the big things. But how often do we overlook the small things – like toes! It is always worth keeping an eye out for the smaller things too. (Read a digital photography tutorial on how to look for the details)

Then there is the black and white effect – this photo is crying out for the black and white treatment. It is a nice simple composition with good contrast – two things that really work well in black and white photography. (Read more about what makes a good black and white picture)

Judging by the contrast in this photo, I'm guessing that Steph used our top black and white tip – take the photo in colour, and then convert to black and white using software. Doing this gives you far more control over the final result than setting your camera to black and white mode.

The level of contrast in Steph's photo is spot on. We have a full range of shades, from deep black to pure white, and everything else in between. If you have a black and white photo, it generally looks better if you boost the contrast (contrast control is in pretty much every image editing software – even free software). Boosting contrast makes whites appear whiter, and blacks blacker. (Read a photoshop tutorial on how to make a black and white picture)

My final comment comes as a suggestion, not a criticism. Steph mentioned that he took a few 'body part' photos. It would be interesting to see these combined into a collage of some sort. If they all had the same quality as these toes, it would make a great collage! You can see an example of this collage effect here)

Thanks for the submission Steph.

Ed.
Steph's submission also appears in our black and white section. You can view the black and white digital photography submissions here.

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