# Is this photo ruined by a composition error? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783 "2012-01-26T22:56:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/21 "2012-01-27T01:54:36Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > [Much, much worse.](http://weknowmemes.com/2012/01/photobomb-level-expert/) [Much, much, much worse.](http://www.phreeque.com/myrtle_corbin.html) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/22 "2012-01-27T02:09:38Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Nice job, although the other horse is the obvious distraction, personally I find the tree right in front of the horses head awkward looking as well. That’s what initially jumped out at me. I didn’t notice the extra legs until a few seconds later. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/23 "2012-01-27T02:41:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That’s what initially jumped out at me. I didn’t notice the extra legs until a few seconds later. I actually found the tree and barn such a distraction that I never noticed the extra legs until I read the second post. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/24 "2012-01-27T03:06:25Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > I actually found the tree and barn such a distraction that I never noticed the extra legs until I read the second post. I think the way the barn parallels the contour of the horse’s chin and neck is the coolest part of the picture. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/25 "2012-01-27T03:13:08Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I think the way the barn parallels the contour of the horse’s chin and neck is the coolest part of the picture. While I didn’t mention it, I personally find it a distraction, because it competes with the horse’s head as the center of attention, and my eye jumps back and forth between the two, not knowing what to focus on. Now, this is subjective, of course, but while I do like the barn as a visual element, I don’t think that’s a good place for it. But everyone has a different eye, etc. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/26 "2012-01-27T03:26:48Z")
If I could, I’d move the barn and tree to the right of the shot, so they were in front of the nose. With a slight overlap, probably. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/27 "2012-01-27T03:28:25Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > Photoshop CS5, done using the content-aware filter, clone stamp, and the Patch tool. Wow, I would have sworn you’d need to copy layers to do that, like I needed to for the blanket [here](https://twitter.com/#!/theevilwriter/media/slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2F433Y2pit). ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/28 "2012-01-27T08:03:08Z")
I think that picture is poorly composed on all counts. Extra legs, the barn, the trees front & back, subject placement. I’m sure that you were just doing the guy a favor and you’re not a professional so I don’t fault you for not creating a perfect picture. You said that you took hundreds of pictures so you may have put this one up for giggles and had no intentions of using it. But I would suggest that you pull out the camera manual and read up on depth of field. It would have eliminated some problems here and future pictures would greatly benefit as well. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/29 "2012-01-27T08:16:33Z")
Horse with two dicks. … what. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/30 "2012-01-27T08:25:02Z")
> [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > I think that picture is poorly composed on all counts. Extra legs, the barn, the trees front & back, subject placement. I’m sure that you were just doing the guy a favor and you’re not a professional so I don’t fault you for not creating a perfect picture. You said that you took hundreds of pictures so you may have put this one up for giggles and had no intentions of using it. > > But I would suggest that you pull out the camera manual and read up on depth of field. It would have eliminated some problems here and future pictures would greatly benefit as well. I am a semi-professional; I have photos published, and paid for, but it’s not my main gig. In this case, with the horses, I had no choice but to take lots and lots of pictures. I was completely at the mercy of the horses’ whims; I couldn’t just tell them to pose a certain way in a certain place. They moved around freely, constantly, rarely staying in one spot for more than half a minute; I had to move along with them, and work with whatever they decided to give me. Fortunately, there were plenty of good ones. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/31 "2012-01-27T09:02:13Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > They moved around freely, constantly, rarely staying in one spot for more than half a minute; I had to move along with them, and work with whatever they decided to give me. With animals and very young children: (1) You have to try to anticipate where they will be and what they will be doing, and (2) You have to take lots of pictures, knowing that most will be failures. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/32 "2012-01-27T09:20:44Z")
It’d have been much better if you stood about 2 feet back and about 7-10 feet to the right. You need more space for the barn and tree. It would also help a lot if you were 2 feet higher, if you had something to step on - animal pictures are generally best when taken near eye level, plus it would’ve helped seperate the elements a little better. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/33 "2012-01-27T16:23:14Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > [Alot worse.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l8aelmmNMI1qd88z0o1_500.jpg) That went up on Twitter _and_ Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![Schyler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Schyler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schyler)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/34 "2012-01-27T16:51:24Z")
The horses head/neck are right above the barn. Could’ve been fixed by moving yourself and camera to the right a little. That way you could’ve gotten the horse but the barn would have been “beside” it instead of under it. I’m not much of a photographer, but what I’ve learned recently is that focusing on the background as much as you focus on the subject only takes a few seconds, but it’s usually worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/35 "2012-01-27T16:57:44Z")
I’m distracted by the beam of pure white energy this X-Horse is shooting out of his snout. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/36 "2012-01-27T17:10:52Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > It would also help a lot if you were 2 feet higher, if you had something to step on - animal pictures are generally best when taken near eye level This was my big thing - I could see the other horse and the barn but they didn’t bother me as much as the angle of the shot. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/37 "2012-01-27T17:19:05Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > I actually found the tree and barn such a distraction that I never noticed the extra legs until I read the second post. Ditto. The barn is bugging the crap out of me. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/38 "2012-01-27T21:25:06Z")
There is a large black and white animal blocking the view of the barn and the horse. I found it to be pretty obvious. Aside from that, it could stand to be cropped a bit to focus on the subject of the barn and the horse (especially eliminating the tree on the left). But it’ll be hard to remove the animal in the foreground. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/39 "2012-01-27T21:30:25Z")
I’m laughing, but I think you’re exactly right. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783/40 "2012-01-28T03:00:40Z")
The background is a distraction. Limiting the depth of field to blur the background would improve it a great deal. Also, the lighting just sucks. Part of that is the time of day, but you could do quite a bit to improve it if you have to shoot in this light. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-photo-ruined-by-a-composition-error/610783.md?page=3)