Wikipedia:Picture peer review/Hose strap folded

Hose strap, folded

I would like feedback on this picture. It appeared on the front page today (2008-09-12) as a DYK item, which outright shocked me. I've never considered myself a good photographer or a particularly skilled Photoshopper (well, I can crop OK), so I've been pleasantly surprised by the honor it received. What I don't know is how well it matches up against the featured picture criteria. I don't expect this one to meet them, but I would like feedback about what I could do with future pictures I will take to get to Featured Picture status. Jclemens (talk) 22:04, 12 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Creator: Jclemens

Nominated by: Jclemens (talk) 22:04, 12 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Comments

Unfortunately, I really don't think this will have much of a chance at WP:FPC. It's not very "wow"ing, and it probably would be a better picture unfolded and/or on the ground without the guy's hand in the picture. If you do feel like nominating, be sure to emphasize the large importance and encyclopedic value of the picture to the article. But I really doubt it's going to make it. Sorry <:) Intothewoods29 (talk) 05:27, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I tend to agree with the above. A photo of it doing what hose straps do may add more 'wow' to it, but I don't know how practical to photograph that would be, and how much the activity itself would detract from the focus being on the hose strap itself. --jjron (talk) 08:33, 16 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the feedback. If I were to try and get pictures of other firefighting tools, with an eye towards FP in the future, how should I best go about it? Shots of tools in action are hard to stage for composition, lighting, focus, etc. and often are not the most interesting thing in the frame. Jclemens (talk) 15:52, 16 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

When you're shooting in action, simply getting closer to the subject often helps out in composition. If lighting poses a problem, try staging something later in the day for softer, more directional light, and try not to use flash (as it seems you have here), since it interferes with color temperature and flattens lighting. Just give it a try; it might not work out, but just having pictures of stuff in use really improves articles. Thegreenj 00:52, 19 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure what his occupation is, but lugging around a tripod or an SLR with a fast lens may not be an option, so turning off the flash may just give him blurry pictures. (Although I believe you can get Point & Shoots these days with vibration reduction, which could help). However it is certainly worthwhile to experiment without the flash. Fire photography has some interesting external links to show what others are doing, and the lead picture in that article made FP on Commons. My guess is that action shots would be prized here because they are hard to come by, and perhaps people would be more lenient with regard to technical quality. However non-action shots of tools, while good additions to articles, really need to have high technical quality and good aesthetics to make FP. Fletcher (talk) 14:49, 19 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You shouldn't need a tripod, flash, fast lens, or IS in daylight, even in the late evening! Thegreenj 04:51, 20 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I thought the picture of the hose strap could be underexposed if the flash didn't fire... clearly if there is enough light then you don't need it. Fletcher (talk) 16:46, 20 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you all for your comments. I appreciate the suggestions, and obviously have a lot to learn. Jclemens (talk) 05:54, 22 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Seconder