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John’s
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Hey here are 3 of my landscapes (the only ones I have currently in digital format. :oops: )
Again I would appreciate HONEST Critiques.
Well there you go.
Let the comments begin :D :shock: :? :wink:Oh and by the way, if anyone can add clouds in photoshop please let me know how or just put some clouds in the first post.
I mean really a sunny day in the dunlaoghaire pier who would have expected that. :)You’re going to start thinking I don’t like you :oops:
The first two shots are overexposed and this is the reason for the white skies. I’d suggest that rather than looking for a way to paint in clouds afterwards, go back with your camera and try shooting again. On sunny days like that at that time of the day, exposure gets VERY tricky. You need to either buy a graduated ND filter or do multiple exposures (one for the sky, one for the land) and then blend in Photoshop. For best landscapes, as horrendous as it sounds, most people get up VERY early or stay out shooting late so they capture the golden light of either sunrise or sunset, with nice long shadows and not so much contrast.
The third shot… it’s crooked ;) For landscapes, one rule that should be followed pretty much all the time, is to have straight horizons.
You don’t like me? :cry:
Ha ha no I really like honest feedback.
I agree with the first about overdeveloped, the second was actually fine untill I screwed it up in photshop. :oops:
The third, I have to disagree I have this one blown up and hanging on my wall. (So hard to be critical about)
keep up the honesty it is helping me see my photo’s in a new light.
CheersJohn wrote:
The third, I have to disagree I have this one blown up and hanging on my wall. (So hard to be critical about)
Sorry, but we’ll have to agree to disagree :) If you stick a horizontal guide down in photoshop you can clearly see the mountains (horizon) in the background sloping heavily from left down to the right. With a 2 degree anti clockwise rotation, this comes about level.
John
The first definitely needed a ND Grad filter to keep detail in the sky. However the composition of the shot itself could be improved on, imho. In particular the foreground is very cluttered, and I believe that if you had got yourself into a different position you might have got a much better shot.The second shot just lacks impact and colour – something which as Ciaran says, can be improved by getting out of the scratcher a bit earlier, or staying out later…. :lol:
I think the 3rd is a cracker! I would have it on my wall too.
Again with these pics the lack of depth and saturation is down to the poor scanning. I’d suggest that you have a look at going digital. You dont need a slr but the entry level Nikons or Canons are good value and you will see a big difference in quality immediately.
The horizon is off in the third but I really like it. The washed out look on the first two is, as i’ve said, not necessarily your fault.
Thanks guys (and gals) you are all fantastic.
I would love to go digital and am working on it. My wife is half way convinced. :oops:
My 2c…
The first pic is also definitely off-horizontal… (just scrolling it through the top of my browser window shows that) and doesn’t really have a focal point. As ciaran mentioned re the sky, I wouldn’t try to fudge something into it in Photoshop to make it more interesting. Just re-shoot (a good excuse to get back outside ;-)
Also, perhaps if you could move your viewpoint further to the right, angle the camera more to the left… and have the line of the spit jutting out into the sea a little more dramatically (leading your eye into the centre of the photo) it may work better. As it is, your eye follows it from the bottom right corner, across the middle of the picture, and off the other side! The foreground is also just too distracting with the masts and the greenery all muddled in there together.
The second pic is washed out (the large block of bluey-grey on the mountain), which is a real shame… as previously mentioned… I’d also be tempted if re-shooting to get rid of the people (wait til none in the shot or clone out!) as they don’t really add anything to the scene IMHO. Love the colours of the water though – perhaps more emphasis on that (i.e. move in closer to the shoreline and get the water with the mountain, cutting out that grass and fence posts in the foreground)? I know how tricky landscape shots are in the middle of the day – mine seldom come out of the camera as I remember seeing them, and I’ve never been serious enough to get up early! One day…
For me, the third is the simplest but also has the most interest (in the foreground detail) but in contrast to the first pic, the sky is really distracting – too much texture behind the grasses. It needs to be even more blurred, or the sky should have had fewer clouds in the first place! Would have allowed the viewer to concentrate on the foreground.
Take all of the above with a smile, in the spirit it was intended, please :-)
D.
Dave thanks. I take all suggestions with a smile.
I have a wife and 4 daughters so am very used to destructive oops sorry dear “constructive criticism” :D
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