sun-less-set

[photohunts]

Hi, everyone. This is my very first post here, and I just got into photography about 2 weeks ago. In fact, my current camera is a loaner from my brother. Even though I am a newbie, I would appreciate all honest and constructive criticisms of my work. I would really like to learn and grow.

So here is my very first entry. The picture was taken by my lady at sunset by the Galveston seawall. Post processed by me. The final product is the embedded picture, and the stock photo is attached to show the post processing.

Some camera info: Canon XTi, f1.8, 1/2000, 85mm, ISO 100

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3336/3563861593_c7b73868e8_o.jpg

[tonydee]

My main issue with this is that when you see the top half of things you generally want to see the bottom as well... where they connect to the ground. In particular, slicing into the car like that draws the eye down and out of the photo.

You have a shallow depth of field - interesting choice - maybe that makes it dreamier? It's less frustrating in the PPed image.

Most of the subject matter is crammed into the bottom half of the image, making the top look bare and boring and the bottom look cluttered. To get a really good result, you need to do more than shoot a nice sunset from whereever you happen to be - you need to move around and find good foreground and midground elements and make sure they're arranged in a way that contributes to the balance and interest of the shot. Not saying you haven't tried or had some success, just that there's still room for improvement....

The warmer colours in the edit help a lot.

Cheers, Tony

[photohunts]

My main issue with this is that when you see the top half of things you generally want to see the bottom as well... where they connect to the ground. In particular, slicing into the car like that draws the eye down and out of the photo.

That's a good point. When cars are present, is it better to frame all the way to the road or somewhere else like the tires?

You have a shallow depth of field - interesting choice - maybe that makes it dreamier? It's less frustrating in the PPed image.

I think this was due to a poor choice of lens. I believe it was a 85mm prime lens.

Most of the subject matter is crammed into the bottom half of the image, making the top look bare and boring and the bottom look cluttered. To get a really good result, you need to do more than shoot a nice sunset from whereever you happen to be - you need to move around and find good foreground and midground elements and make sure they're arranged in a way that contributes to the balance and interest of the shot. Not saying you haven't tried or had some success, just that there's still room for improvement....

Room for improvement there definitely still is! Now that you've mentioned the above, I just imagined a good shot. Something like shooting down a street with the sun setting in the horizon or just above it. I've read somewhere that one can either take or make a photograph. I'm going to go make one!

Thanks for the feedback.

[Karl Johnston]

I really like this.

[malloc]

Looks good. I particularly like the reflections on the car. Think you could improve on this by having less going on in the foreground.

[tonydee]

That's a good point. When cars are present, is it better to frame all the way to the road or somewhere else like the tires?

I personally prefer to see the road... it (literally) grounds the elements and supports the sense of relative distances between them.

I think this was due to a poor choice of lens. I believe it was a 85mm prime lens.

An 85mm prime can still get large DOF. DOF is determined by the aperture, distance at which you've focused, and sensor size (i.e. is it a 1.6x crop body (50D or below) vs full-frame (5D+). Try out a few numbers in http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html to get a feel for this.

In this case, I think you probably had to use a wide aperture, which left you with shallow depth of field, because of relatively low light and the need to keep the shutter speed up sans tripod...? Tripods give a lot more freedom for large DOF in stationary scenes.

Room for improvement there definitely still is! Now that you've mentioned the above, I just imagined a good shot. Something like shooting down a street with the sun setting in the horizon or just above it. I've read somewhere that one can either take or make a photograph. I'm going to go make one!

Thanks for the feedback.

Look forward to seeing your next composition.

Cheers, Tony

[mattograph]

Man, I like you. 2nd post and you're already beggin us to rough you up! What a set on this guy! :)

Welcome to the forums.

Ditch the wire and either bring up the "don't walk" hand or lose it too, and its a winner for me.

[photohunts]

@malloc: agreed, foreground seems a bit busy.

@tonydee: wow, that is an awesome site. bookmarked! Also, I believe XTi sensors are 1.6x. As for the tripod, I will be borrowing my dad's Manfrotto. Pretty solid construction with a ball head.

@mattograph: That's too weird. There was a "don't walk" signal probably a meter to the left of the frame.

Man, I like you. 2nd post and you're already beggin us to rough you up! What a set on this guy! :)

A great man once said, "You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one".

Great feedback, guys, and definitely encouraging. Thanks!