Some Vacation Shots, Looking to Improve

Any feedback is appreciated, I'm looking to make my shots better. Here are a couple of the ones I liked.

The gallery with 7 more is here if you have time:

http://500px.com/zehcn​as


Many thanks.

1. blown out a bit
2. Very Cool
3. Maybe some cropping too much sky

i like #2, where were you on vacation?

For a shot like number 1 i personally would use a ND grad filter or exposure blend - a lot of foreground detail is lost. I think with a bit of photoshop you could make this shot look a lot better.

I like number 2 and 3 and agree some of the sky could be lost in 3

buy2ls wrote in post #13803293
1. blown out a bit
2. Very Cool
3. Maybe some cropping too much sky

I appreciate it. For #1, does blown out refer to being overexposed? I took with a point and shoot, full auto. What could I have done to get a better shot?

Again, thanks.

rick_reno wrote in post #13803356
i like #2, where were you on vacation?

Thank you. These are from Brazil.

primosanchez wrote in post #13803908
I appreciate it. For #1, does blown out refer to being overexposed? I took with a point and shoot, full auto. What could I have done to get a better shot?

Again, thanks.

Yes it does - in this case meaning that some areas are clipped because they are overexposed.

Depending on the P&S it may limit your options for ways around it... If you decrease the exposure then the overall picture becomes (more) underexposed. To be honest I don't mind having a small area which is blown out if it means that it doesn't detract from the overall image. You can do things like using filters or exposure blending/masking to get over these problems - that would require a tripod and taking a few different exposures.

You can try and edit just the one exposure if you don't have multiple exposures - but you can lose some image quality from doing this.

I could try an edit of your photo if you'd like (tick IMAGE EDITING OK in user CP if you would like to allow this all the time) - tbh I am not great at post processing but could see what I can do.

Jeevz wrote in post #13803399
For a shot like number 1 i personally would use a ND grad filter or exposure blend - a lot of foreground detail is lost. I think with a bit of photoshop you could make this shot look a lot better.

I like number 2 and 3 and agree some of the sky could be lost in 3

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not familiar with the filter/technique you are referencing. Are those photoshop techniques? That shot was on a P&S, full auto if that helps...

Jeevz wrote in post #13803983
Yes it does - in this case meaning that some areas are clipped because they are overexposed.

Depending on the P&S it may limit your options for ways around it... If you decrease the exposure then the overall picture becomes (more) underexposed. To be honest I don't mind having a small area which is blown out if it means that it doesn't detract from the overall image. You can do things like using filters or exposure blending/masking to get over these problems - that would require a tripod and taking a few different exposures.

You can try and edit just the one exposure if you don't have multiple exposures - but you can lose some image quality from doing this.

I could try an edit of your photo if you'd like (tick IMAGE EDITING OK in user CP if you would like to allow this all the time) - tbh I am not great at post processing but could see what I can do.

Sorry, didn't see that you already responded. Yeah I just have the one exposure, I would have to do some playing around to see how many settings I could manually control on the P&S.

As for editing, that would be great if you don't mind. Would you like an original copy or will that do?

Thanks

primosanchez wrote in post #13804348
Thanks for the feedback. I'm not familiar with the filter/technique you are referencing. Are those photoshop techniques? That shot was on a P&S, full auto if that helps...

If you are using a lens that accepts filters (SLR lens generally) then you can use filters in front of the lens - lots of various filters; look around the forum for examples. The most commonly used filters in Landscape photography are probably circular polarizers, Neutral density (ND) filters, and ND grad filters.

For instance:

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

Jeevz wrote in post #13804617
If you are using a lens that accepts filters (SLR lens generally) then you can use filters in front of the lens - lots of various filters; look around the forum for examples. The most commonly used filters in Landscape photography are probably circular polarizers, Neutral density (ND) filters, and ND grad filters.

For instance:

IMG NOTICE: [NOT AN IMAGE URL, NOT RENDERED INLINE]

Here is a quick edit on your photo:

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

I cheated and used a plugin for photoshop and then masked certain bits in/out to bring more light on the foreground and brighten up the image in general while trying not to blow out too much. Then just used curves and masks with that too.

There are plenty of good free photoshop tutorials around if you google them to help with the basics.

Looks great, I def appreciate it. I'll have to start reading some tutorials. Again, thanks.

I like the last one

Frank_Hollahan wrote in post #13809122
I like the last one

Thanks.