Separating myself w/ HDR CC Please

Fester wrote in post #15662313
I understand the "separation" you are searching for.
Rock Bands have had to do this for a long time, I call it, having a "gimmick"

Anyone can make a living, but if you want a bit more than that, you have to have this gimmick or something to set you apart from the others.

Examples: KISS, Ansel Adams, Clark Little, Bob Marley, Green Day, Nirvana, Spinal Tap.
(whos the artist in every mall that mass produces paintings that when you put light on it, the street lights look like they are glowing?)

HDR can do it for you, if thats what you want to focus on, do it, You'll find a following if its out there.

Ansel Adams had a gimmick? So thats it. I always thought it was immense talent and attention to detail to the point of devising methods to control exposure, development, and printing but I guess I was wrong, it was a gimmick.

Spike44 wrote in post #15662283
Before trying to find a niche in processing, gimmicks or trends, you might want to separate yourself by taking better basic photos than your area photogs. Everyone will admire your work a whole lot more. I have seen some of your images and I see you have some talent and no shortage of opportunities (surf 'n scenery).
I would recommend doing some research on what makes a shot "good" in addition to knowing your camera and lens well.

Wow...thanks for taking the time to do that. I appreciate it.

gonzogolf wrote in post #15661982
I'm not sure galleries are going to be too excited by overcooked HDR. Plus your horizon is off.

Sorry i'll explain, I'm in no way looking to be featured in galleries (currently), just trying to focus on a style that not many others are.....in my area. I used galleries as one example but have looked at others as well. I'll just focus on what I'm doing and let things fall into place where they may...

tak0eye wrote in post #15662414
Sorry i'll explain, I'm in no way looking to be featured in galleries (currently), just trying to focus on a style that not many others are.....in my area. I used galleries as one example but have looked at others as well. I'll just focus on what I'm doing and let things fall into place where they may...

As has been mentioned above, make yourself stand up by doing quality work, not through being different just to be different.

^^^^^^^^^ I agree 100% ^^^^^^^! There have been many times that i've wanted to print an image of mine. To this day I have only printed a single image since shooting DSLR (the wife and my son) as I feel the quality of my images are not yet where I want it to be. Quality is very important to me and I don't think i'll be producing any SERIOUS prints in the near future...(a $2.50 8 x 10 from costco I don't mind so much) LoL!!

tak0eye wrote in post #15662488
^^^^^^^^^ I agree 100% ^^^^^^^! There have been many times that i've wanted to print an image of mine. To this day I have only printed a single image since shooting DSLR (the wife and my son) as I feel the quality of my images are not yet where I want it to be. Quality is very important to me and I don't think i'll be producing any SERIOUS prints in the near future...(a $2.50 8 x 10 from costco I don't mind so much) LoL!!

I used to be there...I still printed some though but now I look at them and think about how crappy they are.

We all tend to think our stuff is pretty good when we start. When we really start being critical of our own work and decide we really aren't all that great after all, we start growing.

The reason I advise against HDR is because I myself got caught in that trap and at that stage of my photography I thought I was creating better work by doing HDR. I was wrong, and it wasn't until I got past that HDR part that I started to produce some work that I'm truly happy with. Though some of my HDR was not bad at all really in the later stages. But by switching to filters and really working on controlling the light in my shots, they are better than ever. I still need to work myself on better composition and slowing myself down some, preparing a bit better and refining my editing technique.

I think that you are doing well on the technical side - the only thing I suggest on that side is get some filters and start working with them. Try to focus on the composition. For a landscape to be successful you need to find a way to convey emotion to the viewer. This is done with light mainly, but other important aspects are a clear and identifiable subject with foreground, middleground and background elements that compliment the subject. That's not a strict rule about that but it's a good guideline.

To OP:

Uffff... if you have to work so much on the pic, it isn't good enough at the first place.

Whenever I catch myself, that I am "brushing up" a pic for too long, I already know, I have to bin it. Sometimes it's hard to do, I'll give you that, but you have to, as the Nike says, "just do it".

tak0eye wrote in post #15662414
Sorry i'll explain, I'm in no way looking to be featured in galleries (currently), just trying to focus on a style that not many others are.....in my area. I used galleries as one example but have looked at others as well. I'll just focus on what I'm doing and let things fall into place where they may...

From an atristic POV, the only opinion that matters is yours.
If you think this looks good, 'Nuff said!'


But, since you ask for C&C, I ask that you please indulge this minor rant.

As Spike succinctly put it, your original image rather sucks. (IMO, of course!) As I see it, 95% of the process that creates a great image happens before the shutter is pressed! 95% happens in the grey goo that is located several inches behind the viewfinder. All the camera can ever do is opens the shutter and expose some manner of light-sensitive substance. I know the Gear Dweebs (who think 'photography' is all about buying the latest body/lens/software/etc​.) will shriek with horror at this heresy, but it is the truth. In short, all the HDR on Earth will not help your image. HDR is nothing more than a wasteful distraction. YOU must do better in the first place.

Regarding the composition; I get the impression you didn't spend much time evaluating the scene. As pointed out, the horizon isn't even level. IMO, the scene lacks any theme or shape or even a definitive subject. That's not gonna make it. FWIW, I'd strongly suggest you watch this guy's superb series in its entirety.
http://www.youtube.com …?flow=list&view​=0&sort=dd
Start at #1 and watch several per day. You can skip the episodes that discuss cloud storage and other non-photo-specific topics.

For what my two cents is worth.

The others have already given you great advice and explained themselves well. I would just add that any style that is achieved easily (for example, by pushing around some sliders in an HDR program) is never going to make you 'stand out.' Eventually you will get better at making decisions before you press the shutter button, which as the others have pointed out is the largest part of the battle. If you really want to stand out, however, you will also need to work on the processing end of things, so get yourself going in the right direction sooner than later. Think of processing like learning a language: you can memorize some phrases that will help in certain circumstances, or you can learn the language properly so that you can do anything with it. Dedicated HDR software is like a phrasebook, giving you a crude shortcut. Instead of going that route, learn how to process selectively, starting with simple dodging and burning and then moving up to masking, layering, etc. (More on that here.) But again: first things first...your final photo will always stand or fall on the decisions you made at the moment of capture.

To be constructive, your composition skills need improvement. The horizon is crooked and I really can't see a subject in this image. A lot of water and trees in the background, a couple of small boats. Work on your compositional vision before trying to "separate" yourselves from "others".

Get closer to your subjects (find a good subject), use longer focal lengths to help accomplish this. An ultra wide zoom lens may be different and new for you but I find it rarely is needed since it creates too wide a view making subjects look smaller. There's a saying "if your photos aren't good enough you aren't getting close enough!" Many that start in photography compose images too "loosely" getting too much in the image such as people photos showing them from head to toe when often getting them from the waist up will result in a stronger composition and more appealing image.