First time posting pictures!

I recently had a chance to spend some time in Northern Michigan and was able to use my recently purchased xsi to try and take my first "real" photographs. This is my first time posting images. So please let me know what I am doing well and what I need work on. Thank you.

the first picture is really nice! but the bench is distracting. if it was a part of the picture, maybe it could be lighted a bit to give a little emphasis on it just me tho! love night shots!

i like the last one the best!

I feel the bench in the first shot and the weeds in the bottom left of the second shot is highly distracting. Maybe if you had someone sitting in the bench then it would serve a purpose. But as it is there is no reason for the bench being there and it confuses me.

The waterfalls are OK but now instead of having something distracting we have nothing to draw my interest. I need something to look at. A bunch of time lapse water doesn't cut it.

I quite like the last two photos..they have a sense of calm for me..don't feel the need to "see" anything else....welll.maybe a huge Moose?

#1 could be a fantastic pic minus the bench. Right now it's just in the way, distracting from the subject of your photo.

The waterfall pics appear to be good technically, but don't really excite me. Thats only because there are so many waterfall pics going around that it takes a different perspective to really wow me anymore.

#1: the idea of a bench is good, but compositionally it's not quite there. Firstly, it's too close to left and bottom edges. Secondly, the top overlaps with the bridge... I think you need to shoot from an perspective, and with a focal length, such that there's a bit of water visually separating the two (i.e. shoot from higher up/closer in), and/or be looking more along the bench (requires a very wide angle to still get the bridge in) rather than through it. Finally, it's a bit big and heavy in the frame. You could also consider the Rule of Thirds, and frame or crop such that either the horizon or the main line through the bridge is a third from the top of the image.

#2: Again, the horizon is a bit low in the frame... try to divide the picture into thirds. Some more foreground would have been good.

#3: Good shot. It feels pretty "tight" around the edges, with the parts framing the water only just included in frame... angling the camera more horizontally - possibly with a step back and/or slightly wider angle - would be a more conventional choice, though not necessarily better. I'm not a big fan of the brown colour - maybe a grayscale conversion?

#4: Another where Rule of Thirds might help prevent the top seeming overly heavy/dominant. Unfortunately, from that angle the tree trunk isn't clearly differentiated from the falls by more white water, so it's a bit of an effort to visually separate from its background. I feel there's no sense of completion at the left, right or top, and the eye is carried right to the sides and top and wants to travel out. It's often a good idea to find some elements that encourage the eye to circle throughout the photo without getting too close to the edges....

Cheers,
Tony

Well although I agree with what everyone said about the bench......I must add that for your first attempts your well on your way and just keep shooting as you will learn more with experience.
There is a wealth of information here at POTN for you to read and learn from. One great read would be to learn about the rule of thirds and composition.
Keep those pictures coming! C & C from others gives us great perspective and ideas where we can improve on.
I'm a noobie to DSLR's and I think I have improved my skills a lot with just the short time that I have been a member here. Everyone is awesome here and so willing to help.

johnj2803 wrote in post #8515398
the first picture is really nice! but the bench is distracting. if it was a part of the picture, maybe it could be lighted a bit to give a little emphasis on it just me tho! love night shots!

i like the last one the best!

+1. Also, it would make an ideal base image for HDR to achieve the second point.

I agree with the other folks about the bench, weeds and waterfalls; however, I like all the pictures. I would like to see slightly larger images.....just my opinion. Keep shooting and posting.