my 1st post

I'm fairly new to the dslr world. Just thought I would post my 1st pic. Don't be easy on me. I want to know what I can improve on.

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I know the 1st is a bit over exposed.

Hi whoty, and welcome to POTN
The first shot could be rotated a few degrees CCW...there is a slight tilt. Also, the street lighting unfortunately gives a yellow cast across the whole image. You might want to play with the white balance. I like the second shot, but I wish there were more of the ship's sails in the picture. Happy shooting!

When you finalize an image, meaning shooting and post processing, you should have in mind what you're trying to accomplish. Your street scene shot is a night shot. But it doesn't look like it. The lights are blown out, but everything else looks to be lit by a muddy sun. Two issues are white balance and exposure. If you want to convey night, you need to underexpose the shot. I've seen some night pictures that have been presented as if they were daylight, but the color has been balanced to make it look real.

The sailing vessel presents a number of compositional problems. What looks to be the aft cabin area dominates the image. You can hardly make out the nearest mast. The farthest one actually looks like it's part of something else. So the composition is disconnected. The fencing doesn't do anything for the shot. You also suffered because of the uneven illumination that put the nearest part of the vessel substantially in the dark.

I wonder how a shot from a position some distance in front of the bow might have turned out.

The white balance in #1 is way out of whack. For night shots with mixed lighting, it's
important to shoot raw so you can make adjustments. I played around with the jpeg
just for practice. Lots of local adjustments too numerous to describe ...

Peano - good stuff.

In addition, you should think about what you're trying to say with a photograph (if you're not taking a picture of an obvious subject). The second photo would have worked well as a long exposure - or if you could have found a single subject somewhere. Something to turn it from a photo of the road at night to a story. Also, adjust it so that the lampposts are standing up at a 90 degree angle. And the star on the left side is cut off. It would have been good to back up a few feet or crop it out entirely.

The second photo is a snapshot. I agree with what everyone else has said. Lots of things cut off and nothing really to distinguish it from the thousands of photos just like it.

To start you could work on subject matter, composition and lighting. Look at a bunch of threads on the forum from a section that interests you. Look at all the pictures and the critique that was given and apply that knowlege to your own pictures. Have fun

The first shot would have been cool with star bursts (use f/22 or higher).

Peano, awesome job!

I thought the pics looked good to begin with but I've learned a bunch just with that edit!

Peano, I like what you did with WHOTY's image; its a great work. You are talented in many ways, I like both websites too.

Thanks for the input everyone. I love the critique corner. Things that I miss,someone else catches. I'm going downtown again tomorrow night to take some more. Yes,Peano you hit the nail on the head. Thx.