[mikesgarage]

Hi, need feedback to improve my skills.. Thanks in advance!

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Last edited by mikesgarage; 05-28-2014 at 08:54 AM.

[Gregory_51]

Hi
A few things I noticed. First the horizon dips a bit to the right and needs to e straightened. As for the framing, I like the strong lead in the wharf provides. It directs the eye to the gulls at the end of the wharf and then the skyline. If it were possible I might have tried standing ten or fifteen feet to the right so the lead in lines were on more of a diagonal. It might have been a better angle which would have reduced the large area of water which doesn't have anything to interest the viewer. This may or may not work. It's one of those things you have to train yourself to do. When you see something you like that you want to photograph, take the shot but then think about it a bit. Would it be better with a different focal length, aperture or shutter setting? Maybe higher or lower POV or maybe further left or right. It's better to have some shots that didn't work and can be deleted later on than looking at one and wishing you had only done something a little different when you were there. I also find the darks a bit blocked up and might lighten the low end a bit and maybe a bit of dodge and burn to help lead the eye to the sunlit gulls and the skyline beyond. That's my take on it.
Cheers
Greg

[nicoprod]

I would definitely crop this photo to have the edge of the peer meet with the bottom left corner of the image. In other words you don't need that lower quarter and the right side quarter either. I think it would bring a better composition, IMO.

[mikesgarage]

hello Gregory and nicoprod, very interesting inputs and advice. It is greatly appreciated to improve my skills. It also definitely inspired me to shoot more and at the same time take more shots with more careful thought. Thank you!

[MSL]

Nice shot and there are a lot of aspects that already work. One thing you are hearing from others and realizing is that a small change in the shooting location or angle can dramatically change a shot. Even though you are still capturing mostly the same scenery it will come through with a different perspective. One curiosity I have for this shot is what would it look like if you lowered the camera to be shooting closer to the ground. And I mean anything from 1 foot to 4 feet high? I think you could easily go back to this location, take 20 pictures where you only changed one thing in a small way from shot to shot, and come back with 20 images that evoked different responses from the viewers.

[FrankC]

Your exposure seems like it was about 1 stop under since the wooden posts seem too dark and without detail, but the highlights in the clouds are perfectly controlled. When exposing for digital, just like with slide film, you want to expose for the highlights and let the shadows fall where they may. If you need to, take another exposure for the shadows and blend in post. But you'll typically want to expose for the highlights because the sensor create far more data for the shadows which means there's more info to bring up in post. I hope if you can, you're shooting in RAW since JPEGs are stripped of this information preventing you from making these adjustments in post.

Your decision on placing the end of the pier in upper RHC created a composition that is severely off balance; the pier also feels like it's tilting downward to the left. This may be real or it may be caused by lens distortion. Either way, the tilt of the pier adds tension or off-balanced feeling to the image (imo).

It's been noted that the leading line created by the pier leads the viewer to clouds, however, I'd argue it leads the viewer's eye to the clouds AND off of the frame. This also lead to the inclusion of a lot of water on the left side, which means that more than 1/3 of the entire image is occupied by an uninteresting element.

If framing by way of the Rule of Thirds, typically (but necessarily) placing the end of the pier in one of the top two third intersections would lead the viewers eye to a more pleasing section of the image. This would have also prevented the pier from being partially cropped off. However, an alternative composition would be one that goes for complete symmetry. By this I mean placing the end of the pier in middle of the frame while its end is at the lower or upper third of the frame. Choosing whether to put the end of the pier in the upper or lower third completely depends on how interesting things are in either parts of the frame.

I get the feeling that you saw the leading line created by the wooden posts and framed the image so that they were in line with the corner of the frame. To me this shows you were thinking about the composition and not just snapping away. I also like the fact that you went on day that some interesting clouds and semi-soft light. Your lens and aperture choice works well as the DOF is well controlled.

[mikesgarage]

makes me want to go back there now to experiment MSL.. also thank you FrankC for all the tips. well noted!

[MSL]

makes me want to go back there now to experiment MSL.. also thank you FrankC for all the tips. well noted!

You definitely should as it is an interesting vantage point with a lot of conflicting visuals to incorporate, and thus experiment with.

[rrstuff]

This is close to a pretty classic composition for this kind of cityscape-with-a-pier shot. Let me find some examples for you so you could try to emulate those next time. It could be a fun experience.

---------- Post added 02-10-14 at 06:13 PM ----------

this is the kind of composition I think would work for this subject. You might want to try a panorama if you don't have a wider lens:
Concrete Pier Or Bridge In Sea. Calm Sea Water And Sky View. Stock Photo 91676042 : Shutterstock

Alternative would be this: you can play with how much sky vs foreground you want for those.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5014758302_be25454d3b.jpg