[dmbaile2]

I'd really like to improve, I love all of these photos but I can be a bit biased. Give me your honest opinions about them. Emotional, Compositional, Editing, ect...


Number 1:





Number 2:





Number 3:





Number 4:



Number 5:

[DeadJohn]

Excellent set. #1 is my favorite and would like great printed large. #3 is also very good. #4 looks like one of the best backgrounds ever featured in a tent ad

The sky colors in #2 and #5 look weird to me, possibly too much processing.

[Gregory_51]

Hi
Since you want honest critique here's what I think about them.
No 1 The location with the great patterns and shapes is a great inspiration. I haven't been there but I imagine there are lots of angles to shoot, I'm not sure this one works. I find it too disjointed. Three areas of sky, two bright areas that draw the eye and the the eye keeps wandering around with nowhere to settle. The processing could be reworked. I'm assuming this was a single shot and the camera couldn't record the dynamic range so the darks are blocked up without detail and the highlights on the rock at the right are blown and have no detail. In the middle sky area it's purple and has magenta CA's. A bracketed set of exposures would have been worthwhile here to capture the full range of tones. I think there are a number of smaller photos inside of this one.
No 2 I've seen this shot a number of times but the lighting isn't there it's flat and the sky is strange.
No 3 Interesting subjects but there are really two photos here. The weathered tree and the stone arch. The viewer is left to wonder which is the subject as they compete for the viewer's attention.
No 4 This likely has some emotional resonance for you but for the casual observer it's a tent at sunset and for me at least doesn't have any impact.
No 5 The multiple planes and undulating shapes is interesting but the processing is what draws the eye because of the unnatural halos and the yellowish green sky looks odd. I don't know if it could be reworked or if it's under exposed.
Don't want to be harsh but you asked for an honest opinion. You say it was a trip so lighting is what it is when you're there. Sometimes things come together and sometimes they don't. Memory is cheap take a ton of shots with different exposures, angles, focal lengths etc. because you can throw away what didn't work when you get home, it's better than looking at what you did shoot and wish that you had tried something else when you were there.
Regards
Greg

[dmbaile2]

All my shots are taken with bracketed exposures, however none have been merged into an HDR due to time constraints. I only spent a few moments editing these on the laptop in my hotel room, and only one exposure was used.

Now that I am home maybe I will merge the exposures and edit them again, however, I am less interested in editing and more interested in learning composition. As of right now, composition is something that i really struggle to wrap my head around. I have many more images from this trip, and for all I know some of them could be much stronger compositionally than the ones I posted, thats how lost i am on the topic!

[Gregory_51]

Hi
Photography is a continual learning curve. As for being lost everyone was when starting out but it's nice when you take what you've learned and apply it to your images and it comes together. There are tons of books out there on composition, check your local library. You might try YouTube too there are thousands of tutorials on the subject and I find it easier to watch a video sometimes. Here's a link that might help you get started.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=photographic%20composition&sm=3
Cheers

[noelpolar]

My wife reckons they're great…...

[tuco]

#1 and #2 have funny color skies and look weird. #1 goes from blue to almost purple-gray from right to left. #2 looks like lens hood vignetting with copper sky on the right. Now if they appeared to be more of a surreal/interpreted shot similar to #4 then okay but that's not the feeling I get.

[rbefly]

Hello dmbaile2,
Here's my feedback on your photos; Overall, you have some good landscape ideas. You've tried a few different compositional angles, which is great. You've also tried PP' ing the colors and contrast, which needs a lighter touch. I see more problems with the colors and processing than the framing and comp. JMO.
The second overall impression is that there's a bit too much going on in your photos, each one (with one exception, more on that later) has a slightly 'busy' or unclear purpose. In photography, two isn't always better than one. Everything in the frame is a compositional element and the more you have, the harder it gets to place them properly. Simplify. They say a great photograph tells a story. Make it a short, clear story, nothing more.
Could you use some help on composition and framing? Sure, we all could. This link helped me, and the Cambridge series is good too;
10 rules of photo composition (and why they work) | Digital Camera World
OK, now, by the numbers.
# 1. The composition is good, perhaps could be cropped a bit tighter to suit me, but overall is eye-catching. The shadowing and texture of the rocks is fine, good color rendering on the reds/browns. Perhaps a touch too saturated for my taste, but hey. ymmv.
The big problem, and potentially a killer overall, is the sky color and rendering. It's just too weird and unbalanced side-to-side for me to enjoy the parts you did well. Correct that one thing and it will work much better.
# 2. My least favorite here. Again, weird sky, blown-out whites and waaaayy too much going on in the frame. Sorry, but the only thing I like here is the vertical comp, that works for this scene. What you saw, you framed well, but it's too busy. Not a keeper.
# 3. I don't agree that this is two complete photos, but it's substantially more than needed for one. Too busy, not enough distance between the foreground subject and background (yes, that's out of your control). Now, when you see something similar, you'll look for a more distant background. We learn and move on.
# 4. Good idea, I like the comp and framing. Too much PP, gaudy colors, that part loses me. Looks too much like a composite, which isn't a compliment.
# 5. My favorite. I like the mood, clouds, layering (moving into the distance), texture, framing, comp. Simple, clean, all the things the others aren't.
But, the greenish sky? Even if the sky WAS that color, my eyes don't believe it.
Hope this wasn't too harsh, I do believe you should follow your ideas and keep posting photos. My comments probably reflect a traditional mindset towards PP and framing, which might turn out to be different from yours.
Good luck!
Ron

[burzum]

#1 and #4 are extra-ordinary! Others are ok shots.

[elensia]

#1 - I also see CA at the middle sky area. I don't know is this a result of post processing or this exists in original shot, but for me this doesn't look good. Also you may try to rotate image and see how impression will change
#3 - It is the best of all in my opinion, because I like colors. But I agree with others that there are more objects than needed.
For the rest shots I share the opinion of Gregory_51.

[ZoeB]

The contrast in #2 and #3 is a little too much, they're both busy photos, and I find them to be a little harsh. That being said, all of these shots are intuitively appealing to me, we seem to have the same enjoyment of candy-colours and busy scenes. I love them!

[ironlionzion]

1) Best composition, but weird fringing between the sky and rock that you should try to fix

2) I like the tone, texture, and composition, but the sky looks very strange.

3) Had potential, but I think overlapping the logs and the arch makes the scene too busy

4) I like this picture, but I would lighten up the foreground/tent a notch and bring down the saturation on the sky a bit. Also, the transition between the sky and ground give away the PP. Work on blending the two exposures seamlessly.

5) Really interesting, but I think the PP made the clouds look very fake.

Overall great, interesting photos!

[Sparkle]

It appears that you see when you look (many don't). The test is did you capture what you saw in your mind's eye? I believe you did. I believe you found your "Photographer's Eye". Well done!

[Dlanor Sekao]

Overall....very nice and interesting.

The one that immediatly jumped out I didnt really like was #3. You should have backed up about 3' and raised your perspective in the scene. Just too distracting with the weathered wood assuming such a large prominent portion of the frame with an interesting arch in the background....very distracting. Should have been one or the other , but not both .

I really like your perspective of Horse shoe Bend. Ive been there and enjoy seeing something a bit different . There is a glut of photos everyone posts from the adjacent ridge. Nicely done.

[Outis]

Your eye for composition is fantastic. But, the PP on many of them looks unrealistic to me, which makes it hard to immerse myself in the picture. #2 looks blurry to me.