Thanks for the feedback Jean! Now that I have feedback it's easier to look at the image a little more objectively. Definitely agree with the foreground being dark. I'll see if I can bring the shadows up.
I agree with Jean. I like the overall composition and theme, but would only like more detail in the foreground and the rocks. Overall, solid photo! Really well done
Hi Jay,
Thanks for posting this image. is this a pano crop or a composite (I'm guessing crop as I see a slight curvature of the horizon line). This looks like a very interesting location. I am seeing the beginnings of halos at the rock / sky interface so watch for that and manage it if you develop the image further. I think the right half of the image is stronger as the messed sand in the lower left corner is distracting .
Best...Mike
Thanks for the great feedback Michael. This definitely helps. With the feedback I'm able to look at this image a little more objectively. I never even noticed the halo at the rocks before. This is a pano done in LR and then adjusted. I'll give this image another run and see if I can manage that halo. This location is the Halona Beach Cove - or better known as the beach from "From Here to Eternity" on Oahu.
It's always good to have another set of eyes (especially photographer's) check out your photo. I have one that i thought was flawless, and realized i had not seen a distracting building in the background
The way I see it, you need to get the exposure right first. It's all about exposing for the details in the brightest areas (or darkest depending on what you're going for) and placing them in a zone on your camera that you "see" yourself - the Ansel Adams approach to landscapes, where you have control, not your camera. I would have exposed for the white water in the waves using a spot meter approach. Placing those waves in a high zone - say 6 or 7, or even higher depending on the dynamic range of your camera, which would have preserved detail in those zones and made the white caps white. It would have also lifted the exposure in the rest of your image to lighten the rocks and foreground. Placing those waves in say zone 7 would have required you to open up your lens two stops. It looks like you were at F22 or there about. If it over exposed the sun, you could expose for it instead, or you could have brought down sky exposure including the overexposed sun in post giving it that moody look. If you're going to shoot landscapes, it would be worth checking out the Zone system to understand how to capture detail and your vision of your shot before you take it. Your shot is good, but notice the overall gray tone. Ocean wave white caps are not gray - they're white, even in that low light setting. They're gray because you took your exposure and set it there - which was a neutral gray evaluation from your meter. Did you meter using your camera's meter, or a hand held meter? If it was a spot meter eval, what did you meter on?
Thanks for taking the time to comment Mike! I've never heard of the zone system, but I'll definitely research it. I don't recall what I was metering on, but was trying to get an exposure where the sun wasn't completely blown out. On the gray evaluation, what would have been the ideal place to meter the image? Thanks again!
Can't really say without being there, but your meter will always assume the scene should be shot a neutral gray, which is zone 5 in the zone system. Your camera is dumb and doesn't know what you're trying to achieve, or what you have in front of you. You'll get a good exposure, but maybe not the best exposure for your scene. Usually when shooting the zone system with a typical digital camera you'll want to expose for the highlights and process for the shadows. You did really well with the subject, and with your positioning of everything. Great work - Just remember you don't take a photograph, you make it. The other half of this conversation relates to what you can do in post to realize your vision - and that's a whole other subject! Good luck!
Nice composition! But the shot is exposed for the sky, so the rocks are too dark (I think), I'd like more details and contrast in the land...
Thanks for the feedback Jean! Now that I have feedback it's easier to look at the image a little more objectively. Definitely agree with the foreground being dark. I'll see if I can bring the shadows up.
I agree with Jean. I like the overall composition and theme, but would only like more detail in the foreground and the rocks. Overall, solid photo! Really well done
Thanks Tyler! Great feedback on exposing a little more for the foreground.
Hi Jay,
Thanks for posting this image. is this a pano crop or a composite (I'm guessing crop as I see a slight curvature of the horizon line). This looks like a very interesting location. I am seeing the beginnings of halos at the rock / sky interface so watch for that and manage it if you develop the image further. I think the right half of the image is stronger as the messed sand in the lower left corner is distracting .
Best...Mike
Thanks for the great feedback Michael. This definitely helps. With the feedback I'm able to look at this image a little more objectively. I never even noticed the halo at the rocks before. This is a pano done in LR and then adjusted. I'll give this image another run and see if I can manage that halo. This location is the Halona Beach Cove - or better known as the beach from "From Here to Eternity" on Oahu.
It's always good to have another set of eyes (especially photographer's) check out your photo. I have one that i thought was flawless, and realized i had not seen a distracting building in the background
The way I see it, you need to get the exposure right first. It's all about exposing for the details in the brightest areas (or darkest depending on what you're going for) and placing them in a zone on your camera that you "see" yourself - the Ansel Adams approach to landscapes, where you have control, not your camera. I would have exposed for the white water in the waves using a spot meter approach. Placing those waves in a high zone - say 6 or 7, or even higher depending on the dynamic range of your camera, which would have preserved detail in those zones and made the white caps white. It would have also lifted the exposure in the rest of your image to lighten the rocks and foreground. Placing those waves in say zone 7 would have required you to open up your lens two stops. It looks like you were at F22 or there about. If it over exposed the sun, you could expose for it instead, or you could have brought down sky exposure including the overexposed sun in post giving it that moody look. If you're going to shoot landscapes, it would be worth checking out the Zone system to understand how to capture detail and your vision of your shot before you take it. Your shot is good, but notice the overall gray tone. Ocean wave white caps are not gray - they're white, even in that low light setting. They're gray because you took your exposure and set it there - which was a neutral gray evaluation from your meter. Did you meter using your camera's meter, or a hand held meter? If it was a spot meter eval, what did you meter on?
Thanks for taking the time to comment Mike! I've never heard of the zone system, but I'll definitely research it. I don't recall what I was metering on, but was trying to get an exposure where the sun wasn't completely blown out. On the gray evaluation, what would have been the ideal place to meter the image? Thanks again!
Can't really say without being there, but your meter will always assume the scene should be shot a neutral gray, which is zone 5 in the zone system. Your camera is dumb and doesn't know what you're trying to achieve, or what you have in front of you. You'll get a good exposure, but maybe not the best exposure for your scene. Usually when shooting the zone system with a typical digital camera you'll want to expose for the highlights and process for the shadows. You did really well with the subject, and with your positioning of everything. Great work - Just remember you don't take a photograph, you make it. The other half of this conversation relates to what you can do in post to realize your vision - and that's a whole other subject! Good luck!
Jay, Great shot! Did ya get your feet wet? :)