Hello All!
I have recently become passionate about photography again after going through four months of injury.
Below are some photos from Martha's Vineyard that I would love to be critiqued, complimented, or reviewed. I appreciate any feedback. I would also greatly appreciate which photo or photos would look good printed and displayed, and in what way, as I would like to raffle one of these Martha's Vineyard photos off for charity.
Thanks in advance!
Tyler
Hi Tyler. Glad to hear you're back from injury. Hope you are okay. I enjoyed your photos. Below are just some thoughts for each of them.
The first photo with the lighthouse is my favorite of the bunch. The lighthouse, sand colored cliffs, and dark green landscape really work well together. For the vegetation, it appears you may be losing some information in the shadows, but I think it's okay because it adds to the drama of the shot. One component I'm not as fond of is the wooden fence post - because it looks obtrusive and out of place with the rest of the photo. I think there are two options, try to remove it by getting closer and using a zoom or wider lens to maintain the lighthouse and cliff, or back up such that the railings coincide with the corners of the photo. I believe the rails would then add some foreground depth to the landscape.
The second photo of the harbor really showcases an amazing sunset. There are scenes like this that I feel can reinvigorate the passion for capturing these moments. However, as spectacular as these colors are they appear to be a little over done. I also think this photo is very busy. I want to focus on the spectacular colors but the number of sailboats (especially on the left) sort of detract from this. Given the dynamic range of the shot, possibly getting closer to the water in order to create a silhouette of the boats (closer to what is going on, on the right) would be more captivating.
The third photo shows some real creativity to capture some of the same colors. I really like the use of a medium to shoot through.
The last photo, with the sun through the tree is the most intriguing for me. I enjoy the concept, but am left wondering what the intended subject really is (e.g if the sunset is the subject the tree is in the way, if the tree is the subject- it's underexposed and the left side of the photo isn't needed, if it's the sunset through the tree then I think the left side of the photo is distracting, etc)
The theme of my comments centers around composition. I think you have some great locations and moments captured, but it feels like you saw a beautiful scene and snapped a photo of it. I think the next step is to focus in on exactly what you want the viewer to notice, feel, or appreciate and try to remove as many elements from the scene as you can without losing that intent. (you can also do the opposite, add as many things as you can but keep the same intent, however I think the former is a good start)
Sorry this wasn't brief, hope it helps, and as always just my thoughts.
Take care, Travis
Thanks Travis! What gives you idea that the colors are overdone in the second photo? I appreciate your comment, I just would like to understand where you are coming from so that I can improve. Additionally, to the right of that photo is the town, and those are actually buildings, not sailboats. I would have gotten closer to the water, but to be honest I was afraid of falling in at 5 am with my camera! For the last photo, the subject was the tree itself and the light was intended to add a mystical and magical air to the photo, while warming up the colors and highlighting the tree's shape. But I do understand how that can be a difficult photo to look at. Finally, the first photo was shot with the post there simply because there was only a small area that I could photograph from. I did have one additional photo, which I will put below. I would appreciate if you could tell me whether this composition is better or worse.
Thanks again!
Tyler
Hi Tyler,
For the second photo, when I said it appeared to be overdone - I meant it looks like the saturation and vibrance are turned up high. This may or may not be the case, but I made the comment based on the clouds brighter red colors and the range from the deep red base to the blue sky. I also appear to have mischaracterized this sunrise as a sunset - but I still think it's amazing and the colors are spectacular. It's just that the colors are right on the line for me to be a bit overstated (this is really my opinion, all of this is). I didn't mean any offense by the comment.
As for getting closer to the water, I was just trying to offer a different perspective to keep getting that awesome sky and really set it off with silhouettes in the harbor (I really like the building two masts to the right of the sun).
For the last photo - I didn't find it difficult to look at - I kept coming back to it. I really like the concept of the magical light through the tree - I would just argue there's too much extra scene that I don't need in order to focus on the tree. If you have Lightroom, play with the tone curve (fixing a point on the lower third of linear and moving the bottom corner up the side - this adds a haze effect and could help highlight the "magical" effect.
Finally, the first photo and the new post. I like the fence in the new one for the following reasons: the post is complete and has purpose, and the fence acts as a leading line to the lighthouse, which is an interesting aspect of the photo. The fence acts as a guide, like follow me to this interesting thing I want to show you: lighthouse. From there, the eye is drawn to light which is the cliff and shoreline. As for better or worse, I'll simply say I like the composition of the second, but I like the mood of the first. The first seems to me to say, this is when you need a lighthouse - it's sort of dark and stormy.
I would ask which one is your favorite and why. Ultimately, the most important thing is that you are happy with the photos. I took a fairly critical line towards your photos, not to offend or pick on you, but to give you things to think about when you're out shooting. I don't think you need to think about these things all the time, part of the fun is just capturing moments is just being there. Hopefully you find this helpful and not overly critical.
Take care,
Travis
Thanks Travis,
As I tried to express before, I didn't take any offense and I do appreciate the comment, I just wanted to clarify.
Again, I do appreciate the critical comments, those are the only comments to push me to get better. I am really proud of how much I have improved in my photography, I am not yet at my final destination. So I need to push myself and improve whenever I can.
As for the last photo, I will have to try editing it the way you described. I think editing is my weak point so it does not surprise me that I did not arrive at that destination.
As for the lighthouse photos, I subconsciously agree with your comment. I will try to edit the second one to look more like the first.
Thanks again for all the feedback! I really appreciate all of the valuable tips you have given me!
Cheers,
Tyler