I've been dabbling in landscape photography for the last year or so, but only taking images pretty infrequently. I want to improve and so I thought I'd join some kind of forum! Anyway, I'd love any kind of feedback about the two images below. I took these shots this morning (the first one) and earlier this week (the second one) at the same location. As I said, I'd really appreciate any kind of feedback, especially feedback about the composition and editing of the images. Thanks so much in advance!
Hi Tim,
1. I quite like the first image, and I don't think it needs much work at all. I'd probably be content with increasing the saturation and luminance (or vibrance) of the lit leaves; not too much, just a little to taste. They're also on the yellow side, and you may be inclined to make them just a touch more green. In any case, these are issues of taste, and only you can decide how you want it to look.
You could also lighten the grey tree trunks a little, so the detail in the bark is more obvious, and in keeping with how you would see them in real life. That said, I really like how the dark trees and the ground in the foreground form a framing element, and accordingly, I would be inclined to leave it how it is.
I note the trees in the foreground on the right side are out of focus, but I don't think that detracts from the image in any appreciable manner.
In any case, I think you did a pretty good job on this first image, and it really needs very little, if any, work.
2. The second is pretty messy, and your main subject (that fine tree with no leaves) hides in the background; I don't know what can be done with it. However, others may well have different ideas with regard to this image.
Forest is super hard because it is messy, and a lot of people will shoot longer focal length lenses, so they can isolate elements within the scene and simplify the frame.
Hi William, thank you so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it!
I've gone back to the first image and increased the vibrance and saturation slightly and I also made the leaves and grass a little greener. I think the image looks better having made those changes- thanks!
Yeah, I agree with your comment about the second image- the subject gets a little lost in the background.
Thanks again!
Any time :)
For the second image, I'm not sure what aperture you shot it at, but if you use a long enough focal length, and a wide enough aperture, you should be able to separate the subject from the background a little more. I think you could also try it in black and white, since the subject doesn't really benefit from the colour, so I'd be interested to see what it looks like in black and white.
I hope that helps.
Hi Jordan, thanks for the feedback!
I shot it at a pretty wide aperture (maybe 4- I don't have the file on me at the moment). I'll go back to this spot another time to try out the different focal lengths, thanks for the tip!
I hadn't even thought about changing it to black and white- next time I have my file storage with me, I'll edit the image and see what it looks like!
Thanks again Jordan, I appreciate you taking the time to give me some feedback!