I am new to fstoppers. I started with my first dslr about 15 years ago and just upgraded to a full frame. I'm only a hobbiest but have gotten more serious about the hobby in the last couple of years. I just took my new 5D Mark IV out last weekend and I would love some feedback. I'm not great with editing programs so I'm a bit unsure about the colors. I'm also really trying to focus on composition more as I haven't been getting what I want. For example, the last 2 photos, I tend to automatically want to include everything I see when I shoot, but following some composition "guidelines" led me to crop out an island. I can't decide if it works or not for me.
Thanks in advance!
That 3rd one, with the rocks on the beach, really does something for me. People may tell you that the foreground rocks should be in focus, but I think it works this way. The blues and golds are nice. There's a slight greenish cast which is somehow "exotic".
really like the first and the third. I think that the first shot is very well done with the sunset color in the sky and on the river with the rest in silhouette
1 and 4 for me. I'm also new to Fstoppers and I can see I still have lots to learn...which is a good thing.
Hi Ashley, and welcome to FS! I'm pretty sure you'll find it a friendly, constructive forum, with essentially zero trolling. These images are an impressive start! I think you're very wise to concentrate on composition, as it's essential to a good image.
The third is the standout image here, for me, with those glistening rocks. According to the EXIF data, you've done the generally sensible thing and stopped right down to f/22 to get everything as sharp as possible. Given that the depth of field required is so great, you could in such a situation open up, focus in the distance, and let the nearest rocks be more blurry, getting sharper in the distance.. As it is, the softness of the rocks is just an uncomfortable in-between for me. Selective focus, letting esp. foregrounds blur, can work very well aesthetically. Alternatively, many in your situation would do a focus stack from near to far, and blend a number of images to get overall sharpness. The horizon slopes down to the right in this image.
I lke the golden-lit trees in the second. The criss-crossing logs are a bit jarring, and hard to incorporate compositionally. I'd perhaps have been tempted to step over them, but you would lose the vegetation at the sides. Perhaps if you stepped closer to the near log and aimed down, you might have got a diagonal leading up into the frame from bottom right.
Regarding the last two: in the fourth image, the island is too close to the right edge for me, while in the fifth by comparison there's a sense of something missing, to balance the masses at left. Perhaps showing less of the promontory and tree would yield a simple, satisfying composition; taking the image from further right if possible might have enabled you to exclude the tree.
I'm curious what guidelines you used in composing. The best, with practice, is ultimately your own intuition.
All these images seem to be shot at f/22, Ashley, when images start to visibly soften. I guess I'd have used f/16 for no. 2, and f/8-11 for the final ones.
A final, general point: don't be afraid to comment on others' posts, especially in these Discussions in the Groups, where people post to get CC. I refrain from criticism in people's portfolios.
Hope to see more from you!
Much appreciated!
I wish I could say that focus stacking entered my mind at all while taking that picture, but it didn't. Truth be told, anything more than basic color and clarity in lightroom and I get frustrated and start throwing things. lol. I have the full adobe creative cloud suite, but I struggle to do even the basics in photoshop.
As far as composition, I have a rule of thirds and sometimes frame within a frame committed to habit, but when they don't apply for me I tend to just try and gather everything I see into the frame and I've never really gotten the results I wanted. I read an eye opening article after taking these that made me start to question what I was trying to show here, and the answer is simply that I wanted to show what I saw. I'm now making a consious effort to try other approaches and see if I start to get better results.
The f22 thing is honestly rare for me. It was really bright and I wanted to slow the shutter down and try and blur the water, but it was on a bridge with cars and there was too much shake so I played with a lot of settings and I decided that I liked the sunburst the best. I'm still adjusting to the settings I have at my disposal with the new full frame! I've always shot full manual (though by no means a pro!) but I was limited with my old crop sensor. ISO above 400 was not an option for example.
Re: composition, Ashley, I think the most important thing is practice, and (as you're doing) reflecting on your images - what works, or at first most nearly works, what doesn't, revisiting and trying again, and so on. You'll learn. As I'm fond of repeating, one of the greats at quick composition of "the decisive moment", Cartier-Bresson said that his first 10,000 images were his worst. And he was using expensive film. While I think blasting away mindlessly hoping to find or crop out a decent composition later doesn't work, having as many thoughtful attempts at a good composition as you can until you run out of ideas or become brain-dead leads to growth of your compositional ability.
At a location like the lookout here, I'd try many different framings and focal lengths, maybe even some vertical images, and later select the better ones, culling total duds.
Also, studying and trying in some way to emulate work you admire by others helps refine your own vision.