Critique my super telephoto sunset
Working my way around landscape photography with a super telephoto.
More Posts in: Landscape and Nature Photography
Hector Reyes
Leopard spots and high heels
I've photographed Ady a few times now. We get better each time as a team. This image was a fave from our latest session. I hope you like it to.
1
Last: Oct 16, 2026
Alan Brown
New website post
Just a heads up for anyone that may be interested (and as things are slow in the group.....).
Hector Reyes
Leopard spots and high heels
I've photographed Ady a few times now. We get better each time as a team. This image was a fave from our latest session. I hope you like it to.
Hector Reyes
Leopard spots and high heels
I've photographed Ady a few times now. We get better each time as a team. This image was a fave from our latest session. I hope you like it to.
David Cohen
Up, Close, and Personal
Available and natural light only, classic boudoir shooting in a fin de siècle hotel.
1
Last: Oct 09, 2026
7 Comments
The position of the sun above the golden cloud is nice, but the dark part below -- is that a mountain, or another cloud? That seems to be a bit lost in relation to the rest of the photo.
I think that it is mostly the cloud in the foreground however that makes the photo not entirely "work" for me.
How about zooming in further, for a _real_ super telephoto shot?
I guess that this was taken at around 300mm ~ 400mm focal length. Try to see if you can reach 800mm focal length if you can, add a teleconverter perhaps.
With such a focal length (depending on shooting APS-C, or FF) you could reach an effect like the attached photo (not my best telephoto sunset but just to give you the idea :) )
Amazing, I really appreciate your feedback. I just got the lens before a trip and it's my first time ever using a telephoto/zoom lens. For this shot, I not only wanted to capture the sun but the beauty of the clouds. I was above them and wanted to share a different perspective. But by your comment now, I feel I didn't achieve that as much.
Your photo is beautiful btw, and something I hope to emulate some day.
For some reason though, I thought this photo and composition would work since it's different from a lot of what we see.
Does it also look bland/boring or just missing the mark?
The image has a lot of interesting elements but to me, they don't play well together in the current composition. Lighting up the foreground clouds a bit might help.
I like the flare of clouds reaching up to the sun, like flames. But I think they need to be more the centre of attention. What if you crop the image to focus more on them?
Yep, lighting the foreground cloud made it better. But I feel there isn't enough detail in the cloud + sun where cropping the composition more makes it appealing. Lessons learnt though, and next time I shoot something similar i'm going to pay attention to the advice you shared.
Hi S A, for me a single step take towards "uplifting" or "enhancement" make the frame a work of art. In same continuation sharing my very quick sequential thoughts toward the last.
See it conceptually. Accuracy can be achieved.
I think that your changes have improved the original composition quite considerably.
Thanks so much Vijay. I'd love to probe and understand the changes a bit better while sharing my perspective so I can learn more.
Interestingly I have similar shots to the one you edited without the cloud reaching up top. But thought with that last bit of cloud I was providing something more unique. I love the square framing which puts more focus on the sun. It's odd, and maybe I'm wrong here, but even though the sun is the focus of attention I wanted people to be able to scan through the clouds and really get a sense of the broader environment.
Though I definitely see a more meaningful change in making the front cloud more "white" and leaving the one behind "darker". It's more balanced than what I had.
On your last one, I love the perfect layering across the 3 clouds. Unfortunately, I didn't think of that while shooting, but I understand better what would make the image better.
Again, I really appreciate not just the feedback but you taking your time to express the changes that would make this image better.