I am a beginner at this but I need all the advice I can get...



Thanks,

Dan Stephens

Before I give a cretique, I have to ask a question....was it a lot darker and you ended up raising the exposure? I am seeing a LOT of noise even in this compressed a size.

Roman

It wasn't darker I just boosted the color.

I can see you had a very interesting scene.

Composition/use of frame space:
5 of 10 The foreground is a bit distracting and unbalanced.

Colors/White Balance:
7 of 10 Colors are good but a bit over saturated and not natural.

Exposure:
Actually a bit dark. If you had a stronger composition you would have also wanted to have some minor details show up to keep things interesting (like the trees and branches) I am also wondering if the blur I see in the trees is due to hand holding...are you using a tripod?

Creative use of Aperture/Shutter:
Not much options with a P&S, so not going to use this area.

Perspective:
4 of 10 This is where your composition is lacking, it looks like you didnt walk the scene to figure out the best perspective, it looks more like you saw a scene and colors happening and walked over and took a snap.

Creativity:
See above.

Emotion:
4 of 10 The scene is beautiful, and while it was emotive to you, I think you relied on the sunset to make the picture instead of you.

Forethought/Visualization:
4 of 10 The potographers job is to take scenes that capture their attention and figure out how to capture it in a way that does it justice. You did a geat job identifying the scene, but thats when the work kicks in. Succesful landscape photographers scout or know the area their usually shooting in. Think about where to be when things happen, work out compositions during the day so when the light happens, they can be at the right place at the right time.


Post processing:
I would actually have to see the origonal file before I could really judge this.

If you cannot afford a DSLR and still want to passionatly shoot landscapes I would at least upgrade to a high end P&S like the Canon G10 or Panasonic Lumix DCM-LX3 (I would prefer the Panasonic over the Canon slightly for its wider lens) They both shoot RAW so you will actually have PP options that would go a long way to helping you with scenes like this.

I know this seems a little harsh, and I hope you take it all the correct way. I remember taking pictures like this when I first started out and we ALL start somwhere. You sound like a passionate fella....and that will carry you quite a long ways in your seeking to improve yourself.

Love of your world, a strong passion for knowledge and a desire to grow are your current strongest suits....leverage them and embrace them and you will rise to your goals.

Keep em coming!!!

Nice first cretique post.

Roman

Thank you very much! That actually helped me a lot! That picture was shot hand held and actually today I went out and bought a tripod so I hope that it will better the clarity of the image.

Thanks,

Dan

After reading your post RomanJohnston I decided to go back and look at the original image and try to re-edit it trying to use your advice. Here is the newly edited one, I just want to know if it is more pleasing and looks better.




Thanks,

Dan

Dan, MUCH better.

We often play with files around here showing what each others vision might be. Dont be afraid to ask anyone to play with a full sized file from you.

Just somthing we have fun with from time to time.

Roman

Ok thanks!!!