How do I make my pictures look like this?

[temetvince]

Here's a picture from the product catalog of Bay Photo: http://www.bayphoto.com/images/products/image-folios/image-folio-overview-slideshow2-large.jpg

And here's a picture that I've taken: Horses and etc 2011 - temet vince | SmugMug

Notice how their picture just looks better? I can't really describe it.. it's like the blacks are blacker or something. Mine has been photoshopped but I haven't figured out how to make my pictures "pop" like so many photographers do. I'm going for the look like the picture from bay photo. Many professional photographers pictures have this look that I'm going for but can't seem to figure out how to emulate.

Any help/suggestions? I hope the question was clear enough.

Thanks.

 

[cbrown222]

Your subject is too centered. Try stepping back and moving the subject towards one side of the frame. It looks in the least bit over exposed too.

 

[KmH]

In the Bay Photo image the model on the left side was lit with a strobe light so he face is well lit. The model on the right is facing the sun so her face is fully lit.

In your photo most of both faces are in deep shadow. The woman's nose is fully and harshly lit but is surrounded by shadow making it look more like a beak than a nose.

In short the difference is the lighting, or more specifically the use of lighting.

Lighting - A Digital Field Guide

 

[temetvince]

Ok, so I should probably focus on not centering shots to avoid making them boring, and I should learn a lot more about lighting! Do you think a flash would have helped this shot?

 

[MTVision]

Ok, so I should probably focus on not centering shots to avoid making them boring, and I should learn a lot more about lighting! Do you think a flash would have helped this shot?

Not an on camera flash!!

In this forum do a search for composition and there is a thread that I started that lists all the different composition strategies such as: rule of thirds, rule of odds, leading lines etc. It's a list I received in a photography class.

 

[philsphoto]

The main difference is in the lighting. Photography is really about composition and lighting.

 

[KmH]

Ok, so I should probably focus on not centering shots to avoid making them boring, and I should learn a lot more about lighting! Do you think a flash would have helped this shot?

Absolutely, and that type of scene is a good one for using on-camera flash to fill the shadows. However, the flash built into the camera is so close to the lens axis it could still cause red-eye.

Plus, exposure is controlled differently when using flash, which adds another level of complexity to making photos.

 

[Destin]

The photos from them are all about lighting. They are both shot at golden hour from the looks of it (or a VERY good job of using off camera flash to simulate it). Shooting at Golden hour (as the sun is setting or rising) gives you much more interesting light. It tends to give higher contrast photos, with more depth, and also a warmer feel to them.