Advice needed - C&C please

blueofspirit · May 19, 2010

Hi guys,

Some photos from a recent hike - any advice really appreciated!

#1 - would this have been better with more DOF and all the chewed up leaves in focus?

#2 - the background is distracting I feel. Would desaturating the background somewhat (not completely to grey) help?

#3 - waterfall no. 1. Not sure what I could have done to prevent the spray on the lens. Also - is there a way to get more sense of height into the photo without standing RIGHT under it and shooting up? (which the landscape did not allow)

#4 - waterfall no. 2. This is probably my favorite of the bunch...is the top overexposed?

Thanks!

tsaraleksi · May 19, 2010

Unfortunately, the top part of that last photo is really blown out. This might be a good candidate for exposure blending (shooting several exposures for each part of the image and then combining them in photoshop).

BuS_RiDeR · May 19, 2010

This might sound dumb... But those falls look very familiar. Where are they?

BTW, I took the liberty of editing the last one a bit.... Mind you I am no expert... But I just adjusted the color balance a bit and it doesn't look as washed out near the top. IMO anyway....

blueofspirit · May 19, 2010

Hong Kong. What do you think of the shots?

BuS_RiDeR · May 19, 2010

Overall, nice shots. Maybe its just me, but the falls look a bit soft. They remind my of some falls on the east cost of Canada in Fundy National Park.

blueofspirit · May 19, 2010

Btw, just saw your edit. I like it - the colours look a little artificial I think... it might just be me though.

I shot that in RAW+JPG. Do you think if I learnt how to process RAW images I could compress another one with a darker exposure and do an HDR off that?

BuS_RiDeR · May 19, 2010

Do you think if I learnt how to process RAW images I could compress another one with a darker exposure and do an HDR off that?

I admittedly know next to nothing about HDR... I am rather new to photo editing and know only the basics... But I am learning all the time.

MHRISH · May 19, 2010

I am a beginner so you can take this for what it's worth, but in number 2, I think you should have made your subject fill more of the frame and eliminated most of the background. I like the composition in number 1 and in number 4, but they all seem a little flat as far as colors and contrast.

Stormchase · May 19, 2010

on #1 I would have opened up the DOF. Get it all in focus or maybe localize your focus to with a small DOF and get in a little closer if possable. I find myself looking around for the focal point. A little distracting but a cool shot.

BuS, that edit looks nice!

BuS_RiDeR · May 19, 2010

BuS, that edit looks nice!

Thanks. It was a simple matter of selecting Auto White Balance and Auto Color balance in GIMP. I liked the results so I saved it.

blueofspirit · May 19, 2010

Stormchase said:
on #1 I would have opened up the DOF. Get it all in focus or maybe localize your focus to with a small DOF and get in a little closer if possable. I find myself looking around for the focal point. A little distracting but a cool shot.

BuS, that edit looks nice!

Thanks! Yea I agree with more DOF on #1. Didn't have a macro lens with me so this was about as close as I could get while getting everything in the shot..

With the waterfall shots, I put it on Av mode with 0.5 sec exposure and -2/3, but it still comes out washed out at the top for both waterfall shots. Why is that?? Any advice on what setting? Or is HDR a must in this case?