Beginner needs help...

[Lisa Chapman]

This image was taken basically right outside my house so if needed, I can re take it as many times as requested.
I shot it in Aperture priority as that is what everyone has told me to do. I was shooting manual but, I am obviously not ready for that yet. My images however in Aperture mode just don't seem to come out well and I have no idea why.
Composition obviously is bad and creativity is lacking but that's okay, what I am looking for here is improvement feedback, this shot is terrible, I know it. But why?
What am I doing wrong? How can I correct it? I know my camera is working properly, it's all user error.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
EXIF DATA:
Focal Length: 80mm
Shutter Speed: 1/125
Aperture: F/8
ISO: 500

Was shot RAW, I imported it into lightroom and exported as a JPEG. No other editing has been done.

 

[snowbear]

What are you trying to accomplish - how do you want it to look?

Think about what you want in and out of focus, and go from there.

Composition aside, this looks like I’d expect at f/8.

 

[SquarePeg]

I think your initial comment that composition and creativity are lacking is the primary issue. What is the subject? The cloud? The tower? A good place to start is to look at photos that you like (lots of photos) and think about what it is about them that speaks to you. Sometimes it’s the subject, sometimes it’s the composition, sometimes it’s the light...and so on.

Go on Flickr or other photo sharing sites (the Gallery forums here on TPF) and spend some time. Once you start thinking about what you like, them you can start trying to capture it. If you know what your were trying to do, it’s easy to ask for help and critique to get there.

 

[dxqcanada]

You have a subject that has very bright and dark areas. That is exactly how I would expect your camera to capture.

When you set your camera to an automatic exposure mode, it will try to balance the two ... so it picked something between which is probably not how your brain saw the scene.
You have to work on setting your brain into camera mode ... how does the camera light meter pick what exposure to tell you, and also how the camera sensor renders it.

 

[Lisa Chapman]

You have a subject that has very bright and dark areas. That is exactly how I would expect your camera to capture.

When you set your camera to an automatic exposure mode, it will try to balance the two ... so it picked something between which is probably not how your brain saw the scene.
You have to work on setting your brain into camera mode ... how does the camera light meter pick what exposure to tell you, and also how the camera sensor renders it.

Yes, this is spot on I think. I had a vision in my head that I thought was going to show on that LCD screen when I pressed the button and it didn't happen.

 

[Lisa Chapman]

What are you trying to accomplish - how do you want it to look?

Think about what you want in and out of focus, and go from there.

Composition aside, this looks like I’d expect at f/8.

Right now I am struggling with focus and exposure. No matter what I do my images are not sharp, or sharp in the wrong areas, exposure is always wrong even when I do test shots and try exposure compensation. It's just not coming together.

 

[Derrel]

You have a subject that has very bright and dark areas. That is exactly how I would expect your camera to capture.

When you set your camera to an automatic exposure mode, it will try to balance the two ... so it picked something between which is probably not how your brain saw the scene.
You have to work on setting your brain into camera mode ... how does the camera light meter pick what exposure to tell you, and also how the camera sensor renders it.

THAT^^^^ is what I think as well. I think there could be some Lightroom adjustments that might strengthen the final image's appeal...maybe a bit of highlight recovery, maybe a bit of shadow lightening, a bit of black point adjustment, the brightness adjusted "just so", and the overall contrast adjusted perfectly, you know, those types of things.

 

[dxqcanada]

Try to work on one thing at a time ... make it manageable.

 

[Lisa Chapman]

I think your initial comment that composition and creativity are lacking is the primary issue. What is the subject? The cloud? The tower? A good place to start is to look at photos that you like (lots of photos) and think about what it is about them that speaks to you. Sometimes it’s the subject, sometimes it’s the composition, sometimes it’s the light...and so on.

Go on Flickr or other photo sharing sites (the Gallery forums here on TPF) and spend some time. Once you start thinking about what you like, them you can start trying to capture it. If you know what your were trying to do, it’s easy to ask for help and critique to get there.

The composition and creativity wasn't my main focus because in this case I was just trying to get my shot to be clear, nice and sharp all around and with good exposure. Though I understand what you mean. A decent shot overall. It's just not happening.
I have taken shots before I was happy with, the bees I posted earlier today, I got images of some geese I will share that I was happy with, I'm not sure what has changed, where I have slipped. Things have just taken a turn in the last few days and I don't know why. I'm confused.

 

[Lisa Chapman]

You have a subject that has very bright and dark areas. That is exactly how I would expect your camera to capture.

When you set your camera to an automatic exposure mode, it will try to balance the two ... so it picked something between which is probably not how your brain saw the scene.
You have to work on setting your brain into camera mode ... how does the camera light meter pick what exposure to tell you, and also how the camera sensor renders it.

THAT^^^^ is what I think as well. I think there could be some Lightroom adjustments that might strengthen the final image's appeal...maybe a bit of highlight recovery, maybe a bit of shadow lightening, a bit of black point adjustment, the brightness adjusted "just so", and the overall contrast adjusted perfectly, you know, those types of things.

Oh sure I could go into Lightroom and improve it that way but, I also want to take a Good picture and make it Great in post. Not take an Okay picture and make it Good LOL.

 

[Derrel]

I feel sorry that I took the time to reply to this post...

You apparently ignored what was said by two of us,and are missing the point,entirely, and blowing off our carefully considered responses to you with an uninformed misconception about how one best shoots a sunset or sky photo.

You _need_ to process these types of photos. You can _NOT_ get what you want in-camera, or from a straight, un-modifed RAW-to-JPEG conversion, unless you use graduated ND filters, super-precise metering, exact exposure placement for the scene's DR and the camera's tone curve, and have some luck,etc.,etc..

You wrote that your images "don't seem to come out well and I have no idea why "; I just told you why,above. Digital images of sky-and-landscape scenes need to be post-processed, from RAW, with a few,specific adjustments.

 

[480sparky]

You have a subject that has very bright and dark areas. That is exactly how I would expect your camera to capture.

When you set your camera to an automatic exposure mode, it will try to balance the two ... so it picked something between which is probably not how your brain saw the scene.
You have to work on setting your brain into camera mode ... how does the camera light meter pick what exposure to tell you, and also how the camera sensor renders it.

THAT^^^^ is what I think as well. I think there could be some Lightroom adjustments that might strengthen the final image's appeal...maybe a bit of highlight recovery, maybe a bit of shadow lightening, a bit of black point adjustment, the brightness adjusted "just so", and the overall contrast adjusted perfectly, you know, those types of things.

Oh sure I could go into Lightroom and improve it that way but, I also want to take a Good picture and make it Great in post. Not take an Okay picture and make it Good LOL.

Not every shutter actuation is going to result in something that can be made GREAT, no matter what you are capable of in post. Yes, the image you posted originally can be improved on, but only in a technical sense. An engaging subject, proper composition, an eye for the final image are what's needed to make something 'great'.

 

[JoeW]

Okay, a couple of points:
1. Almost any RAW file that is converted to jpeg will need to be sharpened. So converting from RAW to Jpeg with no other processing will usually leave you with a shot where you go "huh? Not very sharp or focused!"
2. The points that others have made about "what is your focal point?" is critical here. For instance, I think you've got potentially a very nice compositional element--a frame. You've got the clouds on top and the buildings on both sides. If you crop the top, you'd draw the viewer to what is framed by the building and clouds (think of those elements as a window frame). But with any photo (especially a landscape) you're deciding what it is the viewer will see. And you dictate with a series of choices. Right now (b/c of all the dark areas and then the bright sky), what most viewers will unconsciously do is focus on the sky to the left or right of the water tower. So chosing a focal point or subject for any photo matters. Otherwise, people won't see what you saw and will talk about stuff that to you was irrelevant or unimportant to the photo.
3. A lot of people, when they shoot landscapes just go "oh hey, that's a lovely scene-let me take a snapshot of it!" Ansel Adams, maybe the greatest landscape photographer ever once said (and this is a rough paraphrase) that you create a picture. So a photographer isn't taking a "capture", especially of a landscape. You're looking at the elements and deciding "what do I want to emphasize.
4. Based on what you said earlier, you've chose a scene that is going to be tough to meet your criteria. It has high dynamic range (dark areas and bright areas) so that means some areas will be blown out by the light and some shadow areas will be pitch black. That's the nature of the scene (unless you shoot multiple exposures and then do some HDR or layers to add detail to shadows and highlights). You have also have distance (which means that an f-stop of f8 won't put everything in-focus (which I gather you were attempting to do).

 

[Nwcid]

Oh sure I could go into Lightroom and improve it that way but, I also want to take a Good picture and make it Great in post. Not take an Okay picture and make it Good LOL.

Then you don't understand what RAW is. RAW is the basic data that lets you expose your image to you liking. The same thing has been done since the time of film. If you had your own dark room, you processed the image how you want it.

In camera jpeg is taking the RAW data and exposes the image the way it thinks it should be exposed. This is what happened when you dropped your film off to be developed at the 1hr photo shop.

If you do not want to expose you own images, then RAW is not for you and your images will never be fully developed.

 

[dxqcanada]

Yes, this is spot on I think. I had a vision in my head that I thought was going to show on that LCD screen when I pressed the button and it didn't happen.

You have to watch out that the LCD may not give you exactly what you think you are going to get ... Life is Like a Box of Chocolates ...
Back in the old'n days we spent time looking at our negatives/slides to figure out "why" they did not come out as we saw it ... many rolls of film were sacrificed to achieve greatness, and much time was spent standing in the room of Darkness.

With scenes that have bright sky and dark foreground, they made graduated neutral density filters to darken the sky in order for the exposure to be more balanced before having to post process, it works best when there is a definite line between both ... though I don't use them.

Getting what's in you head onto what your camera captures is something that we spend a lot of time trying to get right ...
“First learn stand, then learn fly. Nature rule Daniel son, not mine” - Mr. Miyagi
Much work ... one day at a time.