Coastal shots need help please critque

[MikeFlorendo]

I just wanted to get some feed back and help on these. Any suggestions are appreciated.

#1 1/3 sec
f2.8
iso 1600

Surfers at night during the full moon.



#2 1/100 sec
f8
iso 100

Not very good with post on B & W so I really need pointers on this one. I wish I could find the right angle so the San Clemente sign isn't blocked but I didn't like the comp of the rest of the photo at that angle.



#3 8 sec
f16
iso 100



Thanks-
Mike

 

[JMarro]

Nice set.

Photo#1
There isn't a subject really in this photo, try to fill the foreground with some object/subject. The exposure is nice and I think besides that, there isn't much you could do with this photo.

Photo#2
I like this photo. The B&W serves it well, since there is not a complicated sky. It would have been nice to see the sign a little better. Its always possible to take that pole out in PP but it looks like a major job. To accentuate the railroad tracks, you could get a little higher rather than being so close to the ground, but its all subjective.

Photo#3
My favorite of the bunch. I like the composition of this photo. Taking this during the golden hours could have really helped this photo, since the sky dominates the photo. The thing that really detracts from the image is the blue at the top of the sky. I would try to get rid of that.

Thanks for sharing and I hope this helped.

 

[The_Traveler]

First, check pictures that have an obvious horizon and make sure it is level because it is disconcerting when its not.
You've seemed to have hit all the new photographer cliches here- silhouetted trees, heavily processed sunset, railroad tracks and pier into distance.
They aren't badly done but they are repeats of most everyone.

Now start looking for stuff that isn't a visual cliche.

 

[theambitiousstranger]

I agree with Lew. In particular, I would avoid B&W conversions which add little to the subject (as in #2) and taking photos at sunset (which I find always makes even the most obscure subject seem clichéd!)

 

[MikeFlorendo]

First, check pictures that have an obvious horizon and make sure it is level because it is disconcerting when its not.
You've seemed to have hit all the new photographer cliches here- silhouetted trees, heavily processed sunset, railroad tracks and pier into distance.
They aren't badly done but they are repeats of most everyone.

Now start looking for stuff that isn't a visual cliche.

Well I mostly do night photography but I want to start to get more daytime shots. This is why I wanted help. Thanks for the horizon I should have seen that one right away and that is a bad mistake. I normally try to take these "cliché photos" and do them at night to add a twist but the pier I wanted at sunrise and I did over process the sky. I thought people took pictures of certain things because it's visually pleasing? But getting the comp & perspective correct is where some lack. Anyway thanks for the reply-

 

[The_Traveler]

You have a good hold on the technical stuff.
After you shoot and edit, let the pictures sit for a few days until you forget how excited you were.
Then go back and look at specific things.
It's like looking for spelling errors or typos before spell-check, we would read a paper backwards so we didn't get caught up in the flow of ideas.

First, are the things that should be flat and horizontal, the way they should be?
Are important things in important places?
Are important things emphasized and important in the frame?
Are the unimportant things de-emphasized?
Are there distractions of color or brightness that need to be fixed?

Don't look at the picture as a whole, look for defects.

Here's a long list - Lew Lorton Photography | Getting to a Final Image - some words on editing photos for a new photographer

After a while, looking for defects that detract from your image will become second nature and you'll deal with them in the initial shooting and editing.

You have an excellent start and a good grasp on the fundamentals, keep it up.

Lew