Early Attempts at B&W Conversion - Critiques Welcome

[mjhousto]

I recently visited Manhattan and made my first attempts at photographing architecture in the city. I decided to push my boundaries a little further by converting some of these to black and white (I usually stick to color photography).

I would love to hear your feedback on these photos whether it be on perspective, composition, editing, ect. The lighting was what it was as I was only visiting for the day. I have posted three photos, but please don't feel obligated to review all of them. Information on any one would be helpful and appreciated.

These photos were all shot handheld with a Nikon D7200 and Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 VRII lens and processed using Lightroom 6. EXIF data can be seen by clicking on the photos.

Thank you in advance!

1)


2)


3)

 

[alexis.alvarez]

Good composition in all three, but not crazy about the first two: the first seems muddy, the second, HDR-ish. I really like the last, but too much detail lost in the dark at right; possible to lighten a bit?

 

[mjhousto]

Thank you for the feedback.

When you say the first seems muddy; is there a specific part of the photo that gives that impression? Do you have recommendations on any specifics that could be changed in Lightroom?
None of these are HDR. Maybe reducing the contrast would be more appealing to your eye?
The camera did not pick up much detail on the right of the 3rd photo, so I decided to simplify the composition, by darkening that area.

 

[alexis.alvarez]

The first could probably use some contrast, the second, less contrast. Both could use some lightening of the midtones. (I use Photoshop, not Lightroom, so can't advise on how to do this in LR.) I'd like to see what the third looks like without the darkening.