First attempt at Sunset!!! Pls C&C

AJRacca · Jun 28, 2011

So here's my first attempt at a sunset shot. All I have is gimp to edit and all i did was just add my watermark. I was also wondering why the quality of the image isn't so good when I save it?

Raian-san · Jun 28, 2011

Did you shoot in raw only? And what program do you use to edit?

tirediron · Jun 28, 2011

It's a good start, but not really enough sun to make it a sunset image. Try and compose an image where the sun and horizon feature more prominently. As for the quality loss, are you saving it as a low-resolution .jpg? When you save the image you should be presented with a dialogue box which asks what quality you want. Always select the highest quality possible, and remember that .jpg is a "lossy" image format; that means that each time you open it and then save it, you will lose some quality.

jwbryson1 · Jun 28, 2011

Really dark. Did you do any PP?

AJRacca · Jun 28, 2011

Raian-san said:
Did you shoot in raw only? And what program do you use to edit?

I shot in jpeg fine, I only have Gimp to edit, which I have only used it to put my watermark. I don't have Cs5 or lightroom to shoot in RAW for now.

AJRacca · Jun 28, 2011

tirediron said:
It's a good start, but not really enough sun to make it a sunset image. Try and compose an image where the sun and horizon feature more prominently. As for the quality loss, are you saving it as a low-resolution .jpg? When you save the image you should be presented with a dialogue box which asks what quality you want. Always select the highest quality possible, and remember that .jpg is a "lossy" image format; that means that each time you open it and then save it, you will lose some quality.

I tried saving it in high resolution. When I open it it looks fine. But I've downloaded it on flickr and photobucket and the quality isn't so great.

jwbryson1 said:
Really dark. Did you do any PP?

No, no pp done. This is kind of the affect I tried to get. All my other photos, the sky was blown out.

tirediron · Jun 28, 2011

AJRacca said:
...I've downloaded it on flickr and photobucket and the quality isn't so great...

That's normal; almost all of the free hosting 'sites automatically reduce image quality to save storage space.

jwbryson1 · Jun 28, 2011

How are you shooting this? What settings are on the camera? What does the EXIF file say?

MohaimenK · Jun 28, 2011

Personally, I like the feeling of these images, but that's just my personal opoinion.

EXIF:

1st image

Camera Maker: NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model: NIKON D7000
Image Date: 2011-06-26 20:16:35 (no TZ)
Focal Length: 48.0mm (35mm equivalent: 72mm)
Aperture: f/11.0
Exposure Time: 0.0020 s (1/500)
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined
Comment: ARC PHOTO

2nd image

Camera Maker: NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model: NIKON D7000
Image Date: 2011-06-26 20:12:53 (no TZ)
Focal Length: 45.0mm (35mm equivalent: 67mm)
Aperture: f/11.0
Exposure Time: 0.0013 s (1/800)
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined
Comment: ARC PHOTO

AJRacca · Jun 28, 2011

MohaimenK said:
Personally, I like the feeling of these images, but that's just my personal opoinion.EXIF:1st imageCamera Maker: NIKON CORPORATIONCamera Model: NIKON D7000Image Date: 2011-06-26 20:16:35 (no TZ)Focal Length: 48.0mm (35mm equivalent: 72mm)Aperture: f/11.0Exposure Time: 0.0020 s (1/500)ISO equiv: 200Exposure Bias: noneMetering Mode: MatrixExposure: ManualExposure Mode: ManualWhite Balance: AutoFlash Fired: No (enforced)Orientation: NormalColor Space: sRGBGPS Coordinate: undefined, undefinedComment: ARC PHOTO2nd imageCamera Maker: NIKON CORPORATIONCamera Model: NIKON D7000Image Date: 2011-06-26 20:12:53 (no TZ)Focal Length: 45.0mm (35mm equivalent: 67mm)Aperture: f/11.0Exposure Time: 0.0013 s (1/800)ISO equiv: 200Exposure Bias: noneMetering Mode: MatrixExposure: ManualExposure Mode: ManualWhite Balance: AutoFlash Fired: No (enforced)Orientation: NormalColor Space: sRGBGPS Coordinate: undefined, undefinedComment: ARC PHOTO

Exif ^ right here. And thanks