First pic with canon t3 critique

[socal82]

Nothing special let me know how I can make these pic better? First time shooting with my canon t3

 

[honoryourlife]

I actually like the sky in the 2nd photo.

 

[socal82]

thanks sunset in san francisco

 

[mc1979]

Nothing special let me know how I can make these pic better? First time shooting with my canon t3

How to make them better? On the first photo, what's the subject? It's way to busy and I have no idea what you want me to really look at. Also it's soft.

Second photo: I actually like color of the sky..BUT, it's not level, and like the first one..lacking composition and is soft.

 

[socal82]

first pic subject are the buildings on the horizon and the second pic the bridge with all the lights on it. how do i get the pic not to be as soft?

 

[KenC]

first pic subject are the buildings on the horizon and the second pic the bridge with all the lights on it. how do i get the pic not to be as soft?

Looks like camera shake - what was the shutter speed? Also focus probably is on the distant stuff in the center, so what's closer is less in focus. In low light you need a tripod or some other support, or you need to jack up the ISO so you can use a faster shutter speed. If you want sharpness and depth of field a tripod is a must because you would need about f8-f16 (depending on focal length) to get everything even close to sharp and these apertures in low light will not allow for a fast shutter speed.

 

[tyler_h]

first pic subject are the buildings on the horizon and the second pic the bridge with all the lights on it. how do i get the pic not to be as soft?

So your subjects are the backgrounds... my guesses would have been the Christmas tree and the rows of boats.

In addition to the camera shake comments (probable cause) in the second you also have motion blur with the boats if you look at the top of the masts. Not a lot you can do about that in the conditions though.

For 'nightscapes' (using that loosely) you'd want to invest in a tripod. I do a fair amount of my photography just on the dark side of dusk and dawn, and it's not unusual to need 30+ second exposures to get depth of field (f/8 at 18mm on crop) and low noise (ISO100-400 range).

 

[socal82]

the one with the bridge is f/5, ISO 800, focal length 40mm

f/5.6, ISO 800, focal length 55mm

I had the camera on the ledge where I was standing maybe next time ill try with a tri pod.

 

[enzodm]

the one with the bridge is f/5, ISO 800, focal length 40mm

f/5.6, ISO 800, focal length 55mm

I had the camera on the ledge where I was standing maybe next time ill try with a tri pod.

You are missing the real reason of shake: from your EXIF data, 0.2 seconds the first, 1.3 seconds the latter (read about exposure triad). Tripod and timer or remote to avoid any shake.

 

[naptime]

i think these both would have really benefitted from a much longer shutter speed. and cable release. if you don't have one, get one, they are dirt cheap on ebay.

#1 needs to be cropped in much tighter if the buildings are your subject. the tree is really distract, but not half as much as the blow up santa clause. he totally photo bombed you.

#2. if your subject is the bridge, you need to really zoom in on it. i couldn't tell if the subject was the building or the boats. i actually considered the bridge background.

 

[thereyougo!]

The first one needed to be shot earlier with more colour in the sky. The second, if the bridge is your subject (is it the Bay Bridge? Was in SF a few years ago about this time of year) then you need to get a position where you can get the road part of the bridge in too. As it is, if you shot on a tripod, a little earlier for colour, your subject would actually be the building and the bridge. I would prefer it to be the bridge. Yes it's nice to have boats as foreground interest, but on a long exposure they can be quite unhelpful unless the water is completely calm.

 

[socal82]

The first one needed to be shot earlier with more colour in the sky. The second, if the bridge is your subject (is it the Bay Bridge? Was in SF a few years ago about this time of year) then you need to get a position where you can get the road part of the bridge in too. As it is, if you shot on a tripod, a little earlier for colour, your subject would actually be the building and the bridge. I would prefer it to be the bridge. Yes it's nice to have boats as foreground interest, but on a long exposure they can be quite unhelpful unless the water is completely calm.

ok thanks for all the info.