First thread with photos for CC

[graphite]

I'm brand new and would like to get some C&C on some recent photos. I am brand new to photography so any input is appreciated:

1. Balanced Rock - Arches National Park, Utah
Nikon D50, 24mm Nikkor lens

2. Christmas tree decorations
Nikon D40x, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Prime Lens

 

[tirediron]

Welcome to the forum! C&C per req:

1. A nice image, I very much like the flare here, but I think the foreground would benefit from a slight increase in brightness and saturation. I'm also inclined to think that a tighter crop removing some of the sky, foreground and empty space image left would make for a much stronger final product.


2. Ahhhhhh you've discovered selective colour. Okay, now do your best to undiscover it! Seriously, this is a technique that almost everyone tries soon after they start post-processing, and it rarely works out. Selective colour is used (should be used) to draw the viewer's eye to a particular point in the image. So the question to ask is, "Why do I want to look at this ball and not the others?". If you can't answer that, then selective colour may not have ben the best choice.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[KmH]

1. Balanced Rock - Arches National Park, Utah
Nikon D50, 24mm Nikkor lens

Shooting into the Sun, or with the Sun near the image frame, really kills image contrast.

 

[photo guy]

Welcome to the forum and very nice photos. I have only been to Utah once so I didn't get time to do a lot of sight seeing but I enjoyed it.

 

[WesternGuy]

Welcome to the forum. First impressions...

#1. Not bad, but I would have waited longer to get less of the flare from the sun and more of the colour from the sunset into the clouds. The horizon appears to be tilted slightly to the right and is almost in the middle of the image. You need to check out "rule of thirds" with regards to composition and placement of the horizon in an image. Also, you are very far away from the subject of your photograph and it is very difficult to make it out. If you hadn't told me what it was, I probably would not have known, so maybe a "closer" view of the intended subject might be in order here - my opinion.

#2. I agree with tirediron on this one - every photographer I know has tried this "selective" colouring once or twice - I learned it in a Photoshop Elements class I took a few years ago and tried it once to see if I could do it. I am unclear as to what it adds to this image? I am also curious what led you to convert this image to black and white.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

 

[RichardsTPF]

Agree with CC above.
#1 is underexposed. The surface of the rock is dark. The picture is soft. HDR might work.
#2 Nice exposure. but I don't find the red ball interesting. Good practice on selective color.

 

[Spuzzette]

I find the red ball very interesting...makes me wonder what kind of tripod he is using...it looks nice.

By the way I like both images, don't listen to people when they tell you negative things about selective colouring. It's all in personal preference. If you like it, don't stop.

 

[graphite]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[graphite]

I did some editing with Lightroom 3

 

[RebeccaAPhotography]

I find the red ball very interesting...makes me wonder what kind of tripod he is using...it looks nice.

By the way I like both images, don't listen to people when they tell you negative things about selective colouring. It's all in personal preference. If you like it, don't stop.

Selective color can be done tastefully there just has to be some reason or purpose to draw your eye there in the first place IMHO ofcourse.

 

[graphite]

Here are some new photos. CC is welcome: