I feel like there is something missing with these.

[HeidiMartinez]

Hi forum. I have been trying to capture some landscape photographs for a while and feel like they are missing something. Am I just not getting the right light or is my post editing way off. I could really use some critique and advice with these. Maybe I just haven't yet found my style yet. Somethings up though and I thank anyone in advance for any snipped of advice.

Sorry for posting links, I am unable to figure out how to import images without being told there is a problem.

Landscapes - Heidi Martinez
Landscapes - Heidi Martinez
Landscapes - Heidi Martinez

 

[Piccell]

Definitely missing something...the images are missing.

 

[HeidiMartinez]

Definitely missing something...the images are missing.

Hehe must have caught this before I realized and edited to show links. I hope they are working now

 

[Piccell]

Links ate there but I don't like following blind links on my phone so I won't see them.
Why didn't you post the images?

 

[HeidiMartinez]

Links ate there but I don't like following blind links on my phone so I won't see them.
Why didn't you post the images?

I have tried a few times and get this message. Security error occurred. Please press back, refresh the page, and try again.

The links are to my crevado portfolio pages with the pics.

 

[Piccell]

Resize them to 1000 pixels on the long side and under 4mb files.

 

[HeidiMartinez]

Resize them to 1000 pixels on the long side and under 4mb files.

Thank you!! I did and yes they worked!!

 

[Piccell]

If you use the lines in the photo so they lead you somewhere in the photo, focus you on a subject, you'll get better results. The lines of the roads in yours lead the eye off the edge and end the visual excursion prematurely.
Give the viewer something to look at and lead the eyes there with the other elements.
Keep working on composition.

11 Surefire Landscape Photography Tips

Landscape Photography Tips -- National Geographic

 

[HeidiMartinez]

If you use the lines in the photo so they lead you somewhere in the photo, focus you on a subject, you'll get better results. The lines of the roads in yours lead the eye off the edge and end the visual excusing prematurely.
Give the viewer something to look at and lead the eyes there with the other elements.
Keep working on composition.

11 Surefire Landscape Photography Tips

Landscape Photography Tips -- National Geographic

Great advice. I hadn't realized this and I see what you mean! And thanks for the links

 

[thereyougo!]

I think the seat in number 2 needs someone sat on it - though the rocks aren't helping as they are dominating the scene while adding nothing to the scene IMO

 

[Gary A.]

They all feel empty, sterile, cold. As you stated missing something. I am not a landscape guy, but remember that photography is a form of communication ... in many/most ways no different than the written word. Often it is helpful to think about what you want to say before you release the shutter. #2 is my favorite. It says loneliness, empty, void of people, end of the road, to me. This is fine if that is what you desire to convey. The others say empty, but in a not so good way ... empty as in a mistake was made and you forgot to include something. Look for a subject that you can isolate or highlight/emphasize through lens selection, camera position and/or camera settings. In the bottom images, to my eye, the main subjects are posts and rocks ... but you treated them much the same as the the remaining elements in the image. By not isolating/emphasizing the rocks and posts you have them competing against the other elements in the image for the viewer's attention. This distracts and diminishes the viewer's attention. After a glance, the viewer says to themselves ... I don't get it, what is this photo saying?

If you're using the posts/rocks/road as framing elements ... then you need a subject for them to frame ... in your case most of what they are framing is, more or less, uniform background. If there was a strong landscape element in the image the framing would work to your advantage.

In the end of the road image, (my favorite), the rocks in the foreground compete against the message I glean from the image of loneliness/emptiness, which is focused on the bench. Had you moved to the right, you could have eliminated the foreground rocks from the image and from competing against the bench, (and the message I get), as a focus point attracting the eye of the viewer away from the bench.

Don't be afraid to get low and shoot up or up and shoot down, explore all the possibilities of adding 'adjectives' to the story that you're telling through photography. Attention to details will often add greater success to your images. Example, in the last photo you have that shade structure to the right ... it detracts from the rest of the landscape. In the next one up, you have cars to the right and the red post in the middle ... again more distractions. Often, when shooting the beauty of nature, it is best to keep man made elements out of the frame.

Good Luck and Good Shooting,
Gary

 

[Piccell]

Cold...bingo. Your white balance is way too cool for a warm inviting landscape to be warm and inviting... lol

 

[Derrel]

Posts and rocks and grasses can all make good foreground elements, but one of the challenges is to make them look 1) interesting and 2)logically placed. Wide-angle lenses make close objects appear large, and make distance seem greater, which leads to distant objects that lack physical size on the sensor, and lack visual weight.

it is challenging to learn how to "see" the ay a camera lens sees. These are basically, shot from too far away, with too short of a lens focal length, to make the foreground objects BIG, and also interesting. Same goes for the mid-distance and the most-distant parts of the scenes.

I would experiment with lens focal length; Try going to longer lens focal lengths.

With this lens, you need to be much physically closer to the foreground objects, to make them render physically BIGGER; this is the basic issue with all of these...focal length and camera-to-subject distance, neither of which are optimal to make really interesting, compelling "views".

 

[Tim Tucker]

I'll concentrate on the processing, with an example. You're tone-mapping far too much, and what this does is equalise the tones and greys the colours. Which makes them all look the same. Whereas what you want is contrast, or difference between colour and tone. It is the difference that produces the contrasting elements, makes things bright, colourful, etc. I have literally taken 5 minutes to scale back the raw processing and enhance the colour a little, (I also selected the worst offender ):

 

[HeidiMartinez]

They all feel empty, sterile, cold. As you stated missing something. I am not a landscape guy, but remember that photography is a form of communication ... in many/most ways no different than the written word. Often it is helpful to think about what you want to say before you release the shutter. #2 is my favorite. It says loneliness, empty, void of people, end of the road, to me. This fine fine if that is what you desire to convey. The other say empty, but in a no so good way ... empty as in a mistake was made and you forgot to include something. Look for a subject that you can isolate or highlight/emphasize through lens selection, camera position and/or camera setting. In the bottom images, to my eye, the main subjects are posts and rocks ... but you treated them much the same as the the remaining elements in the image. By not isolating/emphasizing the rocks and posts you have them competing against the other elements in the image for the viewer's attention. This distracts and diminishes the viewer's attention. After a glance, the viewer says to themselves ... I don't get it, what is this photo saying?

If you're using the posts/rocks/road as framing elements ... then you need a subject for them to frame ... in your case most of what they are framing is, more or less, uniform background. If there was a strong landscape element in the image the framing would work to your advantage.

In the end of the road image, (my favorite), the rocks in the foreground compete against the message I glean from the image of loneliness/emptiness, which is focused on the bench. Had you moved to the right, you could have eliminated the foreground rocks from the image and from competing against the bench, (and the message I get), as a focus point attracting the eye of the viewer away from the bench.

Don't be afraid to get low and shoot up or up and shoot down, explore all the possibilities of adding 'adjectives' to the story that you're telling through photography. Attention to details will often add greater success to your images. Example, in the last photo you have that shade structure to the right ... it detracts from the rest of the landscape. In the next one up, you have cars to the right and the red post in the middle ... again more distractions. Often, when shooting the beauty of nature, it is best to keep man made elements out of the frame.

Good Luck and Good Shooting,
Gary

This was awesome advice. I really see what you are saying here. They do not tell a story aside from the one with the bench. I will keep these points in mind. I had just learned to shoot fully manual at the time of taking these and I think I was so distracted with exposure and dof that my focus was not in the actual image 100% Thank you so much for your advice!