Snow over lake

[raaskohx10]

Taken with kit lens. Pl feel free to suggest ways to improve composition.

 

[WesternGuy]

I am assuming these were taken at about the same time. First, your foreground is too cluttered and your subject, the snow over the lake, gets lost in the clutter. Second, if my assumption is correct, then I would be interested to know why the lake is such a different colour in each image. I think you havea white balance problem in the first image, maybe in both of them. Are you shooting raw? My 0.02¢ FWIW.

WesternGuy

 

[ceeboy14]

Same questions from me.

 

[raaskohx10]

I am assuming these were taken at about the same time. First, your foreground is too cluttered and your subject, the snow over the lake, gets lost in the clutter. Second, if my assumption is correct, then I would be interested to know why the lake is such a different colour in each image. I think you havea white balance problem in the first image, maybe in both of them. Are you shooting raw? My 0.02¢ FWIW.

WesternGuy

Thank you for your comments. Yes, you're right the pictures were taken about the same time. I agree with you the title "snow over lake" doesn't fit well as there is hardly any now on the water. I had taken these pictures in raw mode and then edited in photomatix 4.0 and photoshop CS5. Lowered "saturation" of colors in the pic on the left and enhanced for the other pic to give a lively feeling of wooden bench color. Would be glad if following points are also addressed in your comments:
1. A suitable title for each picture.
2. How can the scene in the left pic be composed (I tried rule of thirds here) and how about a better composition for the scene in the right pic.
3. Should one use bright colors (enhancing the saturation) or use light ones for snow scenes as in the pic on the left?
4. And what does "0.02¢ FWIW" suggest in your comment. Is it like grading or scoring or something?
Ceeboy 14, you may also add your views, please.

 

[WesternGuy]

I am assuming these were taken at about the same time. First, your foreground is too cluttered and your subject, the snow over the lake, gets lost in the clutter. Second, if my assumption is correct, then I would be interested to know why the lake is such a different colour in each image. I think you have a white balance problem in the first image, maybe in both of them. Are you shooting raw? My 0.02¢ FWIW.

WesternGuy

Thank you for your comments. Yes, you're right the pictures were taken about the same time. I agree with you the title "snow over lake" doesn't fit well as there is hardly any now on the water. I had taken these pictures in raw mode and then edited in photomatix 4.0 and photoshop CS5. Lowered "saturation" of colors in the pic on the left and enhanced for the other pic to give a lively feeling of wooden bench color. Would be glad if following points are also addressed in your comments:
1. A suitable title for each picture.
2. How can the scene in the left pic be composed (I tried rule of thirds here) and how about a better composition for the scene in the right pic.
3. Should one use bright colors (enhancing the saturation) or use light ones for snow scenes as in the pic on the left?
4. And what does "0.02¢ FWIW" suggest in your comment. Is it like grading or scoring or something?
Ceeboy 14, you may also add your views, please.

Well I will try and answer your questions as best I can:

1. I don't know what a suitable title would be as I don't usually title my pictures, so without knowing exactly where they were taken, I cannot really help you.

2. Without knowing what the area to the right or left of the images is like, this is also hard to answer. Personally, if I was trying to photograph the snow over the lake then I would concentrate on making that my main subject. I would also watch my horizon as it is pretty close to the centre in both images, contrary to the rule of thirds. If you are trying to capture the foreground material as well, then maybe a different angle or something, so that they do not dominate the image as they do now.

3. I always like my scenes to be as close to how I remember them as possible, so it is not necessarily a question of enhancing the saturation, or toning down colours. Depending on the dynamic range of the scene, then I may increase the saturation slightly. The only thing that you have to watch when you do that, is that the image does not become oversaturated to the extent that it looks "cartoonish", if you know what I mean. I use Lightroom, so I find that I set the white and black points, and then usually add some clarity for adding a bit of contrast to the midtones and then some vibrance to increase the saturation of the less colourful areas in the image, often works for me.

4. :mrgreen: "My 0.02¢ FWIW" translated means " My two cents worth, for what it's worth." Has absolutely nothing to do with "grading or scoring". Simply giving you my two cents worth in my comments and you can take them or leave them as you see fit. it usually a phrase that goes along with unsolicited advice and is totally nonjudgemental.

Hope this helps a bit.

WesternGuy

 

[raaskohx10]

I am assuming these were taken at about the same time. First, your foreground is too cluttered and your subject, the snow over the lake, gets lost in the clutter. Second, if my assumption is correct, then I would be interested to know why the lake is such a different colour in each image. I think you have a white balance problem in the first image, maybe in both of them. Are you shooting raw? My 0.02¢ FWIW.

WesternGuy

Thank you for your comments. Yes, you're right the pictures were taken about the same time. I agree with you the title "snow over lake" doesn't fit well as there is hardly any now on the water. I had taken these pictures in raw mode and then edited in photomatix 4.0 and photoshop CS5. Lowered "saturation" of colors in the pic on the left and enhanced for the other pic to give a lively feeling of wooden bench color. Would be glad if following points are also addressed in your comments:
1. A suitable title for each picture.
2. How can the scene in the left pic be composed (I tried rule of thirds here) and how about a better composition for the scene in the right pic.
3. Should one use bright colors (enhancing the saturation) or use light ones for snow scenes as in the pic on the left?
4. And what does "0.02¢ FWIW" suggest in your comment. Is it like grading or scoring or something?
Ceeboy 14, you may also add your views, please.

Well I will try and answer your questions as best I can:

1. I don't know what a suitable title would be as I don't usually title my pictures, so without knowing exactly where they were taken, I cannot really help you.

2. Without knowing what the area to the right or left of the images is like, this is also hard to answer. Personally, if I was trying to photograph the snow over the lake then I would concentrate on making that my main subject. I would also watch my horizon as it is pretty close to the centre in both images, contrary to the rule of thirds. If you are trying to capture the foreground material as well, then maybe a different angle or something, so that they do not dominate the image as they do now.

3. I always like my scenes to be as close to how I remember them as possible, so it is not necessarily a question of enhancing the saturation, or toning down colours. Depending on the dynamic range of the scene, then I may increase the saturation slightly. The only thing that you have to watch when you do that, is that the image does not become oversaturated to the extent that it looks "cartoonish", if you know what I mean. I use Lightroom, so I find that I set the white and black points, and then usually add some clarity for adding a bit of contrast to the midtones and then some vibrance to increase the saturation of the less colourful areas in the image, often works for me.

4. :mrgreen: "My 0.02¢ FWIW" translated means " My two cents worth, for what it's worth." Has absolutely nothing to do with "grading or scoring". Simply giving you my two cents worth in my comments and you can take them or leave them as you see fit. it usually a phrase that goes along with unsolicited advice and is totally nonjudgemental.

Hope this helps a bit.

WesternGuy

Thanks a lot for your tips. Will certainly consider them while composing landscape scenes. I can't find any link of your work either on Flickr or any other website. People usually add those in their signatures.