Tampa Bay Sunset

[BigDaddy1970]

Hello everyone... I took this on Friday evening with a Sony A65 and the 18-55mm kit lens.  I am a sucker for a nice sunset and thought it was a nice pic.... I am pretty new to the world of DSLR photography and so far I love it. Learn something new every day.

 

[Buckster]

Welcome! Love those Tampa Bay sunsets!

Here's a couple tips for you to think about as you're picking up new stuff...

Be mindful to keep your horizons straight, unless there's a really good reason compositionally to tilt them. They can easily be straightened in post processing, but it's always easier at the time of shooting.

Try not to put horizons in the center of the photo. Look up the "rule of thirds" to get some idea on the compositional reasoning behind that.

Try not to put the main subject dead in the middle of the composition. This goes to compositional elements like the rule of thirds thing above.

Sunsets are great, but they're even greater if you can find something else for them to play off of, like a person or people, animals, buildings, boats, lighthouses, or other types of things.

Those are all just guidelines to think about for future shooting, so have fun with it!

 

[BigDaddy1970]

Thank you Buckster for all of those great tips! I will definitely keep them in mind for future shooting. I am going to add a few more here under this post and I look forward to more suggestions from the community. Thanks again!

 

[BigDaddy1970]

 

[BigDaddy1970]

 

[theambitiousstranger]

I really like the second, not so sure about the women in the third pic though!

 

[Tony S]

Uh oh ... in this political season even Tampa Bay leans to the left.

 

[BigDaddy1970]

Uh oh ... in this political season even Tampa Bay leans to the left.

Not this Floridian...

 

[Tony S]

lol.... the horizons are tilted.

 

[Joel_W]

Buckster gave you some excellent advice.

Looking at picture #1 there is way too much boring, lifeless water foreground. Nothing there of any real interest. the sky has a great sunset for about half of it, then it becomes monotone. You should have eliminated most of it, that would have forced our eyes back to the clouds/sunset, not over it. Also the tilt is distracting, and the most easily element to correct.

Picture #2 is a nice composition, but you need to keep the entire tree trunk in focus.

Picture #3 has the additional foreground elements to add interest to the flat beach, but the sunset doesn't have nearly the impact as the one in picture #1.

 

[Hackett]

If you like sunsets and live on the gulf coast, you should take the 45min-1hr drive from Tampa and watch the sunset from Hudson Beach. Maybe have a nice dinner or drink at Sam's on the beach. Nice place to smoke a cigar and watch the star fall! Cheers!

 

[BigDaddy1970]

If you like sunsets and live on the gulf coast, you should take the 45min-1hr drive from Tampa and watch the sunset from Hudson Beach. Maybe have a nice dinner or drink at Sam's on the beach. Nice place to smoke a cigar and watch the star fall! Cheers!

I just heard of Sam's the other day. My brother and sister in law go there about once a week. Might check it out soon!

 

[BigDaddy1970]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't have a tripod yet, so all of these were taken free hand. I also need to purchase photoshop or another program for editing. All of this is very new to me.

 

[Buckster]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't have a tripod yet, so all of these were taken free hand. I also need to purchase photoshop or another program for editing. All of this is very new to me.

Usually, some sort of editing software comes with the camera, so have a look at those CDs or DVDs that came with it.

There are also some free alternatives to Photoshop, in case Photoshop would bend your budget too much. Gimp is very popular. Picasa is more basic, I think, but maybe a good and easy way to get started for free.

 

[BigDaddy1970]

Thanks for the feedback. I don't have a tripod yet, so all of these were taken free hand. I also need to purchase photoshop or another program for editing. All of this is very new to me.

Usually, some sort of editing software comes with the camera, so have a look at those CDs or DVDs that came with it.

There are also some free alternatives to Photoshop, in case Photoshop would bend your budget too much. Gimp is very popular. Picasa is more basic, I think, but maybe a good and easy way to get started for free.

Thank you again Sir! I really appreciate your advice. I will check out those programs and see what I can work with.