The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Hello,
I am trying to learn landscape composition. I know the basics of using a camera in manual mode and have some knowledge of lightroom and photoshop, but am a complete novice at composition. Last evening I went to a beach not too far from home looking for composition ideas - it was a calm evening, not a great sunset … I was having a tough time. I finally decided to try this. I was trying to use the small wave as a leaning line (curve) and use the rocks to frame the lighthouse in the distanace. I tried to have the wave leading line start at the corner of the image. I did not set it up well, I have done a lot of cropping here. I am wondering what people think of the composition? Is it worth going back and trying again, hopefully with a bit more interesting sky and maybe a bit more surf? If so, what would you recommend I do differently?
Specific Feedback
I am primarily looking for feedback on the composition, but all constructive criticism appreciated.
Technical Details
ISO 100
22mm(crop sensor)
f/10
0.6 sec
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
I am by no means a professional photographer so take what I say with a grain of salt. I like the curved shoreline and the SS for the wave and the idea of framing the lighthouse through a window in the wall. But to me the breakwater just seems too dark and massive and keeps me from moving through the image.
I like that the horizon is above center. Cropping a little more from the top would move the mass of the breakwater higher in the frame, and maybe including more from the bottom would also help. It looks like you might have the tonal information to lighten the breakwater a little, which might make it less of a block.
@Diane_Miller Thank you for the suggestions. I don’t have a lot of extra room on the bottom (that would be mostly sand). I tried a crop with less on the top like you suggested and I added a bit more on the side to include more of the wave - but that also includes more of the rocks. I also lightened the rocks. Just to see what it would look like I added in a nicer sky (just a photoshop one, but I tried to make it something reasonable) - if I was going to try it again part of my goal would be to do it when the sky was more interesting. I’m trying to decide if it is worth trying again.
Thanks for revealing how you added the sky. It would have been nice if nature had done that for you. Elizabeth, I like the crop of the reworked image and the detail evident in the rocks. It gives them more importance, and I believe it improves the composition.
Thank you @Michael_Lowe@Diane_Miller and @Barbara_Djordjevic for the feedback and suggestions. This is how I originally cropped it to have more of a curve with the wave pointing towards the lighthouse and have it start exactly at the corner, but then I thought maybe there was too much rock? I do think if it were a nicer sky it would help. Is my original crop a better composition?
Elisabeth I love the original version. It is a soft image with so many delicate shades of blu that go through the whole photo. The dark red of the rocks create a strong contrast that separates the sky from the see. Beautiful photo for me.
@Giuseppe_Guadagno Thank you. By the original version, do you mean the first one I posted or my previous post showing my original crop that I initially rejected? Trying to figure out what is the better crop.
I like the composition that eliminates most of the sky. You might find the lack of interest in the sky less of a problem if you crop most of it out and feature the wave as you have in this last version. I find that interesting.
