The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
All 3 of these hopefully inspire a love of nature and the beauty of a sunrise over the desert landscape. My goal was to invoke a sense of peace and beauty in a simple scene. I wanted to have a subject in the second photo both for scale but also to convey a sense of thankfulness and excitement about seeing the new day.
Specific Feedback
I’m a beginner and need feedback on composition and processing
Technical Details
These are all exposure bracketed images. 1st image is a drone photo the others tripod mounted Canon R5ii f/18 middle photo and Canon 7D f/8 on the last one.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Vision and Purpose:
Conceptual:
Emotional Impact and Mood:
Composition:
Balance and Visual Weight:
Depth and Dimension:
Color:
Lighting:
Processing:
Technical:
Edward: Welcome to NPN and thanks for some really good introductory images. The light in each is superb and the variety is delightful. Hard for me to pick a favorite between # 1 and2. I like the placement of the horizon in both and the person in #2. On #3 I kind of wish the top of the middle ground butte didn’t merge with the plateau in the background but I do like that the notch in the butte is lined up with the mountain in the far background. Great to have you aboard and looking forward to more of your work. >=))>
PS: If these are all HDR shots that looks pretty darn good as well.
Welcome aboard, Edward. You’ve started with a fine set of images. I really like all of them. I agree with @Bill_Fach about the merge. My small suggestions: image 1 seems to have a yellow cast especially in the FG, image 2 is a great composition and colors, but I feel the blue is a tad strong. That’s just my personal preference. The horizon also seems a little distorted and has a ccw tilt. I hope you enjoy our community and look forward for any suggestions you have to help fellow photographers. Just a friendly reminder. In the future please refrain from posting more than one image at a time. Please dive in and famaliarize yourself with our forum guidelines.
Something else I just noticed. It’s all personal preference, but I would clone out the little bit of lens flare on the left. Some people like the look of a little flare. I’m one of the nays.
Hi Edward,
First off welcome to NPN! This is a beautiful trio of images that you have shared with us. My thoughts pretty much mirror those of my brother @Michael_Lowe and @Bill_Fach. I think with the couple of suggested small tweaks it would elevate some already outstanding images another notch. I look forward to seeing more of your work; please remember just one post a day as per the guidelines. Don’t be shy about commenting on other photographer’s work as that is how we improve our craft. I think you will enjoy being on NPN with a like minded group of other photographers. BTW, kudos to the model for having the courage to venture out to that point. I know I would not have had the nerve.
First of all, “Welcome Aboard” Edward! You’ve submitted some great images right out of the chute. Yes, all three of these images convey a love of nature as well as the beauty of a gorgeous sunrise.
You asked about composition and processing so here are my takes on the first two images:
Image 1: I know this area very well and you certainly did well to convey the moon like terrain of this area with a drone image. The light hitting the sides of the canyon walls is beautiful and I love that Factory Butte is directly behind the wedge of sunlit wall leading the viewers eye through the scene. Having the main focal point of interest dead center doesn’t always work but in this case I think your composition is well done. The processing is a personal one so I’ll just give you my take. I find the sky sky to be subtle and yet both warm and cool at the same time and I love that. You didn’t over do the colors here which you certainly could have done so I find your soft touch works well for me in both the sky and the foreground. It certainly doesn’t scream over processed. Wonderful image, Edward.
Image 2: I’ve tried walking out to that tiny spire but my legs got wobbly and things started to spin for me so I turned around and came back. I’m much more comfortable on the little mushroom stands all along the edge of those walls but not that one spire. I find the composition a little bit heavy on the right side but I do like that the clouds around the sun are fanning away equally on both sides which makes centering the sun in the image a good choice. There is just more interest on the right half of the image than the left side. Perhaps next time, you could move to your right and have the spire on the left portion of your image and those buttes on the right with the sun-star in the center. There are some beautiful rock formations just to the right of that spire along that wall that you could include in your foreground. I like that you chose to do a sun-star for this image and I think it works well and isn’t necessarily the star of the image and is quite beautiful and subtle (no pun intended). The colors are a little bit bold for my tastes but again, processing is entirely up to the photographer so this is just my thoughts since you asked. The blue is maybe a little too intense for me although I find the color of the trail leading to the spire is just about right. There is a green color in the sky that I have never seen before although the rest of the colors in the sky look pretty natural to me so I’m not sure what that is. Lastly, the horizon is tilted and the image needs a clockwise rotation to level the horizon.
This area is like being a kid in a candy store. There are potential compositions everywhere you look. The valley floor has so many different rivulets going through it and from a drones perspective, the place really comes alive with un-natural looking formations everywhere you look. These images show that you have a pretty keen eye for composing a scene and trying to determine what you want the scene to say.
I can certainly say that I think you are more advanced than you are giving yourself credit for. Starbursts and image stacking isn’t usually so well done by beginners. Well done! Your compositions are more advanced as well. As for processing, heck, process however you want so long as you like it.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on other member images and seeing more of your work.
