Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Cadillac Mtn in Acadia at sunset. I was more interested in the smaller scenes than the grand views. So much color/texture on the ground.
I think the exposure is appropriate and realistic to what I saw but appreciate other thoughts.
95mm f/16 1/5 sec iso 100
A lovely scene, well framed. But the histogram is all in the left half, save for a few of the brightest areas. I think adding a little more exposure makes it work better.
The gorgeous one from the pond was also very dark. It could certainly be your preference but I wonder if your monitor is calibrated to the correct brightness for your ambient room light? If it is too bright, the rest of the world will see your images as too dark. The histogram is a good indication of what others will see and most images want a reasonably centered range of tones.
Appreciate the redo @Diane_Miller . I think I should get a monitor hood and recalibrate based on your thoughts.
There is also the need for calibrating our visual system. 
I try to keep close track of the histogram, although it can vary widely with different images. But monitor brightness and reasonably dim room light are certainly important.
A quick glance through your portfolio shows some variability, with a few that look at first glance to be too dim. Maybe you are working in varying room light with different images?
This is a very lovely scene for sure. I love the interplay between reddish shrub in the bottom left with the white tree trunks and yellow/green leaves in the center and I think Diane’s exposure boost really helped the image. The one thing I’m not sure about is the sky. It’s a great looking sky but I feel it competes too much with the landscape below colourwise.
Sometimes I am working with daylight others at night with just room light.
That could explain the differences. Is there any way to darken the room a little in the daytime – closing window shades etc, and keeping reflected light off the monitor in either case? We now need a “dimroom.” Calibration and a monitor hood could be the answer but dim, even lighting is equally important.
When the light is flat bring up the white point and leave the very darks as they are. If you raise the exposure on a flat image you get a lighter flat image.
Thanks @Igor_Doncov . I have done that and like your version makes a huge difference. Is setting the white point part of your normal workflow or only on an image that is flat?
I think so. Unless it’s meant to look flat. For example high tone images remain that way, and images with lots of fog should stay flat. I also use the Levels adjustment layer to achieve similar results for local work.
I you are familiar with Ansel Adam’s Zone System you may recall that he had a film development technique called N+1 and even N+2. By changing the time in of film development he could stretch the tonal values to add additional tonal zone ( or even 2). That’s how his negatives often achieved his incredible luminosity. That’s what we’re essentially doing by moving the white point in photoshop. Much easier now.
