Sunsets

[QNormal]

I can see some great sunsets from the back of my house. I have real trouble getting the composition and editing right. I need to get a polarizing filter, and a longer lens. I am sure those will be of some help. The first shot I didn't crop. The second one I did (it was a completely different shot, though.) I need some help.

[jiminyClickit]

QNormal,

More info: help to do what? Composition and editting to get . . . what? These both have strong points and things you could change, and knowing where you want to end up would help.

[Saralonde]

QNormal, try reading this at the DIgital Photography School blog. There are some excellent tips.
http://digital-photography-school.co...s-and-sunsets/

[QNormal]

The area I which I need to most help involves the exposure and coloring. I want to get the most out of the colors that are there. I think I did a fair job on the second one. On the first I was hoping for more vibrant colors. I am not sure how I could do this. On both I used an overlay layer with around 30% transparency. I adjusted the colors on the channel mixer a bit. It seems as though I could get more out of it though.
As for composition, I was hoping for a good focal point without too much clutter and empty space. I think the second one was better in this regard. I like the panorama of the first, and I like the blue sky, yet it still seems too empty. I would appreciate some general tips on how to make the shot more focuses (from the composition standpoint).

[Saralonde]

Composition: It can help if you have a definite point of interest, especially in the foreground, such as a sillouette, rocks, people, a tree. This gives a feeling of depth. Perhaps in the first shot you could have gotten down lower to get the trees sillouetted. You also don't have to try and get everything into the shot. Try shooting vertically instead of horizontally. You could probably crop down the shots you took so there is less to look at. Remember the rule of thirds.

Colors: In the first shot, the sun may have been a little low to get the brighter colors. Try earlier. Possibly try underexposing a bit and see if it helps saturate the colors. You could try taking an underexposed and overexposed shot and combining them in post processing. Try shooting the same scene several days in a row. Different weather conditions give different effects.

A longer lens might help you get more detail, but it's not necessary.

Hope this helps .

[jiminyClickit]

QNormal,

With what Saralonde outlines, consider it just may be that the photo stands on its own, and another day, another sunset will give you what you seek. Taking a better photo of a different view may be more rewarding than editting this one into what you'd hoped for, and this is coming from an avid post-processor!

[ny156uk]

Hi,

I think your first photo is a nice sky-shot, it lacks a definite point of interesting but the colours are nice to me.

As for help I would suggest...shoot shoot shoot like a crazy madman. Try things, don't worry about whether you think it will look wrong/bad, don't worry about whether you're getting the settings right, just give things a go. The beauty of digital is you can shoot 400 shots just to get 1 good one and all it costs you is a bit of battery life and some time.

I know that's pretty lazy advice, but I do think experimentation will help. Maybe lay on the floor and try some shots from the grass looking right up to the sky, some with grass in shot, some pure sky shots. Or Stand on something, get up high and zoom-out fully - try to be 'looking down' on the grass (but still get a whole lot of sky in the shot). Try including things that are close with the skyline as a background, or vice-versa with things in the background set against the skyline.

Zoom is useful but honestly I find most of the time you can do most of the 'zooming' you normally do with your feet...(Sorry that's not meant as a rude remark to you, just I find that with a big zoom I tend to be more lazy about positioning myself in the right place, letting the lens do the hard work).

Maybe play about an try some different shutter speeds. Perhaps try in B&W or convert to sepia? Don't be afraid to play with the colour on the computer, it doesn't have to be 'natural' it just has to look good to you.

I read someone who said that photograph is not about making an exact copy of what you saw when you saw it, but it is about using your tools to tell a story/make a piece of art. I couldn't agree more.

Sorry not really critiqued the shot...to be honest I prefer your first shot, the second one doesn't really work for me, the colour is a little flat.

From a look at your Flickr account you take some very nice B&W shots