Maui Sunset

[BR915]

This Maui sunset was taken with a Canon xsi 450D
F/3.5
Shutter Speed 1/25
Focal Length 18mm
Flash did not fire
Lens 18-55

I would like to know how I can get more depth to my landscape photos so they don't look so flat. Any advise is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[oldwolf]

Beautiful colors.

To get more depth in your landscape pictures you need a foreground element as well as mid and background. The foreground and mid will lend a sense of depth to your picture.

[navcom]

I agree with oldwolf...you need a more prominent main subject. It's easy for us to think that a pretty sky and rising/setting sun makes a great main subject but in most instances, it's just another pretty sky or sunrise or a piece of paper with pretty colors on it. You usually need something else as the main subject.

I always use the analogy that a sunrise is like frosting on a cake. Most people don't like to eat frosting by itself and cake without frosting is pretty boring. Add frosting and cake together and you have something special.

Photography is really nothing more than painting with light. And sunrises and sunsets have some of the most amazing light available. This is the sun's main purpose...light. Compose your image by using the light from the sunset to paint your main composition. The sun and the pretty sky thus become a supporting cast member to the composition and the image will be much more compelling.

On another thought (and this has nothing to do with composition), you might want to try a greater depth of field by using a smaller aperture. That will allow more of the image to remain in focus. At f/3.5, you have a very narrow DOF. I would recommend something in the f/11-13 range to start with for landscape compositions such as this...maybe even slightly smaller if you have a decent lens.

Hope that helps!

[BR915]

THANKS to both of you for your comments. I'll certainly try a greater DOF as well as a subject to focus on. Another question about focus -- I have a LOT of trouble getting good clear shots. Where should I focus on landscape shots to insure the entire photo is in focus and still get good DOF and a clear photo. It seems if I focus on something in foreground then the background is blurry and vise versa. Again, I really appreciate your tips and feed back.

[navcom]

For the best focus on landscapes, I turn off the auto focus and use hyperfocal distance focusing. You can do a search on the forum or internet for tons of how-to's. Basically it's a formula you use to set the focal ring on your lens based on what aperture and focal length you are using. It doesn't always "look" like it's focused in the viewfinder but your image will be great.

If you don't want to use hyperfocal, at the very least turn off your auto focus and do it manually. Your AF is a great tool but it's not fool proof. Sometimes it focuses on something you didn't want it to focus on. This is especially true with wider angle lenses...of which you may not notice the discrepancy in the viewfinder...then when you get home and download them, you notice everything is just slightly out of focus. Nothing more frustrating.

Remember that a lens can never get an entire image exactly in focus. Depth of field is the term used to describe how much of the image is in good enough focus to "appear" to the viewer to be in focus. The greater your DOF, the more of the image will be in focus.

The smaller the aperture opening (higher the f/number), the greater DOF. Also, the wider angle the lens, the greater the DOF. But remember that really small apertures can also suffer from diffraction...a little gremlin that can make your images soft and lack sharpness. Thus the reason most recommend a mid-level aperture setting (f/11 or f/13 etc.). You get really good DOF and also avoid diffraction.

I know...it's a bit of a mouthful. Practicing and experimenting with different apertures and focusing techniques will make it much clearer.

Hope that helps!

[BR915]

THANKS Navcom, I had never heard of hyperfocal distance focusing before. I looked at some articles and it looks a bit complicated; however the article on DPS was a little simplified and I plan to give it a try this weekend. I would really like to get my photos in focus with some depth. THANKS again for the tip. If i get a decent shot trying to hyperfocal i'll post it. :-)

[Michael_2010]

I like it, because I like the multitude of colors. But, in this case the vegetation at the bottom of the frame doesn't really add anything graphically. Just the sky and water would actually be more interesting and potentially artistic.

[BR915]

Michael, I had actually cropped this photo to a 10 x 30 cropping out the vegetation, but wasn't sure if it worked or not - so I didn't print the shot. Your comments and thoughts help me a LOT - THANKS I appreciate it!