Critique my Niagara Falls photos!

[ericakg]

I'm pretty new to photography - I'm just getting comfortable with my first SLR, but I'm loving the experience! Recently I took a solo evening trip to Niagara Falls and shot a bunch of photos. I can't say I'm enthralled with the results, so I'd like feedback to know how I can improve. Here's a link to several photos I took. You can comment on this thread, or if it's easier, comment on individual photos on that site.

Paysages by Ericakg

Here are my concerns:
- Exposure: It was hard for me to get the right exposure on the late evening and night photos. I had to play with my settings quite a lot, and I still don't think it turned out that great in the end. The darker photos seem grainy and fuzzy to me (perhaps because I had to use a higher ISO setting and because of slight camera shake?).

- Composition: I'm not sure that my photos are very balanced, compelling, or eye-catching. I often struggle with finding a unique perspective and a captivating focal point. Also, especially with such a popular photo subject as the Niagara Falls, how can I create an image that is "my own"?

[NgaiHill]

Hi, had a look at your pics, I think the main problem does seem to be lighting. Have you tried HDR? I like the composition in img 094 but the colour of the overall shot seems a bit dull. Have you done any post processing on them?
I do like the shot of the coloured falls, are they lit from underneath - no thats a silly question, clearly they are!
I like what you tried to do with the iron fence to frame the falls but you have the fence in focus and the falls out of focus - what is the focus of your picture there? The falls or the fence?
Perhaps you need to pay another visit when the sky is a little more interesting, with a bit more cloud and colour there.

[onlyforyou22]

I thnk you pretty much know what your drawbacks are. Those are things I was going to point out as well. Composition can be different, just try making it interesting. For example the one with the black railing and the view inside of it - that sparked my interest. If you can crop that and make that one circle as a frame.

I think your shots are from too far so everything is too little in the frame. Get in closer and dont be afraid to crop it in various sizes to make your photo 'unique'.

JS

Originally Posted by ericakg

I'm pretty new to photography - I'm just getting comfortable with my first SLR, but I'm loving the experience! Recently I took a solo evening trip to Niagara Falls and shot a bunch of photos. I can't say I'm enthralled with the results, so I'd like feedback to know how I can improve. Here's a link to several photos I took. You can comment on this thread, or if it's easier, comment on individual photos on that site.

Paysages by Ericakg

Here are my concerns:
- Exposure: It was hard for me to get the right exposure on the late evening and night photos. I had to play with my settings quite a lot, and I still don't think it turned out that great in the end. The darker photos seem grainy and fuzzy to me (perhaps because I had to use a higher ISO setting and because of slight camera shake?).

- Composition: I'm not sure that my photos are very balanced, compelling, or eye-catching. I often struggle with finding a unique perspective and a captivating focal point. Also, especially with such a popular photo subject as the Niagara Falls, how can I create an image that is "my own"?

[Michael_2010]

"I often struggle with finding a unique perspective..."

First you rent a barrel.... lol

It is tough to shoot such famous landmarks from a new perspective. Looks like you have some good ideas though and those ideas may need a little technical polish to make them pop.

[ericakg]

Thanks for your critique! I've done some editing and cropping on my photos, and I think I've improved them qutie a bit. I haven't done any HDR yet, but I plan to try it out sometime. You can check out my (hopefully) improved photos, as well as a few more I took at Niagara Falls here:
Niagara Falls by Ericakg

Here's one of the new photos I put up

[Krusty79]

If you are getting started, I recommend reading this thread, specifically Ken's post - Landscapes - the Best ways to Shoot them. What to do and What not to do