Sea gulls sunset walk

[melindalones]

I took this picture while visiting my son in Oceanside, Ca.. I didn't think much of it but, it is a favorite to everyone that has seen it. I would like some outside opinions.

[Photographycampus]

Hi it. Certainly looks like a lovely place.
As for advice, here's my thoughts.
1. The sun is a little overblown. Next time try not to point the camera directly in to it.
2. If the bird is the key element you want people to see try following the rule of thirds and have it to one side rather than the centre of frame.
3. The shot could do with some more contrast. Do you have a post production program you can tweak it in?

All in all though if people love it, that's a great thing. Photography should be enjoyed

[Aleix]

Hello! The idea and scene are nice, however:

1. I'd crop a bit the left and bottom of the pictures, so that both sun and bird are placed in accordance to the rule of thirds; there's too much empty space there (even though the lines are nice).

2. The horizon appears not to be perfectly horizontal, you might want to slightly rotate the picture CCW in order to fix that.

3. Even though I don't know your settings (EXIF missing), next time when photographing against the sun you might try using a very small aperture, let's say f/22 or smaller. This will capture the sun flares like in this photo: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2606/...9f2611446e.jpg

As for the rest, Photographycampus gave you good advice.

PS: providing the EXIF is very helpful for critique, so please remember it for the next time

[windrider86]

Welcome to DPS!!!
I'm attaching a link to the guidelines that include what you should be including in your posts. By learning your camera settings and asking something specific it will help you learn more about your photography. Thank you for doing so and happy posting!!!