Frozen Shore

[Machina]

Still learning how to use my Canon Rebel XS, any critique or advice is very much appreciated

[dalmorloson]

I like the scene, but the horizon is dead center of the shot. maybe a different crop would make this shot more interesting.

[chrisj1968]

Bryan Peterson has taught me and I'll pass this info on to you. look at your composition, here the horizon as a war. as you look at your shot, no one is winning the war.

So if you are trying to get the attention of the sky lower the horizon in your shot. if the landscape is the focus of your shot, then raise the horizon in the shot.

if you can, go back to that location or when you try again, recompose your shot to lower or raise your horizon. it will make a huge difference

[Krusty79]

Since the land is more interesting than the sky in this shot, I would recommend giving the sky just the top 1/3 of the image. Also, I think your horizon is sloping down to the right a little. I don't know if this was possible, but I would suggest trying to use that structure on the right with the icicles as foreground interest in the shot. If you can't do that, then maybe use the footprints of the walkers as a leading line into your shot. Right now, I find my eye going back and forth between the people and the structure with the icicles on the right.

A good start for a beginner, though. You might find this article helpful - http://www.livermorevalleycameraclub...O_critique.pdf

[mshockley]

I think if it was me I would crop to focus on the frozen dock in the right front foreground leaving just a bit of sky. That frozen area at right front is interesting, I think that's where your focus needs to be.

[Machina]

When I saw the actual scene I liked it and thought it would make a good photo, but looking at the image afterward I didn't find it as appealing and I couldn't really figure out why. You guys have made a lot of great points. Thank you so much for your comments! They've been very helpful.

@krusty, thank you so much for the pdf file, it had a lot of really great tips that I will definitely keep in mind next time I'm out.