Sunset on Mill pond

[DizzyD81]

[IMG] Mill Pond Sunset by Dizzyd81, on Flickr[/IMG]

This was my first attempt at a sunset reflection shot, i am pretty new to photography, and was just hoping get some thoughts or tips..
Thanks.

[Krusty79]

Welcome to DPS. Can you include your exif data when posting?

I think you did just about everything right here - the only problem is that there are no clouds in this sunset. I would wait for a night when you have some clouds on the horizon and take this very same shot. I think you'll like the difference. If you look at great sunset shots online, I think you'll find just about all of them have clouds to catch the colors.

[navcom]

Hi and welcome! Krusty is right...EXIF data will help us help you much better.

Not sure I completely agree with Krusty about clouds. There are lots of great sunrises/sunsets without any clouds. What IS missing is color period (not always a bad thing, but it does help if there isn't much else in the shot)...and also a lack of a definite subject. There isn't anything that really grabs your attention and holds it...just a picture of a typical sun setting/rising without any other real detail.

A dirty little secret .....the sun usually doesn't make a great main subject in a photography (not never...just not usually). You need another main subject that the sun shines down on.

Your picture is not all bad. You are on the right track. I wouldn't really consider your shot a "reflection" shot as the sun doesn't really reflect symmetrically in the water. But you are thinking!

I would consider experimenting with a graduated neutral density filter. It will help you tremendously with sunrise/sunset shots, especially with pulling out detail. You can find tons of info on them here on the forum. But most importantly, study up on some compositional rules and tricks. A good one to start with is the "rule of thirds". There are no absolute "rules", but studying the "rules" that do exist is a great way to jump start your compositional skills.

Good luck! Hope that helps!

[sk66]

I'll go off what I see, but because the color space is not embedded I can't be sure of what I'm seeing...

I like the exposure et all. nice pic.
I would probably have preferred a pic from further left with the sun clearly reflecting and at the low point on the horizon, but sometimes you take what you can get.

There's a bit of sensor dust showing just above the sun.