First ever post- amateur hobbyist- tree on pond

[bekhiann]

Hi all- I wish there was a section for critique/sys just for amateurs I have been so afraid to post anything here since everyones work is just stunning in comparison.

Anyhow this is a shot I took this weekend while we were camping, I have had an Olympus Evolt 500 for about 4 years and my husband just bought me the Canon 7d last week so I am on a really steep learning curve trying to break away from "auto" and the various "scene" settings the evolt had.

I am also trying to learn more about using photoshop, breaking away from using actions and learning how to actually do things on my own besides crop and simple fixes. For this picture I adjusted the exposure/contrast and amped up the saturation just a tad. Then added the black frame to try and contain/de-emphasize all the white space.

The sky was relatively overcast, and the top of my tree is almost washed out, and the sky/pond looks so bright/blown out. A lot of the shots I have been getting with the 7d have seem "flat" what do I do to get them to pop a little more. I think I have an ok grasp for composition, but I have to many problems with lighting. Oh, and this was taken with a tripod, I love the tripod.



f5/6
1/100s
ISO 400
28-135@28 mm

I also posted it to flicker- it looks a bit better on there- tree | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

SO hard to reduce image sizes from the RAW files to fit on flickr and still look as great as they do before resizing!! The images from this Canon are huge!!

[Chip]

Glad you decided to post.

There's a lot to like with this photo: depth, compositon and a nice job with the reflection to create a bit of abstraction/confusion. I think it works well.

For editing this photo, I'm certainly no expert. And I used Aperture instead of Photoshop. So, take what I say for whatever it may be worth.

To me, the dark/shades areas of this photo are a a bit too dark, and the sky is a little too bright. I wonder whether these areas were this extreme before you adjusted the contrast?

If it's possible to dial back the contrast, that might help lighten the dark areas and darken the sky just a bit. Or, if you have shadows and highlights sliders, maybe playing with those will have a somewhat similar effect?

With post work, I think it's best to do just what you're doing: learn through trial and error. Experiment all the time. Soon, your "eye" will more quickly realize what looks good to you, and you'll more quickly be able to do things that take an eternity now.

Hope you continue to have fun with the new camera and tripod. You've already made a good start.

[flytyer57]

I gotta agree with Chip. Try to darken the highlights and lessen the shadows. The fact that the sky is not blue does not hurt this picture. I like the contrast of the light sky and dark trees. But do try to lighten the shadows and darken the highlights a tad.

I also checked out your other photo's on flicker. I have to say, there is a b/w picture there of who I would think is your daughter (aribw) (third pic to the right of the pic you posted here) that is absolutely amazing.

[jumper23]

Photo color a bit dark, but good location