evening

[Eimantas]

Hi for you all, I am very new in photography area and I have no experience, so that's why I am here. I really would love to have some critique and suggestions. Here is my shot.



Canon EOS 550D
f/3.5
1/30sec
ISO 100
focal length 18mm

Edited.
I would like to hear your opinion about the composition. Also this photo is not edited with a Photoshop, but i am not sure what i can do. Maybe you have some advice?

[nikosdp]

Obviously you wanted to capture the sky colors and that you well.

[Eimantas]

Indeed, but i am having problems with composition. I would like to know, how I could improve this shot, in order to do better one next time. Also this photo is not edited with a Photoshop, but i am not sure what i can do. Maybe you have some advice?

Thanks for respond!

[windrider86]

We do like for you to place your image here for us to see. Certainly makes it much easier to critique if we dont have to flip back and forth from one page to another.
Here are the guidelines/rules for posting in the critique section. They're chocked full of information on what you should be including in your posts. Thanks in advance for looking at them and including any missing info!!

[Eimantas]

Sorry for that, next time I will make according the rules.

[shruggy63]

What sort of file is the original image saved in, is it a type of RAW file or a jpeg or tiff? You got the sky nicely but I think the landscape is just a block with odd points of light in it.

[Eimantas]

Original one is in JPG

[shruggy63]

You'll find that there's an overwhelming consensus among digital photographers that you should set up your camera to shoot RAW. That way you can adjust the image in Photoshop in a similar way to the old film developing method eg. adjusting contrast, etc. to get the photo as good as you can before making other photoshop adjustments. There's load of information on this site that you'll find helpful, try searching the site for information on RAW. Hope that helps.

[Eimantas]

I tried that and my Photoshop c2 does not support that format. Should I get the newer version of Photoshop?

[Hill Country Hack]

You did a fine job capturing the colors in the sky.
Your main question is about composition so I will talk about that.
For me there is too much wasted space in the bottom of the frame. The trees and electric pole in the middle of the frame are out of focus. The cars and lights (streetlights or window lights?) are distracting and the crop should be just above those.
For landscape photography one usually uses between f8-f11 to maintain focus from foreground to background unless one wants a specific outcome. Having asid that, most landscape/cityscape folks use a tripod to reduce camera shake when photographing in low light conditions. I am guessing you used the large apature to speed up your shutter to handhold the shot?

There are several choices for PP software. GIMP is free but I'm told has a steep learning curve, Photoshop, Lightroom. These are just a few of several that handle RAW files. The PP software that came with your camera should work with RAW files. There may not be a lot you can do with the software, but you can make basic adjustments. Check it out.

There is a wealth of information here if one looks. Go to the tutorial section and read, read, read. Then go out and practice. You will see vast improvement. Keep at it.