Dusk Sky

[eBomb]

Had taken this shot a couple days ago. It was nothing special but as I croped it down I like it better. There was a more silhouette/foliage on the bottom and a tree trunk on the right.

So how does the composition look now? Any other feed back would also be appreciated.



Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 18 mm
Exposure Bias: -1/3 EV

[navcom]

Hi!

Let me ask a question...what was your goal with the photo? What did you wish the center of interest to be?

I'm guessing it was the beautiful sky. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'll go off that assumption so bear with me .

I think your composition is ok, but it lacks quite a bit. I think the reason for this is the notion that a pretty sky can be the center of interest. In some instances it can, but in most, it's just a postcard image with no draw. Think of it this way...beautiful skies are really like frosting on a cake. They make an otherwise boring cake much more exciting and colorful. But if you just spread frosting on a plate, it's pretty boring and except for a handful of folks who live to eat frosting, it won't bring them to the table.

You need something more interesting in the photo to bring the photo to life if you want it to pop. Here is an example from a photo shoot I did recently.



Here we have a very beautiful sunrise. Even the fog hovering around makes it a bit interesting. But honestly it doesn't draw someone in. They've seen a sunrise before and this is just another sunrise over the lake. And there were about a dozen other folks with camera's standing around taking this very shot. So if I wanted something special, I needed to find something more interesting to make it more unique. The way to do that is find something in the foreground to draw the viewer in, such as this...



Same sunrise, different angle, and something more interesting in the foreground. I hope that makes sense. Before snapping the shutter, look around and see what you could include in the foreground to make the image more interesting.

Good luck!

[eBomb]

Wow thanks navcom, you really hit the nail on the head.

Love the frosting analogy.

Can't wait to get back at it! Thanks!

[navcom]

Not a problem. Good luck and keep sharing your shots!

Make sure to keep a log of what you've taken so you can look back and see what worked and what didn't. You wouldn't believe how many times I've looked back over the years to see what I used to do and compare if I'm getting any better or if I'm just stagnating.