Over the Lake

[YankeeRse]

New here and to photography.I don't use Photoshop yet but am looking forward to learning. I love photographing sunsets over Lake Erie but am never sure how much of the lake I should include in the shot. I would like opinions on how to improve this shot for clarity and interest.

Canon EOS Digital Rebel
f/25
Exposure 1/400
ISO 1600

[navcom]

Usually in shots like this you use what is called the "rule of thirds". Do a search for the rule of thirds in the search section and you will get tons of results...or search the internet as a whole. Using this rule, the horizon would be at the bottom 1/3 of the image.

That said, another tip for the new landscape/sunset photographer...sunsets alone don't do the job. Believe me, I understand the draw of the sunset itself...the colors and textures...awesome! Unfortunately the sunrise alone in a shot is pretty boring. We've all seen sunsets and pretty colors so it becomes just another image among millions.

To make a sunset "pop", you need something of interest in the foreground or something interesting besides just the sunset and the colors...something that leads the viewer into the sunset.

Consider the sunset like frosting on a cake. Most people don't like to eat frosting all by itself. It's a bit too sugary and not very palatable. But add it to a cake and it makes the whole cake sing!

Here are two of mine as examples I use to explain this...



The first one is pretty. By itself it seems OK. But it is just another sunrise photo. Nothing special. The second one has a foreground object of interest...the pier. The pier leads the viewer into the image. The sunrise compliments the composition by adding the "frosting" and making the composition much more interesting.

And to add to the effect, look closely......the "boring" picture is actually just a crop taken from the better composition...they are both the same picture! A good example of just how important it is to thoughtfully consider where you place your elements in your photo.

And one final little tip...try to avoid using apertures smaller than f/13 or f/16. You used f/25, which will greatly affect the sharpness of the image. At that small, diffraction will cause a loss of detail and make your image look a bit out of focus. For landscape and sunrise photography, try to stick to apertures in the f/8 to f/13 range.

Hope that helps!

[markus_spring]

Hi YankeeRse,
the first thing I liked in your shot was that excellent framing of that sunset sky - the almost black sea forming the bottom and the low clouds forming the other three sides. For this reason I would happily accept the low horizon - in the end your image is about that marvellous sky, and the uniform see does not add to this impression.
While the rule of thirds is quite often a good receipt for harmonious images, I do not miss it here in this one.

What this image would need in my eyes is to bring out a bit more details in the different clouds. To show what I mean, here is your image after some polishing in LightZone « lightcrafts, a software which I use quite often, especially because of its gorgeous relight tool.

I worked on the image in two areas: emphasizing details in the sky, and brightening the sea a little bit to show some structure. Afterwards I added some local contrast enhancement to increase the drama. How much of this you would want to do is certainly a matter of taste.

All these manipulations would have been fruitless without the good material your image already provided. Lack of composition cannot be compensated by postprocessing tricks, but your image was already good - especially that framing by the clouds.

Keep on seeing good images - Markus

[YankeeRse]

I really appreciate the advice. I took an on-line digital photography course at community college and have gotten some of the "rules" down. I am still learning how to use my camera properly....exposure, f/stops and whatnot still confuse me greatly. I am anxious to learn more editing and manipulation techniques to enhance my shots. I will apply the suggestions in my future pictures. Thanks!

[tvoelcker]

Superb job on the critique and examples Navcom .

[mike1187]

I think I'd probably crop it a bit, and remove the gray clouds that almost surround the top half of the image. It almost looks like smoke from somewhere on shore that is just drifting across into the shot to me. it frames the phot well, but just dosent seem to blend well with the rest of the clouds.

[navcom]

Originally Posted by tvoelcker

Superb job on the critique and examples Navcom .

Thanks Tom!