Hi @blessingscaptured, You have captured some great photos here on your vacation!
Photo #1. As far as composition goes I would try to position the subject (which I’m supposing was the tree there in the middle,)
more purposefully somehow, to separate it from the other trees and help it to look intentional. Another idea I have is to try shooting it at golden hour to get those greens to really pop, and give it that warm lighting.(Of course that might not be practical if you’re just taking a hike with your family, and can’t come back later)😬.
Photo #2. The first things I noticed about this photo was that it seems like it’s a little underexposed.
Also, maybe the graininess could be reduced by setting your camera on a tripod, and putting the ISO down, and the shutter speed even slower.
Other than that, I really like how you captured the fog hanging over the river, and the way the brightness of the fog leads your eyes sort-of around the curve of the river.
Photo #3. I like all the bright colors, and how the curve of the branch leads your eyes along to the tip of the branch,
but I think that it’s altogether a little bit to busy with the ponds’ green/yellow algae right behind the branch.
(Hope that makes sense!) Like maybe if you could position the branch more to the right, and down lower, the branch would pop out a little more
against the water.
Photo #4. This one is definitely my personal favorite of all these pictures.
I like how the red mill really stands out from everything else, and I also like how it’s framed inside of the trees surrounding it.
The reflection in the water was done pretty well, but the one thing that I would try to change is the bright white sky in the bottom of the reflection. I don’t know if it was possible, but it seems to grab for my attention, thus subtracting from the clear subject.
But overall, very well done!
Photo #5. I like how the red mill attracts my attention as in the other one, but those branches covering the roof in this photo
seem to distract me somehow. I like how the landscape/horizontal orientation turned better personally.
When I edit I normally set the white and black points, and add a little clarity and sharping. What else would be good?
I usually also change the vibrancy or saturation, exposure, and white balance when editing my photos.