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Until recently, I have primarily been a bird/animal photographer, so landscapes are really new to me. I would really appreciate some constructive criticism and advice on how to take better landscape photos in the future!
These were taken on a (very) foggy day in Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. I really loved the wildflowers and the color of the water in person, but I feel like the photos don’t do the scene justice!
Also, in your honest opinion, are these photos considered to be “sharp”? I have not used this setup very much, so I am not sure how sharp it can get. for these photos, I was not using a tripod, so I am sure that they would be clearer if I was not shooting handheld.
Thank you so much!
Landscape orientation:
Canon EOS 60D
35mm lens
ISO 800
f/14
1/1600 secPortrait orientation:
Canon EOS 60D
35mm lens
ISO 1000
f/13
1/640 secAttachments:
Good for you. keep it up.
First question: What is your main subject here? Is is just the scene? otherwise not much there. Maybe go much much wider. I’ve heard it said that a landscape photo should have and foreground, midground and background with a clear subject.
It would be nice to have a subject on the beach in the lower left, maybe a boat, hut, person(s), etc…Something to draw in the viewer.
The edges are too dark and need brightening.
Need more color or if there is not enough color consider black and white.
Maybe be 30+ feet lower in elevation.Consider the attached three of my recent failed pano landscape attempts last week taken from the same spot on a dull day at the golden hour.
Photo 1: The hills and rocks are too far away to be interesting and the hill on the left side is a big distraction.
Photo 2: Pulls you to the beach down from the bench and path and to the cove which curves into the rocky cliffs, and the hills begin to add interest. Cliffs are too dark. Probably the best of the three.
Photo 3: Turns out the rocky cliffs are not that interesting after all and there is a cool church and graveyard but too far away to add interest or to be the subject. The foreground is a distraction.
All don’t have much color and the sky is very weak plus there are some con trails in the sky.Sailboat Photo: Taken the day before. Very simple, no color and the subject is obvious. I kind of like that one.
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Thank you so much @timtam for the detailed critique!
I see now that the photo really needs a subject. And thanks for the landscape photography tip; I will keep that in mind for the future.
Oh wow, I love those panoramas! I absolutely love the colors.I tried out a new composition…I guess the rock is the subject(ish). It was a foggy day so everything besides what was right in front of me is kind of blurry (including the rock). I made the colors more saturated, and made it less warm.
I also tried black and white on the original crop, but I am not a huge fan of how it looks. I think that the color adds a lot, since the composition isn’t great.
-Anastasia
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Very good. better.
using black and white as an exercise can be very helpful to get you used to honing in on a subject and focused much more on composition.
Here are a few of mine which are simple, clear, use of the rule of thirds, some also with a clear subject.
The tree in the water shot was taken on a tripod with long exposure to give the water a smooth glassy look.
The Grand Canyon shot would be soooo much better if the guy on the rock at the far right was closer in and sitting on the edge of the first rock outcropping in the lower right.
Pardon the lens spots in some of these. Some work is still required.
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Yes, I think that I rely on color to make an image a bit too much. Most of my images would look terrible as black and white photos.
Thanks for the examples! Your compositions are really inspiring.
Here are some other ones I took, but again, they don’t really have a subject.
-AnastasiaAttachments:
That last one is the better one of all of them.
I would pull it into Photoshop and add some blending layers and make it pop.
Which one? The beach or the rocks? I am not sure which one is showing up as the last one.
If I ever get photoshop I will try that out! I do have Krita, which can be sort of used for photo editing. I can play around with it.
Thanks!
-Anastasia
Anastasia, here’s a good video about composition and landscape photography.
https://youtu.be/13vVu0rwV8U?t=50
(The beginning and end has ungodly music, but other then that it’s clean.)
@Blessingscaptured Ooo thank you! I will check it out. And thanks for the heads up about the music.
-Anastasia
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