Would welcome some feedback on some of my pictures.

[JunoJ]

#1


#2


#3


Hope I have finally succeeded in uploading some photos. As a beginner, I am unsure what really makes a good picture and am hoping for any kind of constructive help. Thanks in advance. Jean

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Jean,

The most obvious thing that strikes me, with quite a few of your images (in your Scotland album), not just these, is that they are not level.

What PP software do you have? (then, if I know it, I can advise how)

I appreciate there isn't a traditional flat horizon to level with, but there are other things to judge by; in many of these, either buildings aren't vertical, or the reflection of say, a tree tip, isn't directly below the real thing. Let me know if that's as clear as mud and I'll expand upon it.

Your compositions and exposures, etc. are, in general fine, and don't worry about not taking them level, I can't either

Hope that helps,

[FrankMi]

Hi Jean, other than the horizon not being level as Dave points out, these are great! I particularly like the light shaft in # 1 falling behind the castle and the tremendous sense of depth in # 2 & 3. Great capture!

[JohnC]

The first one is very 'haunting' and the other two are attractive too and as a beginner (I'm not that much ahead of you) it's good to see you getting down to take a photo - I assume the last one is a long(ish) exposure.

[alwaysDSLR]

Agree with Dave and FrankMi, the photos are obviously not level though well taken. I like #2. The other 2 appear a bit "gloomy" to me. Keep up with the good work, folks.

[JunoJ]

Thanks for your helpful comments. I am using ACDSee to edit my photos and don't know if there is a way to make them level if they are wonky. I do have photoshop elements 5, but haven't got to grips with it at all. Is there anywhere that I could go for a simple explanation?

[rpcrowe]

I have never used ACDSee but the program obviously can adjust tilted horizons. I copied this from the Internet site advertising the product. My bold and underline...
"Perform up to 13 different edits - rotate, crop, resize, adjust color, convert file type, watermark and more - on hundreds of photos at once"

[JunoJ]

Thanks. Maybe that's the latest edition,but I'll look again.I really like ACDSee as it's so much easier than photoshop elements.

[Dizzy]

Jean, I think the images are beautiful. I'm just a beginner too (don't believe it though about
John C...), and if these are your "beginner" pics, I am really looking forward to
what you produce over the next few months as you learn!

I'm a huge fan of serenity, so #'s 2 and 3 are no doubt my favorites, but #1 has
those wonderful sun rays that you captured nicely. Have to agree with others
about the images being tilted (all to the same side, too..)

Being a bit obsessive about "straightness", I couldn't resist straightening them out, just
to see how they looked:

11a-2.jpg

r3-2.jpg

r6-2.jpg

I've learned to use the bottom edge of the viewfinder as a "straightedge", and
usually it's just a quick, conscious glance to get everything level before the
shutter is squeezed. Not always perfect, but it will get you very close..

Mike

[Nicola]

Jean
these are very beautiful shots!
perhaps alittle less sky in #2 and # 3 will help in my humble opinion...
thaks for sharing
Nicola

[Donald]

Jean

I don't know if you knew what you were photographing in #3. That mountain (Buchaille Etive Mor) on Rannoch Moor just at the top of Glencoe, has got to be one of the most photographed lumps of rock in the world.

And the good thing about your shot that, to my knowledge at least, you've managed to get a different viewpoint and create a very different image. I've never seen it from this view before. Well done.

And Nicola previously posted an image of Castle Stalker (#1), but I did a search and can't find it. It would have been interesting to compare the two.

[Bobobird]

Beginner shots? These are like WOW!

And pp with ACDSee? Then these pics are almost straight out of camera. Another WOW.

With this level of "beginner" very soon you will be up there with the best and would bet we will not see you posting in public forums all that much in the near future.

Any of these shots (leveled of course) would easily win any of the mini competitions and will probably be strong candidates in the monthlies.

Impressive work.

[Davidd]

You have a natural eye for composition, Jean - in my opinion, all the shots in your Scotland album are well composed, with interesting foregrounds and backgrounds and positioning of subjects. My own favourite of your 3 here is the first - it has an almost abstract quality with the silhouettes creating a two-dimensional feel and the simplified range of colours and tones. Don't know if you intended it that way, but who cares, it works for me!

~ David

[JunoJ]

You have a natural eye for composition, Jean - in my opinion, all the shots in your Scotland album are well composed, with interesting foregrounds and backgrounds and positioning of subjects. My own favourite of your 3 here is the first - it has an almost abstract quality with the silhouettes creating a two-dimensional feel and the simplified range of colours and tones. Don't know if you intended it that way, but who cares, it works for me!

~ David