First Photos - need post-processing advice with sunsets/flowers

[sakthi]

Hi all,
I'm new to photography. I bought a Canon 550D with 18-135mm kit yesterday and took some photos. Please give me some advices on these following photos. I dont know much about PP. Therefore i just changed some settings until i like the photos. C&C welcome.

[carregwen]

Congrats on the new gear!

I think these are quite good. But #2 and #3 might look better with a top crop of 20% (especially #2 with that bright area at the top). The problem with shots such as these is you end up relying very much on structure and colour to provide interest. You have the colour, but I'm not sure you quite have the structure. I'm looking around them and my eyes do not immediately rest on something before moving on. Does that make sense?

Good attempt though, and enjoy the camera.

[Hans]

Hi Sakthi, and welcome.
Good efforts above. I like the soft tones in the second pic the best.
Taking landscapes with lots of sky like these, you'll be dealing with a very wide dynamic range which gives you the dark forground (not always bad) and the clipped highlights in the sky as your camera struggles to expose the scene. This has always frustrated me and I am now committed to investing in a set of Neutral Density graduated filters to help me out on the path for better landscapes. I haven't used them yet but this guy has. He is not everyone's cup of tea but his tutorials are simple and easy to understand. Filters won't help your composition though so throw yourself into that first and then think about filters. Have a look at the link anyway (and his other tutorials) and good luck with whatever you are planning next.

Cheers

[sakthi]

Thanks Rob and Hans. ya, I also heard Neutral Density graduated filters. When i can afford that i may buy that.

[Geoff F]

You have chosen some difficult subjects if you are new to photography. Sunsets /sunrises are a challenge to the experienced photographer. If you expose for the highlights the shadows become too dark and highlights near the sun will overexpose if you use an average exposure.

The balance is about correct with the third image although, as Rob said, a little tighter cropping would concentrate the eye on the more dramatic area. A little, is the important part here, don't get tempted to excessively crop them.

Personally, if you want to get into landscapes, I would say a good tripod should come before any filters, etc.

And if you are new to editing your photos as well, you will find there is a steep learning curve ahead of you with so much apparently difficult technical techniques to learn. But in reality, most of this appears harder than it is in practice.

So the best advice I can offer is to read; read everything you can find about photography starting with the tutorials on this site. And don't give up when it seems difficult or your photos don't turn out as expected.

Like most photographers, I have learned far more from my many mistakes than my few successes. But don't just bin the failures; keep notes and try to work out what went wrong.

You didn't say what camera settings you used with these photos but my advice would be to try to move away from the auto settings as soon as you feel able. That is where you will really learn. And, of course, with digital it is cheap to experiment and discard the failures.

Do come back and ask for advice if there is anything about which you are unsure, even if it just basic questions. Somebody will always be willing to offer help.

ps. Did you mean the 28-135 IS lens? If so, it is an excellent general purpose lens at a realistic price.

[Klickit]

Hi Siva. Just one word about post processing your images, and you may already know this one, but always, always, work with a copy of the original. There will be times when you take a photo with a lot of promise that you will want to come back to in the future when your pp techniques get better and if you don't have the original, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

As others have said, sunsets are hard to capture, but the middle one is my favourite of the three.

[sakthi]

Thanks Geoff and Kit. I shoot normally in Av mode. Ya, i know it is difficult to shoot sunset or sunrise. but i love it. i'm learning a lot in these type of websites. Thanks for the tips.

[RockNGoalStar]

As a newbie I've learnt a lot too from reading the replies to this thread!

Cheers

[sakthi]

I took some photos other day. C&C welcome. some advice to improve, thanks in advance



Bush, f/5.6, 1/200s, ISO 800



Flower_1, f/5.6, 1/200s, ISO 800



Flower_2, f/5.6, 1/500s, ISO 800

[Geoff F]

And the other difficult subject is . . .

That is correct - It is Flowers.

In general, I would suggest; always do a custom white balance; use a tripod; avoid direct sunshine (sometimes temporary shading or reflectors are beneficial); beware of wind moving the flower (a windbreak or flower stem support may be needed); meter for the brightest area to prevent overexposure problems.

A good depth of field is normally necessary, which can mean compromising other settings. Sometimes, flash is needed but care is required here and external flash units work best.

With your photos, you have a high ISO which isn't helping the noise problem. The shutter speed could come lower, unless that is essential to overcome wind movement; in which case a windbreak would prove helpful. The aperture is too wide for good depth of field. You have slight overexposure.

But, in all fairness, you have 3 difficult subjects there which would make even an expert stop for a bit of thought before clicking the shutter.

[sakthi]

Thank you for your wonderful comments, when I shoot next time, I'll take these best advices in to consideration. Thank you very much.