A couple of images/New Member

[csa mt]

Wow! After seeing the beautiful images posted here, I'm very reluctant to post any of mine! But I'll post a couple for input as to how to improve them.

Thanks in advance!

Well sorry; image did not upload. I don't see any way of deleting post, so will try again.

[Shadowman]

You can put your next attempt in the same or original posting. There should be an "edit post" selection available.

[Donald]

Sorry, I give up;

Don't give up Carol. You're probably just missing one small step and once you get it you'll wonder why you missed it. Double check Dave's note HERE and try and see where things get different for you.

[csa mt]

I did not see a way to add images, when editing a post. I did find how to delete posts however.

Ok, finally got it! Any comments, suggestions most welcome. This was handheld at almost dark with FZ70.

[csa mt]

I know this is a mistake, as it does not incorporate the "thirds".

[bnnrcn]

Welcome Carol I like your second image. It is not the matter of not incorporating the thirds but the dark part is so big that it dominates the scene. I would crop it from bottom and it would also help the dark part to be on 1/3 of the frame

[Manfred M]

Hi Carol - Welcome to CiC!

Photographic rules are more like suggestions that can be broken, in order to strengthen the composition. All of us were beginners at one time and have improved as we gained experience.

The issue I see with both images is what Binnur has pointed out, loss of detail in the foreground, more so than not following the "rule of thirds". Landscape shots should have foreground, middle ground and background (but that "rule" can be broken too)!

[csa mt]

Thanks so much for your advice, I've cropped it, and must say I like it much better!

[csa mt]

Thanks for your post; I'm learning a lot with just this thread! I am wondering about "loss of detail in the foreground," Since the first one was taken in almost total darkness (the small pinpoints of lights are actually lights), I don't see any way to get detail in this foreground, especially since the storm clouds were the focus point. If I'm understanding this correctly. It was also handheld, as it only lasted seconds, before total darkness.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Carol, crop looks much better, I have to log off now but I will answer your question about the FG later today. I have to go out now

[Mike Buckley]

The revised version of the second one is quite nice. Welcome to CiC!

To add the first image to a posted message or to revise it in any way, click the Edit button. If no button appears that allows you to upload an image and you're using the TinyPic method, click the Go Advanced button. The pertinent upload button will then appear.

To add another image to a message using the TinyPic method, whether the message is already posted or not, you'll always have to click the Go Advanced button before adding each subsequent photo. My point is that you can post multiple images in one message.

[Shadowman]

Carol,

Sometimes it'snot so bad to have the foreground go into silhouette. For instance if you had a person or animal, especially doing something animated; then a foreground as you presented in your post would be effective. You've exposed for the clouds very nicely.

[bnnrcn]

Hi again Carol, actually you already answered your question on your own , you say it was almost dark and I think you exposed for the sky while shooting.Because there is an exposure difference between the sky and the ground , you get silhouette photos because when you expose for a brighter part like sky in your image your camera will give you a shorter shutter speed than it would if you exposed for a darker part like ground. And you get silhouettes because you need a longer shutter speed to shoot the ground properly indeed. This is a problem for sunset shots and people usually use graduated ND filters for that or they expose for the sky in order not to get a blown out sky and selectively brighten the ground with PP. Another way is that, they get a shot exposing for the sky and they shoot the same scene again but exposing for the ground. And they combine the proper parts with PP. In your case I think there wasn't sunshine at all and it was almost dark. So I wouldn't use a GND filter because you shot handheld without a tripod and a long exposure was impossible . I would follow the other path, shoot one exposed for sky , one for the ground and combine them with PP. I would also suggest you should read the tutorials in CinC about dynamic range and GND filters, they really help to understand the matter.

You can brigten the dark parts selectively with PP but you get noise in your images , the more you brighten ,the more you get noise.

BTW, your images above are nice as silhouettes. I would crop #1 just a bit from bottom too. But if I had to choose, I would prefer #2, because the light is very nice on the clouds, colours are lovely and you have trees as silhouettes.I would even crop it some more from bottom for a better look

[Mike Buckley]

you shot handheld without a tripod and a long exposure was impossible . I would follow the other path, shoot one exposed for sky , one for the ground and combine them with PP.

She is shooting handheld, so the two images will be at least slightly different. Is it practical to combine two such images? I ask because I have done so only when using a tripod.

[bnnrcn]

I haven't tried it Mike, of course it would be difficult but the two images might be aligned with PP if they were taken carefully . If there were no other ways I would go to that way or I would just take one shot and leave the image as a silhouette. I have tried to give some options to Carol but carrying a tripod is always the best solution of course. I think another solution would be taking bracketed images and combine the best parts with PP.

PS . Carol, when you set your camera for shooting bracketed images, it shoots continously with some stop compensation, for instance +1,0,-1 ( what ever your camera is set). Most cameras have this function. It is useful indeed.

PS. If you don't have a sturdy tripod, it is better to buy a really sturdy one and carry it with you if you are after sunset shots and night shots. Your shutter speed gets longer while it is getting dark and you start suffering from camera shake or you have to increase ISO so much that you get very bad noise. In the beginning I had a bad tripod because I didn't know its importance, now I have a better one and I feel really comfortable


QUOTE=Mike Buckley;431419]She is shooting handheld, so the two images will be at least slightly different. Is it practical to combine two such images? I ask because I have done so only when using a tripod.[/QUOTE]

[csa mt]

Mike, thanks for the information on posting multiple images! I've been a moderator on an Astronomy forum for many years, but I feel like a fish out of water on a new site! I must say this site is beautifully laid out and very appealing to the eyes!

[csa mt]

John, thank you! I was very reluctant to post any images after seeing all the absolutely stunning ones on here; but may I say, all of you have made me feel most welcome, and your suggestions will definitely make me strive harder to produce better images!

[csa mt]

"PS. If you don't have a sturdy tripod, it is better to buy a really sturdy one and carry it with you if you are after sunset shots and night shots."

I do indeed have a very sturdy tripod; but these were "spur of the moment", and would have been gone by the time I got the tripod out on the deck, and got setup. I have also taken some that I included some of the sky along with some of the foreground & my results were a rather bland image, as the foreground at dusk is rather a "brownish", uninteresting sight, and takes away from the intense colors of the sky.

Here is one that shows the foreground.

[dabhand]

She is shooting handheld, so the two images will be at least slightly different. Is it practical to combine two such images? I ask because I have done so only when using a tripod.

In P/shop you can use 'auto align layers' - to save me a load of typing view the video at http://tv.adobe.com/watch/understand...align-command/

steve

[Mike Buckley]

Carol,

Another quick tip about using the forum software: If you upload photos that are about 1000 pixels on the longest side or larger, they will be displayed in the thread at the size yours are displayed in this thread. However, viewers will be able to click the image to view it at the size that you uploaded. Better yet, once the viewer has done that (called viewing the image in the Lytebox), you can then scroll through all the images in the thread using the left and right arrow keys.