[PIC_THREAD] Landscapes, Architecture, Seascapes

smr said:
Can't decide which one I like best! First go at shooting at night.
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I think a better crop would work on all of them, you have a lot of dead space in the bottom foreground that is only distracting.

The last one has much more potential, make sure the dark foreground is only 1/5th or 1/6th of the picture.Change the aspect ratio if need be,a 2:1 will help it pop.
 
Thanks D.P yeah I have been taking other landscape shots during the day, practicing the rule of thirds and reading up about it in photography mags I have but that concept went completely out the window tonight as I was supposed to get there at sunset but for traffic it was dark when I got there. Was absolutely freezing as well and with the darkness etc. I just didn't really think properly about the composition. I'm going to go back at Sunrise hopefully this week but looking at the forecast it looks like thick cloud every day! I'll get up early and hopefully the forecast is wrong!
 
Another tip is to shut the aperture down to +f16 to create a 'star' effect from the light sources but that may mean bumping your ISO slightly depending on the shutter speed you want.

Diffraction can also soften the image a bit but if its only for web stuff and not intended for massive prints its really not a big deal.
 
Thanks Columbo, I'm going back there on Saturday morning hopefully, weather forecast is bright and sunny so hopefully I can practice taking my first sunrise photos. The surrounding area is very scenic with canals and barges etc. so I'm looking forward to it :)
 
smr said:
Thanks D.P yeah I have been taking other landscape shots during the day, practicing the rule of thirds and reading up about it in photography mags I have but that concept went completely out the window tonight as I was supposed to get there at sunset but for traffic it was dark when I got there. Was absolutely freezing as well and with the darkness etc. I just didn't really think properly about the composition. I'm going to go back at Sunrise hopefully this week but looking at the forecast it looks like thick cloud every day! I'll get up early and hopefully the forecast is wrong!
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Forget the rule of thirds. It is a horrible concept that makes for lazy photographers. Composition is far more complex than that.
Rule of Thirds is especially dire for landscape photography as it leaves huge empty spaces, your photos are good examples of this.


you need to be thinking about shapes, balance, color, patterns, leading lines, foreground->mid-ground->background progression, gradients, depth, visual paths, weight, story, invoked feeling/emotion, use of space, aspect ratio, s-curves etc. etc.. Composition is much more than getting something to line up to some grid point. It is incredibly hard to do well, there are no short cuts to it beyond immersing yourself in lots of good art work, reading, practicing and getting solid critique.


If you want a very quick heuristic for landscapes then the 4/5th rule is typically ore appropriate, e.g. if the sky is the dominant feature it should occupy 4/5ths of the image height, if the landscape is the dominant feature then the sky should only be 1/5th, if the grass in your photo is the dominant feature then it should occupy 4/5th, if it isn't then only 1/5th. This rule has all the same issues as the rule of thirds, but at least it works better for landscapes.
 
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A few from Konstanz in Germany (1-5) and Zurich (6)... taken with a D750 and 50mm f1.8D. :)

1)

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2)

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3)

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4)

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5)

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6)

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Cosimo said:
More from the set....
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Awesome man!
 
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