From Behind the Treesby
DenielleComment: Since you're so vigilant at helping the rest of us with comments, I'd like to give the same back. Especially noticing that you only got one during-voting comment... and since my image was rather similar in concept to yours.
Personally, I gave this a 4... but I can see where you're coming from with this shot.
I can tell you were working with the rule of thirds, with placing the big tree on the right at the 1/3 line. However, in doing so, that became the subject, not the sun. I think I would place the sun at the 1/3 line instead of the tree, so as to place it in a location that the eye naturally finds interesting.
Honestly, in my first pass, I didn't even see the sun back there. To make this shot really pop - there are "starburst" filters that you can use. I think that could have made all the difference in this capture. Something needs to emphasize the sun as the subject.
Technically it's not a bad edit. I think you could have brought up the whites a good bit though, do add drama. You can kinda see the sky is a bit bla here. By bringing the whites up, you could get more white out of the sky. I also like to use a little sharpening on my images after resizing them. It helps bring everything into a crisp focus, as resizing tends to blend sharp lines a good bit.
Cheers!
Photographer found comment helpful.
