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02/02/2012 06:34:37 PM · #1 |
These are my first attempt at sunrise/sunset photos. Something isn't sitting right with these two photos I took, but I'm having trouble placing my finger on it. I'm wondering if a ND filter would've made these come out better. Any comments welcome.
 
Message edited by author 2012-02-02 19:50:55. |
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02/02/2012 06:37:07 PM · #2 |
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02/02/2012 06:47:30 PM · #3 |
| left a comment. Hopefully one of the heavy hitters with this style will chime in. I also encourage you to view really well done shots like you want to do and try to figure out what they did differently. |
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02/02/2012 07:00:57 PM · #4 |
| When the back of my shoulders is warmed by the sun, I know I'm shooting in the most favorable direction. There are opportunities to shoot in the direction of the sun when you want silhouettes and/or you have some atmospheric filter reducing the dynamic range of the scene. In general, the best use of long wavelength light from a sun horizon event is to capture the scenery illuminated. |
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02/02/2012 07:20:26 PM · #5 |
Besides the extremely obvious flaw that Slippy pointed out, I have these comments;
First photo - There is some pretty major lens flare, which in this case seems out of place. Also, there is a caution tape which is really out of place. The little stars of light are kind of cool. The details in the water seem to be washed out due to there being no real dark blacks in the photo.
Second photo - The sky is extremely overblown. The bright highlights extends into the clouds, providing low contrast, similar to the first photo. The colors of the boats add a lot here, so an image where the builds are silhouettes and the boats are shown in normal-ish exposure could be cool.
Hope these off the cuff observations help. |
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02/02/2012 08:24:13 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by Osiris1975:
...I'm wondering if a ND filter would've made these come out better. |
A Graduated ND filter would have helped. A regular ol' ND filter would just darken the whole image. The graduated version is just half dark, so in your case it would darken the sky but still give you the same exposure results as you are seeing now. |
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02/02/2012 08:30:56 PM · #7 |
| Even bracketing would help immensely with these. |
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02/02/2012 10:07:47 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by aliqui:
Originally posted by Osiris1975:
...I'm wondering if a ND filter would've made these come out better. |
A Graduated ND filter would have helped. A regular ol' ND filter would just darken the whole image. The graduated version is just half dark, so in your case it would darken the sky but still give you the same exposure results as you are seeing now. |
Or you could bypass using a graduated ND filter completely by taking several exposures (bracketing), then layering the images in photoshop or another program and painting in the highlight and shadow details you wish to retain.
Or also, you could bring the exposures into an hdr program (or the hdr function in photoshop), with patience you can get a natural looking result.
One use for an ND filter would be to allow you a considerable longer exposure time, if you wish to blur the water further.
I see you were at 1/15 800 iso, so you could have already got 1/2 sec by using 100 iso, maybe 1/4 for a less overexposed shot.
An ND filter, or a few stacked, could have given you a few second exposure, which will make for a pretty smooth water surface.
A cheap polariser will also take away a few stops, if you don't have an ND.
Shooting into the sun can be tricky, perhaps you could experiment with different apertures to see what happens with the flare and the bokeh highlights in the background, if you use a shallow dof. In general, using a larger aperture will get you rounder patches of light. |
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02/02/2012 10:14:27 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
Need more boobs. |
LMFAO |
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02/02/2012 10:18:32 PM · #10 |
Just a few quick adjustment made a big improvement, I think.
-Duplicate
-Multiply blend
-Increase contrast slightly
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02/02/2012 11:21:44 PM · #11 |
IMO - you shot too soon. Sunsets (or sunrises) looking towards the sun are typically best if the sun itself is hidden from view. A convenient layer of clouds, building / tree, or with the sun just below the horizon. The pluses are better color in the sky, less difference in lighting levels, less likely to have major portions of your shot way overexposed. The negatives are if you don't want the positive, and significant less chance to catch a sun path across the water.
Second point is that you don't seem to know what your picture wants to be. Is it a sunset or a shot of the boats on shore? It happens to include both elements, and doesn't really do either justice.
Third - it looks like you took the shot standing up. If you squatted down, it would change the angle, reducing the wide expanse of water, and visually bringing the boats and skyline closer together.
Different equipment / filters / etc. wouldn't resolve the above issues.
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02/02/2012 11:41:47 PM · #12 |
Now that you mention it â€Â¦
HAHAHA
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
Need more boobs. |
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02/03/2012 07:41:53 AM · #13 |
Thanks everyone for the feedback, very useful! I really am a noob, (at it for a month) so I'm still getting to know my camera, and how all the settings effect each other.
This scene is on my commute to work, so it'd be easy for me to try again based on all your suggestions.
Thanks for the improved example, spiff.
As for boobs, this is Boston in winter, no chance of that. :P
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