Looking some feedback on some photos

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ChrisM

New member
I'm looking for some CC on some beach photos I took a few weeks ago. I've only had my DSLR for a little over a month now, so I'm trying to learn and would appreciate any feedback. These were a challenge because of the harsh lighting, so any tips on how to overcome those situations would be welcomed. These were all shot in manual mode and are unedited besides converting from RAW to JPG. None have been cropped, they are as is. They are linked from my Flickr account so I added my settings too.


I love this photo. This was the first time I have ever seen a starfish at the beach. I've only seen them in aquariums before. The one problem I notice with this is that you can see my shadow a bit on the right side.
Settings:
f/11
1/200
ISO 200
5530882052_d2659807c4_z.jpg

This one seems overexposed to me ... I think I had my aperture set too far open.
f/9
1/200
ISO 200
5530892498_d9b5e77127_z.jpg

With this one, i'm thinking it may have looked better if I had of adjusted the focus to be on the lighthouse instead.
Settings:
f/11
1/200
ISO 200

5530912526_e7ba65d4cb_z.jpg

This is my favorite pic from the batch. It was a bit later in the evening and the sun was starting to set. I think it has a bit of a color cast on the breaks of the waves from the sunset, but I kinda like the effect.
Settings:
f/8
1/500
ISO 200
5530865838_c2618efc6b_z.jpg


Thanks in advance!
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
I'm going to name your pics 1, 2, 3 and 4....the order in which they show up here on my screen. The first seems a little overexposed. No contrast. My feeling is you used to large an f stop. Perhaps at f8 would have given it more definition and contrast. I took the liberty of cropping and adding some contrast to it in this retouch of your original to show you my point. Hope you don't mind.
View attachment 2057

Number two just looks kind of washed out to me. Sunlight can be harsh with outdoor shots, I know. I tried a little colour correction in my version of your original:
View attachment 2058

Number three, again, just needs a little colour correction. Notice the difference:
View attachment 2059

Number 4....I like it just the way it is. :)
 
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ChrisM

New member
Thanks so much! I don't mind the corrections at all ... i'm a visual learner, it helps me to see it. I have the RAW files of these so I can correct them based on your feedback, but i'm trying to learn to properly expose things in the camera so I don't have to touch up later. The sunlight that day was super harsh. It wasn't a planned photography outing, just a take the family to the beach day. Of course it ended up being around 3pm when we got there and the sun was beaming down. I could barely even see my LCD, so I just shot a few so I could look later and learn, if that makes sense. At least the beach is close so I can take what i've learnt and go back to try again!

I also like the crop of the starfish one much better ... I'm trying to break my habit of centering things! And the fourth one was my favorite too. It was taken around 5:30 that evening once the sun has set a bit. It's amazing the difference a few hours makes.
 
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Essence of Imagery

New member
My take on photo #2:

retouch.jpg


I used Nik Softwares' Color Efex Pro for the contrast filter, then used Nik Softwares' Viveza 2 in order to add in a little contrast to help out with the sky. I also straightened the horizon a bit, so the lighthouse is level.
 
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