Horses!

Shucks

Wow, Nikongirl, lots of pretty pics, but too many for the critique. Please read the rules and post only 1 for critique. These would be appropriate for your gallery or a blog on this site. Let me know if you need help getting there

Sorry! Fixed it ...

ignore the picture that says "Attachment" ... i'm not sure how it got there, or how to get rid of it!!

Great job, and thank you.

Just some thoughts: are you shooting jpeg or raw? In either case, your photos need a little more "punch" -- the colors are a little flat.

Also, whenever you're photographing horses in full length, shoot from a lower angle. This way, the legs don't get that "short, stumpy" look.

Glad to see you are so excited about photography. Keep it up! The horses are beautiful and you got some nice captures there.

They are easily fixed though View attachment 12243

The watermark is a bit much. As far as critique-

Two things that stand out to me

-The other horse in the background is a huge distraction and makes the image "busy"
-The composition is a bit cramped on the right side, needs more space.

I agree with Helene on the color, needs more punch. Try shooting allot of different angles in head shots to get a more 3 demensional feel. A flat side shot is, flat. Looks like you have a great spot to shoot, keep up the good work!

Everything Rick (cnyram) said.....especially the watermark. I can't stand watermarks all over the face of a picture.

Honestly, unlike the opinions of others, I don't mind the "Peace Valley Photography" in the lower corner of the image. It gives you a 'brand', and identifies your images.
A couple of things if you're going to use that brand, however. One is keep the font/size/color of the logo consistent, as it is your "brand", and that must always have a feel of consistency to it.
When I watermark an image, I try to keep it discrete by placing it in the lower corner, and making it less opaque(transparency adj.) and lowering the fill adj. to 50% (or less).
As far as the images, I'm not an expert on horse photography, and my wife, who knows much more about that particular genre, is asleep. I'll ask her if she'd write something up in the morning.

I hate to see watermarks or any kind of writing on picture. I can understan writing if its in a place somewhere that no one would understad whose work it was and thats it. Its hardly likely to be Marcels work in Nikongirls port lol. Other than that, I think the composition is realy good and it works for me. I find the horse in the background none distracting and helps the horse stand out far better than how the grass does in other parts of the picture. The dog is none distracting and adds a nice element once you notice him. The picture portrays a real day rather than a portrait. The picture itself is a little flat as has already been mentioned, but its at least a simple fix.

It's not the copyright that bothered me, it was that big lacey looking thing that covered the whole picture. I don't feel it's necessary to do that. It just ruins the whole point of taking a picture that you want others to see. I mean....isn't that the point?

I might have brushed the mane before taking this image.

Likely. I was just walking through the field visiting my horses, and snapped one of this girl. It's not a client/prospective sales picture.

I just meant in terms of lighting, etc.

(note, it's unedited with the exception of "brightening" her eye a bit..)

Exif: F/5.6, ISO 125, 24MM

NikonGirl said:

Likely. I was just walking through the field visiting my horses, and snapped one of this girl. It's not a client/prospective sales picture.

I just meant in terms of lighting, etc.

(note, it's unedited with the exception of "brightening" her eye a bit..)

Exif: F/5.6, ISO 125, 24MM

Click to expand...

Its nice to see your getting there This one just looks on the warm side, but Im guessing you shot in vivid. It can be useful for adding a bit of punch on an overcast day.

NikonGirl said:

You're right, and it probably didn't help that I still had it set on "cloudy" from earlier on in the day.. plus, the sun was quite low on the horizon, giving it a very "straight on" effect. It's one of my favourite time's to shoot if you can rid the Shadow's.

I also had some of the settings changed around, as per your suggestion

Some were a bit "too" much, like this one of my horse and another saying hello..

Either way, i'm forever greatful for all your help in assisting me to figure out my new D5100, Westfall!

Thanks for the critique's everyone

Click to expand...

You know that you could change the color cast, saturation and sharpness of your photos with the right post processing programs. Maybe it's now time for you to investigate how you could dramatically improve your end result. Photoshop Element comes to mind to start with or iPhoto. Have you thought about this?