Where did I go wrong?

[sommeil]

I'm pretty new to photography.. (you all make it seem so easy to get great shots). My husband bought me a camera (Nikon D40x) and i'd really like to learn how to use it (and how to take decent photographs).

We went camping last weekend and we came across this beautiful little pond with snow capped mountains in the background. It looked fantastic through the view finder but not so good in the photograph.

I was wondering if you all could give me one or two basic tips that would have improved this photo. I would really appreciate it. I want to get better at this.. i just don't know how. Would increasing the shutter speed make the photo look more crisp/clear? Is my aperature too big? Should I not have used a polarizing filter? What would have been a better way to compose this shot?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.




Nikon D40x
Time taken: 4:09pm
Circular polarizing filter
f-stop: f/9
shutter speed: 1/100 sec
ISO: 200
Focal length: 20mm
Metering Mode: Pattern
No flash
WB-Auto
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Hard

[yairh20]

first of all, now that you have taken it and you can't change anything about how you took the shot i would boost the contrast and do some burning and dodging.
second, imho I personally wouldn'y use a cpl because it cuts down the reflection (which would have made the water more interesting)
BTW I hope you don't mind, I went ahead and edited it for you:

[sommeil]

Wow.. that looks fantastic. Did you use photoshop to edit it? It's my first SLR so I don't even have any photo editing software but I did see photoshop elements on sale for $79. I might pick up a copy. Thank you.

[Frog]

The really good shots are usually not easy. There is much to consider starting with composition, then the mechanicals of lens camera to make that composition be what you want.
For myself, I usually don't do wide landscapes unless there is a really prominent subject that is complimented by the rest.
This is a pleasant scene you have here and I think yarih did a good job with editing. Don't know if he used photoshop or not but it can be done with photoshop.
Mind you, this is my personal approach, but when I do scenery and come across a pleasant scene like this, I try to find a small part that reflects what the big scene is. That way I can have a definite subject to draw viewers focus and hopefully find other things to focus on too.
Aside from all that, you have a photo for good family memories of your camping trip and there is nothing wrong with that.

[GB1]

First of all, welcome to the forum. But I really don't see that your photograph is bad. It looks pretty sharp, it's straight (not tilted), and has a pleasant serenity about it. If you were shooting for more sharpness in the foreground, you would have to use a large f stop number, say f 16.0. This means you would probably actually use a slower shutter because increasing your f-stop number (which means decreasing the aperture of the lens) will allow in less light, meaning that you need a corresponding increase in exposure time. The aperture and shutter speed relationship is absolutely key to understanding photography btw, and it really isn't that hard. Just grab a book and jump on that.

Part of the trick to getting good landscape shots is lighting. If the light is somewhat diffused or if the sun is low on the horizon, this creates some really nice lighting for your photographs. What you have to watch out for is shooting in bright, direct lighting, like during the hours 11-4 or so, that can wash things out, eliminate shadows, and just make the photos less attractive. This is especially true in the desert (!) Actually the only 'good' times to shoot there is at sunrise and sunset.

Hope this helps a bit..

yairh, I like the edit's increase in saturation, but think that the contrast might be too high, as some parts of the photo are approaching a black look.......

Gb

[yairh20]

yes I did use Photoshop

[readingr]

I will explain how I set up my camera for landscapes, which to me is more important and reduces the need for PS. By the way Elements, or Paint shop Pro will be OK for the edits seen.

Best times are early morning or evening for the best light so try and get there at this time.

If you can't, e.g. touring then set the camera up so that you have the WB set to 5600 Kelvin .

Sharpness should be normal in camera or none, this is better done in PP, and the same goes for saturation.

ISO set to 100 or the best quality

Filter - normally use the CPL - most of the time really but make sure that your at 90 degrees to the sun for best effect, otherwise leave it off.

I normally shoot landscapes at F16 so a tripod is normally required for the shutter speed can be a few seconds.

As for composition always find something in the foreground to grab interest and then something in the mid ground and then of course the background. I frequently move to get something in the foreground or move something into the foreground.

During shooting take several shots bracketed at about +/- 2 stops and always check the histogram so you have a reasonable distribution for the shot.

Change location to see if there is a better view and bracket again.

When you get home, first download the photos and back them up to DVD or another hard drive. I do both.

Then start on PP, starting off with the crop - if you can't get a decent crop then bin straight away, next check the levels, then contrast, saturation, check for dust on the lens and get rid of these. In PSE there is spot remover which I use on a separate layer.

Once I am happy with the pic then I save it as a psd file and then flatten, sharpen it using USM and then print or save for the web.

The pic you have is very pleasant and tranquil and I would suggest it still needs a little more work to remove a very bright reflection to the left of the island using the clone tool.

Nice start. Keep them coming and you'll get loads of help and improve quickly.

Roger

[Greg McCary]

I would be better in my opinion to shoot in RAW format and then use a RAW developing software such as Lightroom. You can do much more with a RAW file than a Jpeg as far as color, contrast and exposure. Most new cameras come with some sort of RAW developer.

[jkriminger]

what roger said...the foreground in this picture is too plain and too prominent. Here is a link to help with manually setting exposureThe 4 Basics - Photography & Digital Camera Forums

[sommeil]

Thank you for all the helpful information. I just discovered the sunny 16 rule while surfing the net yesterday. I think i'm going to buy photoshop today as well. I knew a girl in high school who took great photos but she always spent time correcting them in the darkroom. I guess photoshop is just the digital way of correcting.

Thanks again.

[MB1]

I would like to point out that there really is no wrong to be seen here.

I think you just need more time with your camera and some time to think about the way you want your photos to look. To me the image you posted lacks a foreground element but is otherwise very well composed, focused and exposed.