~Seagull on Beach~

[stephaniespencer]

Is this a good photo, and what could i do to improve it?

[Kaye]

Stephanie, lovely shot of this seagull. You have captured some really nice detail here.
My initial though on this is that it would look nicer if the horizon of the water was straightened.
Also, I can't help but think that being a tad further away from the gull may have given you more sharpness all over, but not sure about your lens or settings?

[delboy]

Hi Stephanie, Great bird photo, I agree with Kaye possibly the horizon needs to be straightened.

Delboy.

[shirlm2]

Hi Stephanie this is a great shot of the seagull, nice colours, sharpness & DOF. My only thought is that I find the brightness of the white waves behind the seagull's head takes attention away from the gull. Maybe you could try toning this down a bit to make a bit more contrast between the two. Otherwise nice shot.

[stephaniespencer]

Okay, so first, are you saying that you dont like the settings I had it on, and 2nd how would i make the horizon straight? cause the sand was on a very steap slope and the were stairs going up go we could walk on, is it more importent to get the subject straight or should i focus more on trying to get the horizon straight? Any tips?

[Kaye]

Okay, so first, are you saying that you dont like the settings I had it on, and 2nd how would i make the horizon straight? cause the sand was on a very steap slope and the were stairs going up go we could walk on, is it more importent to get the subject straight or should i focus more on trying to get the horizon straight? Any tips?

Hi Stephanie,
When I mentioned settings above, I was interested as to what settings you used for this shot, eg Aperture and Shutter speed.... and also what lens you used. At present we do not know your settings.
Sometimes this info helps others either critique your shot, or perhaps learn from your shot.

This can be easily straightened in Photoshop or similar software, but you will lose a touch around the edges. If you wish I can straighten it for you.
When you have a view of the horizon, (especially with water), your concentration should be on keeping the horizon straight.

[sandrac]

It will come as you keep taking pics, water pics are hard to make sure everything is straight and sometimes for the horizon or the water to look rt in the pic you have to angle the camera strange or crop when you get home. I have trouble with that as well. I look at the pic see what was there and think Oh I like that it looks like the scene I shot but others don't see that they see the crooked horizon. They only have the pic to look at. That is why the board is so good to bring this kind of thing out. I still struggle with my camera was level so why do I have to change the pic but it always helps to have a straight horizon, that is what our eye wants to see. Sometimes it helps to look at the pics weeks later and then you see it differently, more like the way others see it. For me the more someone can pick my picture apart the better. That is how we learn, I like the bird shot but I agree straighten the line of water or the horizon and add a bit more contrast and it will be even better. ( :

[shirlm2]

Hi Stephanie there are so many things to think about when taking photos, straight horizons just being one, but it all gets easier with practice. Most people on this site try to give constructive critiques to help us all try to improve and grow & it really helps to see a shot through someone else's eyes. I am often amazed at things that someone will notice that I have overlooked, but it always helps me. My point about the contrast is that the gull is the focus of the shot and as such should stand out from the background. I feel it is a little overwhelmed by the white waves and a bit of tweaking in photoshop would correct that. I would be happy to do a slight edit for you to give you a better sense of what I mean if you would like.

[stephaniespencer]

yes that would be great, thankyou :)

[stephaniespencer]

ok, yeah thanks for helping me with that.
my settings were :
f/9
55mm
1/320
no flash
iso 100

[shirlm2]

Hi Stephanie I did a quick edit, used levels to darken slightly and contrast/brightness to increase the contrast, & straightened the horizon. I put your shot in as well for easy comparison.

Your settings look fine although I might have used exposure bias (EV on my camera) to darken the image slightly to ensure there were no blown highlights. You could also opened up to F5.6 to focus more on the bird and blur the background even more. It all depends on what you want to achieve & others might have a different opinion.

[stephaniespencer]

ok, yeah thanks for helping me with that.
my settings were :
f/9
55mm
1/320
no flash
iso 100

[jimboudreaux]

hey Stephanie, I also did a crop and adjusted to make the horizon straight. I kept the 4x6 format, but it could be done to make it other sizes as well. The color seems to look a little better in Shirley's version though. I do like the shot, and the detail is pretty good
16867
I also painted a little blue over the blown out white caps so they wouldn't be so distracting and cloned over the far away white caps that just looked like white blobs.

[stephaniespencer]

Thats heaps for that :))

[mdonahoe1]

Stephanie you have been given great advice above. I agree with all of it. To a less experienced photographer like me I think it is a very good shot. If you follow the advice given above your shot will be spectacular.

[stephaniespencer]

yes, this is very good advice, thanks to everyone for there advice :)