Let Me Know

[grattan30]

Hi

I am new to this and recently went to the Air Show at RAF Leuchars it was a very overcast day but managed to get some photographs this is one of my favourites what do you think, I am thinking of taking the course this site offers but would appreciatte some comments before I ask the boss (wife).
Regards

[jerryph]

If you are looking for honest critique:

- The picture is underexposed by about 2 stops
- Because it is underexposed, when you try to correct it, you get a lot of noise in the pic
- The composition is "ordinary"
- The colours seem bland a little
- The picture doesn't have much to make it "pop" or interesting


To help it some:
- You could correct for the underexposure some in CS3 (which I see you already have)
- You could run it through a noise reducer like Noise Ninja or Imagnomic's Noise Image
- Taking pictures where everything is in the middle is "boring". The Rule of Thirds is a big help here
- Taking pictures with the plane in motion or near another object to give it perspective would make it more interesting.

The course discusses pretty much all these aspects and would help tremendously in improving your pictures. :)

I took your picture and just made a few adjustments over 30 seconds to show you what CS3 can do to help. Of course I cannot help with things like the cropping or what not, but the colours and exposure are improved a lot.

http://www.proudphotography.com/forum/gallery/files/1/0/0/0/red_3.jpg

If you were looking for anything else, please ignore my comments. :)

[grattan30]

Hi
Thank you for you honest reply, talking about under exposure I normally have the camera set on auto mode, can you explain a little what you did using photoshop CS3
Regards

[wanelad]

Hmmm yes the 3rds rule is good however should not be used in a steadfast manner. Taking this photo from maybe a different angle may have made it more interesting

[jerryph]

In 30 seconds?
- Auto exposure
- Auto levels
- 1 run through Noise Image
- + 5% in sharpening.

Thats literally all that I did.

[jerryph]

Hmmm yes the 3rds rule is good however should not be used in a steadfast manner. Taking this photo from maybe a different angle may have made it more interesting


I meant using the rule of thirds with something else in the picture to give it perspective... such as abuilding, car or another person standing nearby.

[mary1728]

I just started the course. Do we also get into editing the photos in Photoshop? I have noticed several photos that have been edited in that software.

[jerryph]

No, editing in Photoshop is an enormous topic, not to mention that there are several versions with variations in between versions.

However, if you google the internet for info about your version of Photoshop, you will find literally THOUSANDS of sites dedicated to sharing all the info you can handle. There are also Photoshop specific forums, and of course... hundreds of books.

That said, I did have a question concerning photoshop, and my mentor (Peter) went out of his way to create a mini tutorial that he emailed me to answer my question in great detail.

[mary1728]

I have several books on Photoshop and have taken a couple classes. There is always more to learn about Photoshop than I already know. Thank you for your response.

[jerryph]

That's the fun part... the learning never ends! :)