ok guidance with these pics would be appreciated

[Misty-Bug]

any pointers or things I should have done?

[tegan]

No. 1 is an attempt at a classic child shot. The bright sky in the background underexposed the child. Fill flash is needed in this shot to brighten his eyes and the eyes are the most important part in a portrait. They need to be bright and sharp. Shadows take away important detail.

No. 2 is a good idea but a centre of interest is necessary such as a sailboat for example and a more interesting sky as in more clouds and colour.

No. 3 has some interesting shapes but it is underexposed and there are distracting elements in the lower left area. They can be eliminated in Photoshop.

No. 4 you need to overexpose a little to make the white snow truly white rather than a light shade of grey which is what camera meters normally do with snow.

Take a look at the various tips on this site in the area of composition and technique and read some past critiques.

Tegan

[Misty-Bug]

so in #1....do I use the camera's flash? I don't have a SLR but I can bounce my flash

and the bridge one how would I get rid of the water in the bottom corner?

[tegan]

so in #1....do I use the camera's flash? I don't have a SLR but I can bounce my flash

and the bridge one how would I get rid of the water in the bottom corner?

Camera flash can be used but you may need to experiment a little to get it perfect..as in not too bright.

The water in the bottom corner can be eliminated using the cloning brush in Photoshop or Paintshop Pro.

If you want I could demonstrate some postprocessing improvements on number 1,3,4.

Tegan

[Misty-Bug]

Camera flash can be used but you may need to experiment a little to get it perfect..as in not too bright.

The water in the bottom corner can be eliminated using the cloning brush in Photoshop or Paintshop Pro.

If you want I could demonstrate some postprocessing improvements on number 1,3,4.

Tegan

yeah, I don't mind. I don't like it when people take my pics without asking but I am assuming you are asking there
you can demonstrate improvements but all I ask if that you tell me step by step what you did. If you don't mind. I use Adobe Photoshop CS3

[tegan]

This one I clicked the magic wand and clicked again to choose the sky area, then went to layers/gradient and chose blue. I then adjusted brightness on the whole shot to bring up the colours just a little. I also used the clone tool as in click on the tool, then I clicked on the sky blue and then painted over the green brush with some sky blue in the background.

Of course any postprocessing can be fine tuned or adjusted to personal taste. I am just trying to make you aware of the possibilities.

Tegan

[Misty-Bug]

ok I do see what you are saying there. Although it does look like it has been edited. If you know what I mean. BUT I am totally understanding what you mean about it now and how the sky was

[tegan]

In pattern photos like the this one the pattern needs to be reasonably similar along the bridge. That is the objective of cropping the front and using the clone tool to cover some distractions with black.

Tegan