Critique Please

[HomeingPigeon]

Can you please critique these pictures for me? I took them right outside of my house about 3 days ago.

http://flickr.com/photos/kermeter/2793147323/

http://flickr.com/photos/kermeter/2793973328/in/photostream/

Thanks.

 

[jhamerphoto]

Wonderful colours in both images, but I think the one without the reflective signs is much better. The signs are far too distracting.

As for the better one, I think there is too much black at the bottom; re-crop to a wider aspect ratio to get rid of some of the bottom. Also, I think the stop sign is a little too high in perspective, it takes over the entire frame.

Still can't get over the colours though!

 

[66217]

I like the first one better (Sunset 2). Nice colors.

What's with the stop symbols? They are very distracting, same for the street name sign, it distracts you from the general scene.

As for the photos, both are nicely exposed, and the first one is nicely composed (except for the stop symbol). The "Sunset 2" photo also seems to be a bit inclined to the right, tho this is hard to judge.

But, both photos lack something, a something or someone that makes the photo stand out.

I hope this helps.

 

[Hello.there]

As above, really gorgeous colours in that sky, stunning. But, yes, too much black, some cropping would make those colours fill the frame much more and make the photos even more eye-catching. Great stuff!

 

[NintendoChick]

I like the silhouette shape of Sunset Night much better, but the signs are a bit distracting...

I like the colors on the first better though. Could you combine the two?

 

[HomeingPigeon]

NintendoChick: I would like to. I just don't know how. Thanks everyone. That is very helpful.

 

[spencers]

Looks great. Love the first one

 

[carfac]

You asked for it.

I do not like either. What are you trying to say with either? Probably nothing- just some pictures you shot that end up having a cool looking sunset in them, right? That is what they say to me, and that is all they say.

If you WANT the stop sign in the picture, then put it in the damn picture. Get up on it, and make it an element of the picture, not a distraction in the frame. Light it... or not, but make it an element of the framing, not a distraction.

Speaking of framing... nothing says amateur photographer more than centering your framing rather than using more dynamic framing such as using thirds. Sunset 1 has the stop sign centered left to right... boring. Sunset 2 has all it's content centered top to bottom... again boring. Sunset two is also way too busy- silhouettes work better with simple, easily identifiable lines.

All in all, very uninteresting, flat and uninspired. They say nothing.

Get back out with some real ideas, and work on them. Spend some time on your framing... and think about how to make it interesting. Try to tell me something rather than just capture a couple of pretty colors.

Sorry for being so brutal... but you asked. I hope I gave you somewhere to go to from here, and to grow from these. PM me if needed.