this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2025
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Photography

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Just got a Canon R50 mirrorless and took it out tonight, right before sunset.

I would appreciate any tips on how to improve a picture like this in my editor.

I'm hoping to contribute some neat pics coming soon!

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[–] IMALlama@lemmy.world 2 points 18 hours ago

A bit late to the party but...

Before you take a photograph, think about what you're trying to photograph. Are you trying to isolate a subject or are you trying to capture a scene? This helps you figure out where you should be focused and how much (or little) depth of field you should try to achieve. For this photograph, it seems like you're trying to capture a scene with some flours and an interesting rock. As an added bonus, you have some pretty nice lighting going on.

After that you're on to framing - is the camera square and level to your subject, if the background distracting can you reposition to make it less so, is there an unusual angle you can use to make your photograph a bit more unique, etc. For this photograph, I think this is the biggest area of feedback. Having focus so low in the frame is a little unusual, but it seems to work here. I don't mind the house in the background a ton, but the pole is a bit distracting - especially because you're not completely level/square to it. If the pole was unavoidable, I would have tried to make it perfectly vertical. Is there another place you could have stood, and/or another focal length you could have used, to capture your scene? Kneeling in situations like this can be helpful.

Finally, you're into post. I generally like what you posted. Beyond rotating the image slightly to get the pole completely vertical, my only suggestion would be to selectively desaturate and/or decrease exposure on things you find distracting - like that pole for example. I am not talking about "photoshopping" those things out, only manipulating their colors to make them a little less visually obtrusive. You could do the same with the red house to make it contrast a bit more with the purple flowers that are directly in front of it.

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

Congrats on the camera! It's a nice scene. Good "golden hour" colors.

As for critique: I agree with the other poster that some of the background (house, utility pole) detract a bit from the scene. Utility poles are my nemesis... They're always in the middle of a shot that I want putting a harsh line through the photo where I don't want it.

I would appreciate any tips on how to improve a picture like this in my editor.

Depends on what you mean by "improve". As the artist it's up to you how you want it to look. I'm personally not one to heavily stylize photos - usually just adjust blacks, highlights and contrast - maybe saturation and white balance as needed. You might want to start with those knobs doing some light editing to see what you like. Keep in mind a light-touch is often better than a heavy hand. This image feels a bit saturated - but then I like that - others may suggest toning it down a bit.

Are you shooting raw files (pef, dng, etc.)? If not then you might want to consider it. You have more flexibility with editing raw than you do jpg. But they do require you to process them which takes time.

[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 days ago

I am a hobby photographer, I don't really do much editing of my photos, so I can't really advice you there.

As for the picture itself, it has fantastic colours, but it is a bit dark, though I don't know the actual lighting conditions.

[–] blackstrat@lemmy.fwgx.uk 1 points 2 days ago

It's a nice photo. Maybe just needs a small crop. Remove the house from the top and some dead space on the left.