Landscape Photog's, I need some help

larsonphotography

No picture

kdog

I have a better idea. Why don't you post a picture that illustrates your point, and we'll tell you how to make it better.

ghinson

I only shoot in RAW, and never really in tandem with a jpg image. On the rare occasion when I am shooting an event (not subject to fine art prints) or a series of images that will become a timelapse movie, I shoot jpg alone. When I shoot in RAW, I usually set white balance to a white card, but, in fact, the Auto White Balance setting of my D700 is generally right on target. I'm not sure I understand your question, i.e., what purpose your jpg image serves.

Blackwood

ghinson wrote: »

i.e., what purpose your jpg image serves.

I agree.

Further, I'm not really sure it's fair to call a developed raw "manipulated" unless the processed (in camera) jpeg is also manipulated.

My take is this: if you believe that canon/nikon/sony/whatever know better than you what a scene looked like/should look like, or are otherwise happy with the results from your camera's presets, by all means shoot jpeg and save yourself some time and data. I suspect this isn't the case (hence the OP's general disappointment about the look of his images).

So shoot raw, play around with the primary sliders and learn what does what.

rpcrowe

Why Sraw
Withe the price of memory cards so low, I wonder why you choose Sraw?

Skadoosh

landscapes to me are the easiest to shoot... you don't have to pose anything, just capture...

like they said earlier, please post a picture and we can give some tips and pointers.

JimKarczewski

rpcrowe wrote: »

Withe the price of memory cards so low, I wonder why you choose Sraw?

Agreed. The ONLY time I shoot sRaw is when I'm shooting something that I know won't ever need enlargements beyond 16x20, like, when I work for a bar shooting an event. Crowd and band pictures aren't getting blown up to posters like my landscapes are. Plus the benefit for me in shooting sRaw is the faster processing times. 5DII files are sluggish full size in C1. sRaws are peppy. But for landscapes, I can deal with it!

schmoo

Hey Phil,

I'll move this thread to Techniques, and you can chat with peeps there about the technical stuff. When you're ready to post your work please come back to landscapes!

racer

I think that great landscape shots take a lot of planning and a great understanding and ability to judge the light and how that will look on the final image. Simply going out at random times of the day and snapping off landscape shots will give you average, snapshot quality.
The first couple hours of light in the morning, and the last couple at night, are great times for landscape shots, not only because of the sunrise and sunset, but because the light is usually within a range that your camera can capture.
You also might want to consider were the sun will rise and set for that shot, during that time of year, and what the weather will be like.
What I have been doing, is I start by finding the landscape shot I want, the composition I want, etc, take a couple shots, look at it on the computer, then come back to that area at a later time, when everything is perfect, when everything falls into place. Very rare does a photographer just walk up to spot and take shots without giving it much thought!

Anyway, like was said, it would help if you post some shots!

ghinson

racer wrote: »

The first couple hours of light in the morning, and the last couple at night, are great times for landscape shots, not only because of the sunrise and sunset, but because the light is usually within a range that your camera can capture.
You also might want to consider were the sun will rise and set for that shot, during that time of year, and what the weather will be like.

With this in mind, and unrelated to your original question, I would like to recommend a very useful, and FREE piece of software, The Photographer's Ephemeris:

http://stephentrainor.com/tools/

racer

ghinson wrote: »

The Photographer's Ephemeris:

http://stephentrainor.com/tools/

WOW, that is a awesome program!

bgarland

X2! I passed on Stephen's site to my friends. What a great tool and it also has an iPhone version.

Thanks for sharing this.

Ambrola

I am a begginer in Photograpy. I have a 12-24mm lens that I wanted just for Landscapes. I have yet to take the first picture, because the light, subject and frame of mind has not all fell into place. I totaly agree with Racer that there are many factors that have to fall in place to get the great shot. If all the elements are there, you will have a good shot without hours of editing?

denisegoldberg

Ambrola wrote: »

I am a begginer in Photograpy. I have a 12-24mm lens that I wanted just for Landscapes. I have yet to take the first picture, because the light, subject and frame of mind has not all fell into place.

I would suggest you start to learn that lens before you have perfect conditions; don't wait. Go out and experiment.

Perfect light, a perfect shot, and a lens you have never used before doesn't sound like an ideal situation to me.

--- Denise

ziggy53

denisegoldberg wrote: »

I would suggest you start to learn that lens before you have perfect conditions; don't wait. Go out and experiment.

Perfect light, a perfect shot, and a lens you have never used before doesn't sound like an ideal situation to me.

--- Denise

Sound advice.

racer

Ambrola wrote: »

I am a begginer in Photograpy. I have a 12-24mm lens that I wanted just for Landscapes. I have yet to take the first picture, because the light, subject and frame of mind has not all fell into place. I totaly agree with Racer that there are many factors that have to fall in place to get the great shot. If all the elements are there, you will have a good shot without hours of editing?

Yes, but I gave the advice with the understanding that he has had tons of practice and totally understands metering and his camera. You will need to take tons of bad shots with that lens and camera before you figure out how to get good results . Just start taking shots with it, figure out how wide 12mm looks, how wide 24mm looks, see what different compositions look like, etc.
I would suggest, like I do at this point, is go out take some landscape shots, different positions, compositions, etc, figure out ways you can improve on that, and then go back to that place when the light is right to try to get that good shot.

BradfordBenn

As long as you promise to recycle the electrons, there is typically no harm in taking more shots than you think you need. What I have started doing is taking shots that I think are going to be close (something might not be right such as the lighting being ideal) and writing down what I did. Yes, there is EXIF info embedded but things such as hand held, tripod, remote release, filter used.... etc. are not recorded. Then I look at the notes and the images together and start to see what works for me. I also have found that a few hands on training for Photoshop have helped a lot. I am currently going through Scott Kelby's 7 Points and it has helped a lot.

However your way of internalizing learning might be different than mine. For me it is by doing, for others it is reading theory and applying. The key to any approach in my opinion is to not get into analysis paralysis and worry so much about doing it right that you don't try things. If something doesn't turn out the way you want it to, having the ability to look back and say, I don't like doing/using X technique because it turned out ... I think the key is to experiment a little and see what works for you.

Also remember that your style might be different than other people's styles.