My pictures reek of blaah?

Question

I can’t figure out what, but they’re missing something vital. It’s that thing that makes you go “wow”. I use a Canon EOS 350d with inexpensive lenses. I take pictures of scenes that I think would be cool, but when I look at them they are just blaah. I’ll look at pictures of a similar scene taken with more expensive equipment though and I’m blown away. So, I thought it was my lenses, but I don’t know. Here are the pictures I took with two different lenses. I thought they could have been cool, but once again ended up uninteresting and I don’t know why. I shoot in RAW and set the WB and everything later so I don’t think there are any mistakes there. Is it the lenses, the body, or user error that's ruining my pictures? I know this is a nebulous question, but any help would be appreciated.
50mm prime f/1.8
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e169/mariner04/IMG_51431.jpg
Kit lens, EF-S 18-55mm
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e169/mariner04/IMG_3484.jpg

Answer 1

setting the white balance later? how are you setting the exposure?

both shots need cropping, the night scape the city lights show movement blur, the street scape has a view point issue,

lens and tripod are the major factors in sharpness, review those two factors,

the dynamic range is low in both shots, i would have set the white balance to 5600k for both shots - get the exposure right in camera and your midtones will pop - use photoshop to change your exposure will make your mid tones weak

heres some night shots with a $100 camera and a tripod, 5600k wb used (actually daylight film) and exposure set manually, no photoshop at all, all done in camera

http://www.flickr.com/photos/martini2005/2068046076/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/martini2005/2043248094/

setting everything later is your mistake, good shooters get it right in the camera, setting it later means detail has been lost in the file - eg texture in the highlights or shadows will be missing if the exposure is wrong - if its right in the camera then the midtones will be rich, the balcks and whites will have texture



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Answer 2

Along with the other good advice, I'll add you should pick up a polarizer to really capture that saturated, dripping off the page color. It's the only "effect" you cannot recreate in image editing software.

They are indeed very nice, but in the spirit of improvement, I would add...
The street scene would have been better if you were in the middle of the street. That way you would have the converging parallels effect. (think train tracks stretching off into the distance)
The city scape is great also as a stand alone image, but might benefit from something in the foreground. (yes I saw the buoy, but it needs more)

Much better than most people's work who ask for critique, keep it up !!!

Answer 3

The tree avenue pic seems to be lacking contrast a little, but I still think it's a terrific photo.

The night scene is a little unsharp, but that could be the internet degrading the resolution. I have to say, I'm not a fan of zoom lenses and prefer to work with a set of fixed focus lenses - except for sporting events and airshows, when there isn't time to change.

Hope this helps, and keep up the good work.

Answer 4

These are the only pictures I've seen here that I liked. These aren't just random snapshots like others. You can tell you put a lot of thought into these. Good job. There is real organization here.

I really don't think it has to do with your lenses because these turned out good. They just need that final touch to make it pop-out. I've been doing photography (and photo shoots) with just a regular digital camera and my pictures have come out great. =) So trust me, it's not ALL about the camera, lens, etc. It's how you use what you already have. I think that if you just go into Photoshop and play around with it, you will get it to look more of what you want it to be... more of what you expect it to be. To make it more "professional," go ahead and play with the brightness and contrast. That's what others do. Have fun with it and see what you come up with. =)

Answer 5

that first one with the cars parked facing this way and the white-haired gentleman walking away, head slightly bowed and shoulders slightly slumped with the autumn leaves is really delightfully composed, i said "wow" when i saw it and i think it is a very moving image, maybe it could use a bit sharper contrast, but i don't know how you would do that unless you screened back (only slightly) the trees and buildings and street, allowing the man and the cars to pop a bit. crop that red post out of the right and maybe crop down a bit but the smallness of him is what is so moving about it, so don't crop down much.
crop the city nite scene and screen back the white lights in the buildings (predominately to the lower left of the image), and i think you will have it. nite lites are a challenge for me and i love to work on that, i start about a half hour or 45 minutes before sunset and bracket my shots till way after dark-thirty.
by the way your pictures do not reek of blaah, they are wonderful and touching images. my suggestions were only intended if you really think you want to do more to them..

Answer 6

I liked both photos. You seem to have a knack for picking out good shots.

The first one, did strike me as alittle dull, like it lacked sparkle. As the poster before me suggested, I'd take it into Photoshop and play with the contrast. It has the makings of a great photo.

Wish I knew more about lighting and lenses and stuff, but I photoshop all of my photos to get the results I desire.

Great job though!

Answer 7

I think they are great.

If you're going to be picky I'd say the street scene is lacking in depth. I'll leave the details to the photogs but my uneducated guess would be a depth of field problem, especially with the tree foliage (or it could be the lens?). I had thought maybe a crop too, but not sure.

The cityscape is great, but needs a crop.

I'll watch with interest to see what "the real people" have to say.

Answer 8

I don't know what to do with the sea shot, but here's another take on the street image:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2411/2082254608_16f52cbc8d_o.jpg

I think it conveys a more definite mood and the composition is more involving. Whether it cures blaah is up to you.

(I'll remove the image as soon as a Best Answer has been chosen.)

Hope this helps.

Answer 9

You're out of you're mind. These pics are fine. Way better than most peoples. My only crit is you should up the saturation in the street pic, and then crop the both of them.

Answer 10

I think they're great! Have you tried a high pass filter overlay on them? I bet that would work nicely.


I took the liberty of trying it, it will only leave it up here a few dayshttp://farm3.static.flickr.com/2413/2082104959_47b00d6803_o.jpg