Constructive criticism very much appreciated - keen to learn more and improve. I bought a decent camera in February 2016 and joyed this wonderful space...
@handymaurice Thanks so much for your advice, Haydn. It's much appreciated. I don't have any proper software as yet - am just using the freeware on my computer which is very limited. I keep promising myself Lightroom but have not got it yet.
fantastic photo :) fav for me. I just got lightroom and photoshop for 10.00 a month (better than netflix lol) it has made such a huge difference in my work. I feel I have sooooo much to learn on it though. Its worth the if you are thinking about it :)
I got the cloud version, I mostly use Lightroom. I'm going to have to take a class or something to learn photoshop, it's a bit intense for me. I get both LR and PS cloud for the 10.00 a month
@helenm2016 I found that once I had understood one "free / low cost" process software the basics run through all other software I have used - I started with Apple's Aperture and have added more sophisticated software as my skills develop - one thing - processing has made such a difference to my shots
Hi Helen, have to agree with haydn, just a little bit of lifting the shadows and it will be a cracker. It really is a lovely composition and great colours.
Main thing is the structure of the photo is good. You say you are new to photography, so having a good eye for a shot is a key skill to develop and you are demonstrating it with this shot.
Do you shoot raw as well as jpgs? Then at least when you do get lightroom you will have more to play with. Downside is it eats space though! I think Nikons come with a raw processor (me canon) so you might want to try playing with that and seeing how much you can change an image from what is output as the jpg as standard vs by processing it differently in the raw converter.
@lizhammond Thanks so much, Liz. Really helpful. I have been shooting in raw so do have the option to go back and rework some shots in due course. I did download the free NIkon software but got a bit feaked when it changed all my file suffixes. My birthday is coming up so perhaps I should treat myself to LR!
I agree that you will benefit from some processing tools. You will have so much fun but loose so much time! This is a great composition and works well enough just as it is. But you could make it stunning.
Lovely shot, I think it would be nicer if it was a bit lighter too.
I have photoshop and Lightroom for $10 a month too. You could buy Photoshop Elements 14 in the UK I believe for about 60 UK pounds. That has most photoshop things on it. I have Elements on one of my laptops for when we go away.
Main thing is the structure of the photo is good. You say you are new to photography, so having a good eye for a shot is a key skill to develop and you are demonstrating it with this shot.
Do you shoot raw as well as jpgs? Then at least when you do get lightroom you will have more to play with. Downside is it eats space though! I think Nikons come with a raw processor (me canon) so you might want to try playing with that and seeing how much you can change an image from what is output as the jpg as standard vs by processing it differently in the raw converter.
I have photoshop and Lightroom for $10 a month too. You could buy Photoshop Elements 14 in the UK I believe for about 60 UK pounds. That has most photoshop things on it. I have Elements on one of my laptops for when we go away.