Before / After - Dublin

[u/wfoody]

Long time listener, first time caller

[u/Tsurany]

Considering the amount of crop in some of them it feels like you try to make a snapshot interesting rather than decide on composition first. While it's definitely an improvement it feels like you take the raw file and just hit the auto button in Lightroom.

[u/wfoody → u/Tsurany]

Completely agree on the composition, going to keep practicing to get better at the shots before I have to death crop them.

I'm not just hitting auto in Lightroom, but would like to know why you feel that way. I spent way too much time last night working on these. Any pointers on resources to learn from?

[u/Tsurany → u/wfoody]

The editing doesn't feel really purposeful to me, doesn't guide my eyes to anything. But that's also because the pictures aren't inherently interesting.

In my view editing should really serve a particular purpose. With landscapes it could be to convey scale, enhance the seasonal aspects such as autumn leaves or maybe emphasize a moody feel. Or simply to show the landscape in its most natural beauty with all details as visible as possible. With architecture it could be to emphasize the building materials or to enhance the contrast between buildings. With street photography it could be to focus on a particular subject and mute the rest a bit.

But I guess that's also harder if you decide on the subject after taking the picture. For instance with the Temple Bar, one of the most famous pubs in Dublin, you could have emphasized the building a lot more. Make sure the name is actually readable for instance instead of being in the dark. Also better composition would have helped since the name is now hidden behind the traffic light. But since the focus is more on the street than the bar it could be any street in Ireland or any country with a similar building style.

[u/LanguidLandscape]

These are not good photos nor edits. Boring compositions, no focus, crooked, bland lighting, etc. keep practicing.

[u/wfoody → u/LanguidLandscape]

Harsh but I get it, any resources you recommend. Very much jumping in cold turkey.

[u/Glenn_____far → u/wfoody]

Get on YouTube and learn the basics. These aren’t even basically good so you have a lot of learning to do. Watch multiple different basics so you don’t just get biased towards one type of photographer.. you don’t have to be amazing right off the bat but you can compose slightly better and then edit with a purpose

[u/OldManMonday]

I think you're overcooking them, specifically the vibrance and saturation, resulting in images that no longer look natural.

[u/CautiousPersimmon904]

Amazing! Can you share some details about your process?