Sunset at my home

Sunset at my home, originally uploaded by Jyothiprasad Buddha.

Here is the feedback I got

roopb7 says:

The image doesn't draw me in. There is nothing of interest in the image. Not sure what the silhouettes are, but whatever they are they don't seem interesting and don't add anything to the shot.

There's nothing of interest in the sky, normally for shots like this clouds as colours that come from the sun reflection are what makes the shot interesting.

Just my opinion though :)

gustaffo89 Pro User says:

It's nicely spotted, but there are a fair number of issues with the image. I can't access your EXIF data so I'm going to be guessing your settings a little bit from the photo.

Firstly your ISO looks high - the image is very grainy. This is really showing up above the sun where you're getting a bit of a halo effect. There is some 'spilling' of light from the top of the sun, but I'm not entirely sure why this is - usually you'd get this from overexposure, but your image looks dark and underexposed, so I'm not sure that's the case. Your lens might have been smeared which would also cause this effect. Perhaps another member can cast more light on this one.

By the looks of things you really needed a tripod, a longer exposure time and a lower ISO to make this one work. The silhouettes are barely standing out from the background at the moment. The composition seems ok, but you might have wanted to take a step to your right so that the sun wasn't being intersected by those weird diagonal lines (no idea what they are).

Jyothiprasad Buddha Pro User says:

roopb7 thanks for providing good feedback. I will keep your points in mind while taking my next shots.

:)

Jyothiprasad Buddha Pro User says:

gustaffo89 nice review. I'm uploading the photo using Windows Live Photogallery, somehow, it is stripping off important EXIF data while uploading it to flickr. I also felt it is grainy. I use a point and shoot CANON Power Shot SX 120 IS, it does create unacceptable levels of noice when we go to higher ISO.

Those diagonal lines are lights that light up a big hoarding.

Every good review like this will improve other photographers just beginning as me, I appreciate all your efforts in trying to help others. I will also do my best to contribute.

gustaffo89 Pro User says:

Ok I see, yeah it's the problem with point and shoots - they're programmed to try and be as good as possible in a broad range of situations, but often miss the point in an attempt to second guess what you want. A photo like this is always going to be difficult with a point and shoot - you really need a level of manual control.

halpinland Pro User says:

I had an SX110 for backup (the original model that the SX120 is based on) - and with this sort of shot you would really probably have wanted Av mode (Aperture priority) and have stuck the ISO at 200 (400 on those cameras gets a little too noisy for my tastes, relative to CCDs in general ).

A Tripod would certainly by a great idea as a scene which is dark and isn't moving so to speak can safely be shot at 4 or 6 seconds and ISO100 to ensure maximum quality. But disable the IS function with the tripod since it can get confused with vibrations and actually induce shake when the lens is already steady!!

p.s. the photo I use for my avatar is one such photo I took on the SX110 IS with a gorillapod