This is one of the sunset picture I took recently. I took around 10 to 15 images that day but not even one I liked it that much. Could you tell me what is lacking in this picture. The colors, the Silhouettes of the trees are seems to be interesting but the end result is somehow not impressive.

-- Surya Putrevu (sputrevu@hotmail.com), August 13, 2001

Answers

Looks for things that will look good on film, not things that might look good to be there in person. This means developing the important skill of thinking in two dimensions and looking at how something will look months after you are gone, i.e. when the emotion of being there is gone. Not easy.

-- Chris Gillis (chris@photogenica.net), August 13, 2001.

The window for good sunsets is often a matter of seconds. You just missed it here. Try to isolate a foreground subject. This picture is very busy. Another day, another time, you might get a "wowie." Keep trying.

-- M. Huber (rurpho@tele-net.net), August 14, 2001.

The most important part of a sunset picture is the siluette that you choose for the foreground, it needs to be simple and easy for the eye to understand. In this picture, for instance, you could have captured all the grandeur of the sky in the background, only zoom in on one leaf of the tree, (you can even sprinkle some water it) or even one branch of the tree. Zoom almost always makes sunsets better. I would definately suggest moving to a more clear area where the sunset can be seen to the horizon with one clear subject.

-- David LaHeist (nikonos@bellsouth.net), August 22, 2001.