Charminar - Night shots Edited on Rawtherapee

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Hi guys,

I just wanted some critique and feedback on my edits of the Charminar. Edited on Rawtherapee and Clicked on Nikon D5300

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Hi @Tarun. Greetings from Bengaluru.
I am sorry to say that I did not find the photos sharp. Also, the subject matter is unevenly lit and dark. Further, the dynamic range is not that big to warrant uploading of full resolution JPG images. It is generally advised to upload only HD jpg’s to save on the running costs of the site.

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Thank you for the critique. Yes! The pictures aren’t that sharp. I don’t know why but I don’t get the same sharpness from my camera as i used to before. Or maybe it’s because of the ISO levels. I tried my best to sharpen the image as much as possible. And regarding the lighting, that’s how it’s lit during the night time. Very uneven. Will go there in the daytime someday and get some shots. I also made it a bit dark intentionally. What do you think of it? Should I stop doing it?

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It is camera shake, shutterspeed should be faster when you are shooting with telezoom. If possible, use a tripod/monopod or an image stabilized lens when taking this kind of shots - according to image metadata VR is off. That way you can get sharper shots. If you don’t have or cannot use either, take multiple shots to ensure a sharp capture and consider using continuous drive (i.e. machine gunning). Pay attention to shooting technique, especially if shooting conditions are not optimal.

Some of the shots (“windows”, the whole building) are reasonably sharp and only need proper sharpening and some local contrast to make them pop. Will look like tack sharp after downsizing and sharpening.

Metadata shows that you are using continuous autofocus AF-C. If you used AF to focus the shots, then I would recommend using single shot autofocus AF-S in this kind of situation or even liveview focusing if you have hard time acquiring focus night time.

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@Tarun, the problem with the unevenness of the light is that it is patchy (transitions from light to dark are harsh) and with no motive. Thus, the viewer (namely, me) is confused about its intent. Darkness in the picture is not bad if it is used with intent. For example, like here

Visual-Acoustics-II-Silence-and-Light-La-Grande-Arche-de-la-Defense-2-1
Visual-Acoustics-II-Silence-and-Light-La-Grande-Arche-de-la-Defense-2-11030Ă—1030 81.3 KB

Force-of-Life-II-The-Rotterdam-1-1
Force-of-Life-II-The-Rotterdam-1-1736Ă—1030 83.4 KB

These are two of the images from here. One of my favorite black and white architectural photographer Joel Tjintjelaar (from the Netherlands).

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Would this be more suitable in Critique?

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For what it’s worth, I’ve found that darkening an overall image works best if there’s a particular subject in it that retains “normal” lighting. I do a bit of “foliage” photography, and it makes the subject patterns stand out nicely from the backgroud; even a picture of leaves can look interesting… :smile:

I love monochrome, probably because that’s what I did back in my film days. Monochrome works particularly well with certain textures and patterns; I think that’s what you’re seeing in the scenes that interest you. But I’ve found in all that texture/pattern, there still needs to be some central point of interest, arranged appropriately in the frame…

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