That is a great image of so much fun.

What a beautiful model. Nice lighting. Kinda unusual pose. Send more.

Some of the best shells are found in Sanibel Island. It's near you.

Interesting angle and composition. Her facial features are brought out. In general, Asian women are very attractive. Nice job.

Try both. I'm imagining your suggestion. Thinking I would prefer #1 but you might be right. Good comment.

You nailed the lighting. Great model but the lighting makes it all work. Tell us about the lighting.

The subjects are eye catching. There's something special about the lighting. Tell us about it. Something kinda Rembrandt-esque.

Yes, sky color can be a problem in Montana. It's already a brilliant blue. Less atmosphere at 3,000ft, to as much as 11K and far lower pollution. Time of day makes a difference too.

Those of us that live and shoot up here are kinda conditioned to what looks like abstract sky color. I really didn't notice until you pointed out the extra blue. I usually try to tone it down but it's tricky and in doing so, we lose some of the HDR we like so much.

These are outstanding photos. The modest HDR application really works. Yep, our sky is a higher scale of blue. Come on up and enjoy our sky of fewer light diffusing particles. I does take your breath away.

Staged in the shower?

Gingers!

In daylight, it's a good match for larger DSLR and my mirrorless Sony. Daylight, I often shoot auto, concentrating on composition and the scene. Low light requires my tripod and manual settings.

Excellent pricing. One lens from 20mm to 1365mm. Incredible macro. No extra lens expenses. Easy to keep clean. Easy to carry.

My Sony is my choice for real estate properties but when in the woods, the Bridge is ready for anything. No screwing around with lenses.

Yes, I used a cheap tripod. Good enough. I set the timer for 5 seconds, allowing the vibration to settle down when I triggered the shutter. An unexpected challenge was the moon/earth movement in that five seconds. The zoom was in so tight, the moon moved out of frame. I had to guess where it would be in five seconds. Additionally, I had to turn off auto focus. It kept "seeking." After about ten tries I nailed it. Post production software (iPhoto) let me center the image and crisp it up a bit.

I'll have to go after a daylight moon shot. I like light and colors.

My Sony has a bigger sensor but 210mm is my biggest lens. The Canon SX60 Bridge goes up to 1365mm. With a smaller sensor and less quality lens, I didn't expect this result.

Actually, the moon was bright enough for ISO 100. f/6.5 1/200th. 247mm.

Thank you "Another Darn Shoot." Your shot was a conversation starter. I hope you don't mind.

Crisp Montana night skies help but the Canon SX60 Bridge camera performance is beyond expectations.

By now, you realized there are a lot of people that want to help you and most have their own story and opinions. They all care. Nice.

Get some hands on time in Target and Best Buy. The salesperson will want to sell you a camera. Eh! Okay, you're going to buy one someday but wait a little while before choosing. Remember, this is supposed to be fun. Enjoy some demos. No pressure to buy.

Watch some Youtube tutorials for beginners. Some suck. Look for short tutorials and those that are entertaining as well as educational. About 20% are pretty good. The rest....... you'll spot those pretty quick. Move on.

Most important to you is to have immediate gratification. At least some success on your very first day. With "Auto" and most cameras having "stabilization" to eliminated blurred photos from your hand movement, you'll get some good results on your first try.

Photography can be like playing a piano. First day, you can play "Chopsticks" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Immediate gratification. Later, more complex concertos? No but you can be fun at the Christmas party.

Tutorials online can teach you basics and even some pretty high tech stuff. Take it in Baby Steps. Not too much, too fast. You want to enjoy the learning, not get frustrated.

Since composition is very important, here's your first photo tip: "Rule of Thirds." Placing your subject in a third of the frame, can make it more interesting. See attached:

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