Critique please: Ray of light

[erich6]

Please critique the following image. Thanks in advance!

Erich

http://hbphoto.smugmug.com/photos/26622945-L.jpg

[pathfinder]

Please critique the following image. Thanks in advance!

Erich

http://hbphoto.smugmug.com/photos/26622945-S.jpg

Light shafts can create lovely images, as can the use of high contrast B&W. This scene look like it has potential, but the image posted here seems VERY dark - except for the hightlights of the sun light, most of the pixels are black - they read 4,4,4 or 6,7,8. These numbers are way darker than grey. There just is no detail to be seen. I think the curve needs to be raised centrally to create a little more data in the shadow areas. I do like the diagonal line of the light shaft quite a bit. { I should mention that I just spent the evening running my Cinema display through calibration with a SPyder2Pro colorimeter, so I think the brightness level of my monitor is pretty spot on.)


I took the liberty of running this image through shadow/highlights and a little smart sharpening to create this. Anyone think this is an improvement, or worse than it started out?

[ian408]

I like the composition and the concept of this image. Though as PF mentions,
it's too dark. Even after a run through PS, the ray of light is also missing.

Critiquing this is difficult because I'm not 100% sure how I might do it it
differently. One thing I would try is setting the exposure lock on some of
the mid-tones of the image. In fact, this is something I might try stacking
with (combining multiple images/different exposures to create one evenly
exposed image). I would think if you blew out the ray a tad, it might come
across as more of a ray?

Would you have the opportunity to shoot this again maybe?

Sorry I can't be of much help.

Ian

[erich6]

Well, I was trying to go for a low key composition hoping that this would help enhance the ray of light as the subject. The original image was actually much lighter. Here's a different version with higher exposure for the shadows.

http://hbphoto.smugmug.com/photos/27552763-L.jpg

[XO-Studios]

Well, I was trying to go for a low key composition hoping that this would help enhance the ray of light as the subject. The original image was actually much lighter. Here's a different version with higher exposure for the shadows.To be honest, in a shot like this, I would cheat in PS to re-emphasize the ray with an overlay layer. So perhaps the last shot a little darker, with not too much sharpening, and then make a nicely fetahrede selection over where the ray is supposed to be and create a white filled layer in that shape and change blend mode to either overlay or even soft light.

FWIW,

XO,

edit/addition: duplicating the layer, and setting one with curves for the back ground, and the next one for the ray nicely exposed/blown out, and then use layer mask or blend if, and some opacity, would work as well.