Idyllic....or not?

[Ann McRae]

This is how I remember the scene - backlit, silhouetted, and calm. But is it a good photograph? Should I change the crop such that the man on the bench is on one of the thirds? Should I increase or decrease contrast? Should I pitch it?

ann
http://canadian-ann.smugmug.com/photos/29252512-M.jpg

[wholenewlight]

This is how I remember the scene - backlit, silhouetted, and calm. But is it a good photograph? Should I change the crop such that the man on the bench is on one of the thirds? Should I increase or decrease contrast? Should I pitch it?

ann

It might be my so-so flat panel monitor, but the image looks a little dark to me. I feel like I have to look hard to catch the details of the shot.

It does have a peaceful feeling and I do like the reflections on the water. Shifting the guy on the bench to the left a little might help but I feel there are still some other issues necessary to make the shot better.

The concept has good potential but I think you would have to reshoot it from a different angle, maybe bracket your exposures, graduated ND filter??

My simple opinion

[colourbox]

It looks like a big dark backlit blob to me too, but I'm not sure if simply lightening it would be the only fix. I am learning, in these situations, to try running it through Photoshop's Shadow/Highlight and see if that gives better local contrast in the shadows since the subject is mostly in shadow. Here is my version, with the Shadow/Highlight dialog box below it. Note that these are the Shadow/Highlight values I have set as my personal defaults - all I did was pull up the command and let my defaults hit it. I didn't have time to try more adjustments from this starting point but it could probably be pushed a little farther. I don't have any ideas about the composition at the moment.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/29267224-M.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/29267370-M.jpg

[Sam]

Ann,


The photo on my monitor is very dark. The colors are very bland, I can't at this size see any detail, and the shore line is in the center.

I am sure as viewed in real life it was calm and you saw something in it, but I don't see anything here.

I have seen other photos from you that were very good, I just don't think this one makes the cut. :cry

Sam

[Invective]

I thought maybe just a bit of saturation, the picture is good, just kind of bland :dunno


Here's what I thought

[Ann McRae]

wholenewlight, colorbox and sam


Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. Its funny, isn't it, that we all know when something really doesn't work - and those are the ones we ask for help on. Maybe not sure why it doesn't work, but pretty sure it doesn't!!!
I did not want to have the person in the image as anything more than a silhouette. I didn't think of him as the subject but rather of the scene he was immersed in. I did want to highlight the backlit grass along the edge of the pond.

Anyway, I a m not in love with the shot and really don't mind losing it. However I will say I used the shadow/midtone/highlight tool on some of my other sunset shots with really great success, so thanks for that tip.

ann

[Ann McRae]

Well, saturation does make it richer, but IMO too red.


So, did you know we live in the same city?!

ann

[erich6]

I think the colors are OK here and while the image is a tad too dark I don't think it's overwhelmingly so. I think the biggest problem in the composition is the perspective and view angle you got with the shot. I would have tried backing up a little. This would have accomplished the following: 1) the subject would have naturally moved away from the center to a more pleasing position; 2) you would have captured a bit more sky which would have added a more dynamic element to the image; 3) you would have gotten all of the trees (I'm finding the crop on the tree on the right distracting).

Erich