Gloomy Afternoon
I Wanted to get out and shoot today, it gets so gloomy here in Washington, sometimes it shoot in the rain or not at all. I’m trying to work in a matte effect on this pic. Does anyone have any tips?
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2 Comments
First off, rain or gloomy mood aren't necessarily a bad thing, quite the contrary. Rain makes colors pop if you use a polarizer, particularly greens. If it's a gloomy day then use that to your advantage, exaggerate it, make the viewer feel what you felt when taking the picture. Make it dramatic.
For example, if your scene doesn't have any leading lines but you do have clouds and there's a wind blowing consider a long exposure. Find a spot where the clouds are moving directly towards you or away from you - there you go, leading lines. Try a polarizer on top of that and you're looking at a dramatic scene.
As for your particular picture, I immediately spotted the boat in the bottom right corner so this is a focal point of some sort. The question is, was that your intention, did you want me to look at it?
If the answer is yes, then the boat is your subject, if the answer is no then it's a distraction.
In the latter case - crop it out. In the former case, make it larger, move it farther into the frame and provide addtional clues (leading lines, curves etc.).
That one solitary tree on the left immediately jumped out to me. I think if you have a long enough lens, you could focus on that as your main subject. It could work, but it could also be boring.. either way, it’s worth a shot... pun intended.