Editing
I had the perfect morning conditions here, but I feel like I failed to make the most of them and produce a great shot. I am at a loss though about what is off here. Maybe the colours?
Thoughts?
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9 Comments
This is a nice shot but I think some cropping might be in order. As I see it, the person standing there is the focal point. He or she is not quite prominent enough though. I think a horizontal crop to remove some of the foreground and sky would be an improvement. Also, adding a graduated filter to bring the colors in the sky to match those in the reflection on the water might help.
did you shoot in raw? did you check your white balance in camera? if you have the raw file bump up the color and saturation in foreground and sky leave the middle that foggy look its really nice and red is correct but i believe this may look better as a square crop its just a difference in opinion
I would think just increase the saturation a bit. I like the composition. Could also look good in black and white.
I think it's a good image, but I'd do away with the vignetting. The foreground is lost in shadows, I can imagine this picture could work with a more detailed foreground, they seem to be dead leaves and they'd add to the message/mood of this image.
Post processing - Bring out the yellow of the clouds and the reflection. And use a touch of clarity. I can't see the persons colors of jacket, but if it is a color turn it to red, (I think color range in ps will do that)
The jacket is bright orange in real life. I should take advantage of that. Thanks
I think if you go into adjustment color you can change the orange to red, the human eye is attracted to red.
I think your composition and framing here are on point - I love the curve that starts in the foreground and leads to the person. The reflection is perfect, and I love the faint silhouette of the mountain creating that extra layer. I think all the bones are here, just some processing work is in order.
What I would personally try first, is warming up the white balance a tad, and just brightening up the shadows/blacks/photo as a whole. Bring everything up/down accordingly to get data even and exposed properly since this image is a tad underexposed (which is easier to work with than overexposed because of the sky!), then add contrast back via levels and such in photoshop.
Of course post processing is subjective, i'm just offering my take on what I would personally start going for with this image. Play around and see what looks best to you! The bones are here, just needs some TLC to be brought to life!
This would not be my final edit, just a quick 30 second or so toy in post to give the general sense of what i'm talking about - All i did was adjust exposure, blacks/whites/shadows blah blah, white balance, and then a quick contrast adjustment via a levels layer. If anyone else has anything else to chime in, feel free.
I like your take on this. Thanks!