I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to spend the day following the Oconaluftee River up through the Great Smoky Mountains. I lucked out and had a perfect day (not too sunny, not too cloudy, not cold, etc.) to view the fall leaves at their peak color. Overall, I'm pleased with the photos from that day, but there's always room for improvement.
What do you think I could do to make these two photos better? In your opinion, are these print / portfolio worthy? Any and all CC is greatly appreciated!
They are a little dark in my opinion. I would boost the shadows a little. Not to the point of the trendy overkill HDR look. Just a little. I think your colors are spot on for saturation.
I live minutes from GSMNP near Maryville, TN and been so busy I haven't made it up there this fall. Shame on me. I will this week and hopefully some leaves will still be left on the trees.
Yes, "a little dark" seems to be my Achilles' Heel when editing. lol! I always end up being very conservative with the brightness, and pay for it when I try to print.
Unfortunately, this was the only day I've been able to get into the mountains, but I'm hoping to drive back up this weekend. Hopefully your trip into GSMNP was great!
Thanks for the input!
I have mixed feelings about the sky (how much of that warmth is turning leaves?) in #1 and I probably would have skewed things so the bridge uprights were vertical. There have been a few conversations lately about tilt/shift corrections and how to do them but little discussion about whether or not to do it in the first place.
#2 seems a bit tilted to the right even though you obviously used a tripod. A spirit level might be an appropriate accessory.
I'm more than OK with the color and contrast of both of them, but I can see Patrick's point. You might try lightening the shadows a bit. But not too much because you're in the woods where deep shadows are normal.
I can see what you're talking about with the skew in #1. I'm stuck at home for the next day or so, and am planning to re-edit these to try the suggestions here. As for the warmth, I got unbelievably lucky... This was shot right at sunset as the light was barely coming through the leaves, and gave the whole area an almost golden color.
Thanks so much for the input!
i like them. I am a fan of the motion blur with the water but for me the second one is a little to much. I think that on the second one you could use the dehaze tool to cut down on the brightness that is in the water. On the first one I would have liked to see some color besides yellow I see uo in the top left a tree with some other color maybe orange. If maybe you could work on that and get the color to come out in contrast to the yellow I think that would be a portfolio worthy photo
I'll be playing around with these a little more this weekend, so I'll definitely try dehazing the water in #2. Thanks for the input!
Hello Mark. I am a local in the Great Smoky Mountains so I photograph them a lot. I will start with what I like and then critique what I think could improve the photo. Although photography and editing is art and there is no wrong answer. First I would say that your colors are spot on for the Smoky's. I get the Smoky's feel from them. I believe the lighting is pretty spot on as well. For me though the contrast or clarity (not sure which) is pushed a little too far. It looks like there may be some radiance or blur effects added as well (maybe orton effect) that is taking away from the photo. I would dial back the clarity and contrast, lift the blacks and remove the orton or lower it (maybe radiance or blur) and see how it turns out. Hope this helps.
I can admit, I've questioned the orton effect myself, especially in the 2nd photo. I pushed it a little far because 1) I was trying for an almost ethereal feel, and 2) it kind of hides some of the softness from the longer shutter. Honestly, though, it does feel a little too Thomas Kinkade-ish. lol! I'll definitely dial that back in the 2nd edit.
Thanks so much!