Sunset over Yallingup Lagoon

[Beaky]

I was very happy with this shot, so I would interested in what others think.

Shot at 1/15, ISO 100, 24mm Sigma & F16

[JasenkaG]

Yes, you should be happy about this gorgeous shot! I find it basically flawless – it’s such a pleasure to look at it. Great job!

[Falxy]

Hi Beaky…..yeah decent shot man.:)

As is,as taken……just needs some detail in the shadows(the rocks mainly)or crop most of the rocks while leaving the figure…………..either way lightening would help

[Beaky]

Thank you Jasenka

[Beaky]

Thanks Flaxy, I did try and pull a bit detail out, but it seem to take out too much else where.

[Frank]

Beautiful, and the person is an added interest.  Gave it a slight crop along the bottom edge to eliminate most of the dark hole in the lower left, and bring the beach line diagonal coming right out of the corner.  And, gave a slight brightening along the water between the sun and the person. or  Just for another look, I added a bit of red, red at night sailors delight, but not meant to be an improvement, just as different color.   I like playing with Gradient Maps.

[beth]

love the blue/orange colors in the sky.  the rocks and person are a great focal point and sense of scale.  my only suggestion would have been to use a longer exposure to get some extra smoothness in the water.

[Beaky]

Thanks Frank and Beth.

[3pco]

Hi Beaky. This is a gorgeous shot, I agree.

If you want to lighten parts of the rock without brightening the rest of the image, here is a trick. You can apply localized dodging with a luminosity mask that selects the brighter portions of the rock. There are a couple of guys on the web peddling sets of luminosity masks for this purpose. I am partial to Greg Benz, who offers a panel of masks for free at https://gregbenzphotography.com/using-the-free-luminosity-masking-panel/.

Here’s an example of what you can do by selecting a the brighter portions of the rock and dodging.

You could use the sam approach to add a bit more contrast to the sky.

[Frank]

Yikes, Beaky, looking back here I think I went overboard on the saturation, so here is a toned down look.  Also, I added light to the rocks, but not with Luminosity masking suggested by 3pco.    Add a curves layer and boost the brightness until there is light on the rocks. Then with the Curves mask selected, invert it to black (Command I).   That hides the effects of the curve.  Next , with  white brush, paint over the rocks to ‘reveal’ the light effect of the curve adjustment back on to the rocks.  I used a 65% opacity.     Luminosity masking can be more precise, I think, but using the curves adjustment method often works well, too, quicker and easier unless you are proficient at the other method.

[Beaky]

Thanks 3pco and Frank, I haven’t been on the computer for well over a week or near my camera. Hopefully today I will get to have a crack at both Ideas and maybe get some camera work as well. Thanks for your tips much appreciated.

[Rob Wood (Admin)]

Would love to see what you come up with @ozride

[Tobie]

I love either one of Frank’s version. The person on the rocks serves well in providing scale.

[Frank]

I am still  keeping this image on my desktop.  Wonderful view and color!

[Gary Zerbst]

Beautiful shot. IT conveys a feeling of peace and contentment that everything is as it should be in God’s world. Commdnrts about lightening/ darkening the overall photo reflects individual personal preferences. The correct tonality is what YOU want it to be. IMHO the person makes the photo. When I try to imagine the photo without the person the photo becomes just another snapshot of a pretty sunset without the implied story. I do have a slight tension though, trying to decide if the person is standing on the rock or is wading in the shallow water. I don’t know why but it makes a difference to the story for me. Changing the camera height either up or down would have clarified the story for me.

[Beaky]

Thanks @Gary She is wading in the water.

@Frank Hey mate, you maybe able to help me, I have worked on the above image and was happy with it, but when I went to save it, it is now 2Gb!! What am I doing wrong?? Not sure if I should have asked this question here or started a new thread. 🙂

[Beaky]

@rambler Hi Frank, think I worked it out, save as a copy and is much smaller file. But in saying that I am having trouble uploading it here. I will try again in the morning when the internet is a bit better.

[Beaky]

@rambler @admin Ok, so I have brushed it up a bit, hopefully not to much. This is the first photo i have touched up in PS 🙂

[Tobie]

Perfect Beaky!

[Beaky]

@tobiepsg Thanks mate.

[Tom M]

Beautiful photo. Like has been said, the person is absolutely needed…

 

[Beaky]

Thanks Tom.

[Author]

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