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Yes, I saw it! It was a bit over 🙂 I liked the rock, though! Thank you all for your advice!
A wider angle would have been fantastic here. I see no problems with exposure; any more and highlights would be blown, and you have detail in your shadows already.
Yes, I would have used a lower angle as well, and maybe shot tighter. If you wanted the space and the entire hat(s), I would recommend doing something to eliminate the brand marking on the inside of the hat. I focused on it immediately, and it distracted from the wonderful flowers next to it. The background doesn’t bother me; it contrasts nicely with the light tones of the subjects.
Thank you all for your feedback. I agree that the exposure needed work, and no, there was absolutely no detail to recover in the sky. I keep having people tell me that it looks like I use filters and overprocess my images: I hardly touch them, just tweak the color and contrast a few points, usually an 8-point or less increase in color saturation, and use Curves to adjust the contrast. I am not good enough with PS to do much more than that, so can someone tell me what to do to make them not look “overprocessed?” I really am stumped, as I really DON’T do much to them. I am using CS2, if that helps. Here is the image again, with the exposure increased to bring up more detail in the jay.
IMG_8178 hi contrast lo-res wtrmkWeb.jpg by Audrey Smith on Light StalkingThis scrub jay followed me around a conservation area, and eventually perched right above my head on a pine branch. I know a white sky is about the worst background to have when shooting outdoors, but I also recall a white-sky barred owl picture that was a winner in the Nature’s Best competition a few years ago, and sometimes rules can be broken. I liked the way the pine needles created a starburst around the bird, and I used fill-flash to retain some detail. Post-processing was an increase in both color and contrast, and sharpening of the bird’s eye.
I LOVE Red Rock Canyon. My in-laws live 30 min away, and we go there every time we visit. That being said, I have never had the opportunity to actually go and shoot there on my own time. It is a beautiful place, and I think you have captured the moment well. The only thing in this image I would change would be the dark foreground. It shows up in a lot of my images as well, and I know it can be hard to work around, but that is the one thing that stands out to me. Nice clouds and sky; I love the Spring Mountains. 🙂
Okay, now I see it in the comments…a very sweet picture! I will agree that the exposure can come up a bit; I don’t think you will lose any detail at all, as the cat’s fur is pretty dark. I also would have gone with either a tighter crop to put more focus on the subject, or a wider crop to include more, especially if it was surrounded by books. Cute, though!
Yes, I agree with @jonathantimar about everything, with the exception of the lips; I also would have brought them out a bit, as I think they should be shown rather than letting them disappear into shadow. I will echo others and also say that your work is quite stunning, especially for someone new!
Has this image been removed? I thought it sounded interesting, but nothing is showing up except for comments…
Thanks. I was trying to beat the storm, though to improve the image, I should have waited. (However, I got some nice shots of a crocodile, so I guess sacrifices can also be trade-offs 🙂 ). I will try oversaturating the colors before converting to B&W next time, and see what happens. Thank you for the feedback!
Looking at it now, I think you mean the water displacement, not the water drops on the lily pad? Yeah, all-natural. Just water displacement. Thanks!
Sorry, I thought all the info was there. Guess it didn’t make it to the forum. It is only slightly post-processed with miniscule tweaks in contrast/color. It was a partly cloudy day with scattered showers, and the clouds had obscured the sun for a moment. This was taken directly after a light rain shower. The pastel colors are completely natural, as is the ripple and water collection on the lily pad. In this case, water DID behave like that! 🙂 I generally don’t remove objects in my images, but I will experiment with your advice. Thank you!
I agree, but it was debris on the water. Really nothing I could do about it, as I was not going to attempt to remove them! Thanks
As it was a parade, I might have shot tighter to eliminate surrounding people. Her colors are great, and her expression is nice, but the guy on the right is distracting. It also appears to be underexposed by about 1/2 stop. I would strengthen my flash to illuminate her face more; it seems as though your camera may have been reading off of her yellow sparkly bikini top.
Info: f/20, 1/250 sec; ISO 250; 100-400mm lens at 285mm; manual metering.
I neglected to say: this was taken late afternoon, early evening, with a summer thunderstorm approaching. Originally shot in color, but converted to black and white after. f/14 at 1/60 sec, ISO 100. Manual settings.
It’s a bit small to see all the details, but from what I can tell, you need a longer exposure; all the detail on the right is lost in shadow. For night shots, you may want to consider shooting a bit earlier, when the sky is dark blue but not actually black, to give the feel of the night without losing detail.
I would say that the majority of the image is at least three stops underexposed. If Laura is your main subject, she would need a more prominent position in the composition. I might have moved closer to the three trees in the middle of the image, and lowered my camera’s position to exclude some of the surrounding foliage. That might make it a more cohesive image, depending on what your goal of the image is. Good luck!
I think this is a wonderful image except for one thing: the photographer on the left is bisected by the horizon line. You placed them as a distant silhouetted subject, but the silhouette is interfered with by the horizon. Love the colors, love the composition, but maybe if you lowered your camera to raise them above the horizon, so they stand out without losing the symmetry or ripples in the foreground.
