Need help with this pic...how would you improve it?

Question

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2194/2119397267_8da831d0b4_o.jpg

Thanks...here's another shot at it:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2359/2119426461_0257b8f705_o.jpg

Yes, lidybeff, I sprayed some dodge into the dark parts, but the virginal blues would not be touched ;-(

Answer 1

Personally, of all the suggested changes - including your own second effort - I like the original the best. I do not think that you are striving for stark realism here as much as you are for producing a colorful graphic image. I find the ground under the boats to be very distracting. It becomes the focus of the image rather than the colors that abound.

It is rare to get such a clean reflection on water and it is nice to see one with so many colors in the trees.

The only thing I find lacking is the blown out sky. You would be able to paint something in here or even steal the sky from some other image you have on file and it might help. Don't overdo it, though, or it will detract from the other elements. You just want something there instead of nothing.

I like this and I like your original the best of the bunch.

Here's my take on it. I did next to nothing and this is just a communication tool. I sampled some blue from the lake and used the bucket to fill in the sky. This is not a very clean technique, but it's a way to visualize what you might do with a better approach to adding a sky. You might want to steal some faint clouds from some other image, but it doesn't really need it. I also dodged the canoes a little bit for shadows to bring up the color, but I tried to leave the surrounding ground alone. To me, lightening the ground detracts from the color of the canoes. There was one "hole" in the trees that I filled in by cloning from some nearby trees. It didn't look right to fill it with sky.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/2122373194/

Let me know if you want me to delete this image before this question ends by leaving a comment on Flickr.

Side note: This is a scan from an APS print, so it has nowhere near the clarity of your D50 image, but here you go, just for the sake of curiosity...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/441244810/

Answer 2

I love the background colors but I would sharpen the trees in the back so it does not look as blurry. The reflection of the trees are already blurry so you would want the actual trees to be really sharp in focus.

The foreground colors of the boat needs less shade and more brightness. The leaves in the background trees are so bright but the foreground leaves are close to a black color because of the shade. Bringing out the colors in the leaves in a darker yet, brighter red/orange/yellow/green would add to your photo.
I think the texture on the rocks are great. Definitely brightening that area would be a positive for your picture. Also, taking out the little nail on the top of the rock would be less distraction for your photo.

Lastly, I would take out the "Mad River Canoe" print on the canoe because it would distract the viewer from the picture as a whole. Unless if this is going to be used as an advertisement for the canoes, then the words need to be focused on and larger.
But overall, this still is an awesome shot. (:

Answer 3

To augment what's arelady been said, you can double your backgound layer in photoshop and use the 'sreen' blending mode to help bring out the boats definition a little. Of course, it will also affect the appearnce of the trees as well, so after you set the blending mode to screen, you may want to isolate the boats and delete everything else; thus revealing the original background image for all other parts of the photo BUT the boats. Also, using the dodge tool will help you pull out a little more life from the obscured parts of the boats as well. And to second another's point, the boats do need to be the focal point, so follow the cropping suggestions!

Answer 4

The blown out top just kept pulling my eyes away so I recommend this crop
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2006/2119627273_2df6520371_o.jpg

Answer 5

Try and include the tops of trees in the top righthand corner that are shown in the reflection and crop an equivalent amount from the bottom of the picture to put the boat right in the corner of the frame.

Answer 6

I would brighten up the boat more, it is too dark and I think its an important part of the picture. The black above that distracts me because I don't know what it is. If the boat is brighter then I think Id pay more attention to that and less on figuring out what the black is. Nice pic though none-the-less

Answer 7

Your second one looks better. I'm guessing that was photoshop
I've only just graduated to CS3 so I'm always keen to hear how people did these things.

I like the image but the artist in me wants to put a bit more blue in the sky. Feel free to ignore.

EDIT:
Had a go at airbrushing sky, when I look at it now I think I could have been more subtle, but anyway, here it is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21891345@N02/2120362374/

Answer 8

i agree with the other poster. the boat should be the focal point of the picture, but its way too dark, use photoshop's auto adjust contrast and brightness and see if that takes care of it. if not draw a selection around the dark area and manually adjust it.

Answer 9

This is what I would do...
http://www.straightshots.co.nz/still.htm