Getting There

[mcarmona]

"While she was going to the place we were supposed to take the picture, I took this one accidentally, and I like it more than the real thing."

I took this one, about four years ago, using an "old" and amateurish Fujifilm E900, while we were in Girona -Catalunya, Spain-.

I don't know why, but I love this one. I know it's far from perfect, but I hadn't even open it in lightroom.

It's as natural as it can get!

So, now, what do you think? What do I have to improve? I'm the eternal amateur, but, nonetheless, I want to improve my photographs.

Any comment would be appreciated!

Cheers,
/m@cs
http://www.timestopping.com

[Donald]

So, now, what do you think? What do I have to improve? I'm the eternal amateur, but, nonetheless, I want to improve my photographs.

First of all, hello and welcome to CiC.

First thing - You've maybe seen that most of us tend to use our real names on here. It makes communication more friendly and CiC is that sort of site. Did you know you can go to Edit Profile and enter your proper name under 'Real Name'. Then it will appear underneath your Username in all your posts. You can also enter your location so that it does the same, just as in my details alongside this message. Then we all know where everyone is in the world.

Given that CiC is very much a learning forum where people are very willing to offer to provide advice and guidance, one of the most helpful things to know would be what is your own critique of this image. Now that you've had four more years of experience sine you took the photograph, what are your own views about its strengths and weaknesses?

You say it's far from perfect. In what respect do you think so?

[mcarmona]

Donald, Thank you for the prompt reply.

I noticed about the name, and I changed it. (I'm new here).

Now, when I say it's far from perfect, I don't know, but I feel something's missing. I cannot figure out what, but I feel something is missing.

I took another one in colour at the same time, but I like it even less.

Thank you again!

[JPS]

Hi Martýn,
welcome to CiC, it's nice to have you on board.

I can see why you like this picture; it's got an feeling of mystery to it.

If you don’t mind me saying I think the ‘blown’ out sky between the trees needs to be darken using the ‘Burn’ tool in PP. It is extremely un-likely that you will be able to pull any detail out of that area, as I think it is lost, but if you can make it a bit less obvious I think that would help.

I would also adjust the contrast a bit to give the picture a feeling of depth and some sharpening in PP.
The other members with more experience will certainly offer you more constructive advice if you need it.

Thank you for sharing your work and I look forward to seeing more of it soon.

[smcrews]

Hi there Martýn,
Welcome to CiC. It's always nice to see new faces on here.

I love the natural feel to this shot and can see why you like it so much. Have you tried putting a little vig on it? It might help to draw more attention to the subject.

[mcarmona]

Hi Martýn,
welcome to CiC, it's nice to have you on board.

I can see why you like this picture; it's got an feeling of mystery to it.

If you don’t mind me saying I think the ‘blown’ out sky between the trees needs to be darken using the ‘Burn’ tool in PP. It is extremely un-likely that you will be able to pull any detail out of that area, as I think it is lost, but if you can make it a bit less obvious I think that would help.

I would also adjust the contrast a bit to give the picture a feeling of depth and some sharpening in PP.
The other members with more experience will certainly offer you more constructive advice if you need it.

Thank you for sharing your work and I look forward to seeing more of it soon.

Thank you! You are completely right about this. I'll try to fix it, and I'll repost.

[mcarmona]

Hi there Martýn,
Welcome to CiC. It's always nice to see new faces on here.

I love the natural feel to this shot and can see why you like it so much. Have you tried putting a little vig on it? It might help to draw more attention to the subject.

Thank you very much!

I appreciate your comments, but, sorry, what do you mean with "putting a little vig"? -sorry, but I have to admit it, I'm a total newbie-

[smcrews]

Hey Martýn,

I hope you don't mind but I took a shot at showing you what I was talking about.



I find that when I am shooting a single person, most of the time I use a little vig (vignetting) to help place a little more focus on the subject.

As far as being a "newbie" goes don't sweat it, you are in the right place. I have found that everyone here is eager to help each other learn.

[mcarmona]

Hey Martýn,

I hope you don't mind but I took a shot at showing you what I was talking about.



I find that when I am shooting a single person, most of the time I use a little vig (vignetting) to help place a little more focus on the subject.

As far as being a "newbie" goes don't sweat it, you are in the right place. I have found that everyone here is eager to help each other learn.

wow!You're perfectly right here! I can see a BIG change. Thank you!

Time after time, I feel more and more that I'm in the right place!

[Mike Buckley]

Martýn,

I believe the most important consideration is to think about what you wanted the image to be before you pressed the shutter release. I gather from your first post that perhaps you might not have done that. Many photographers don't but the photographers who consistently produce great photos apparently do. They then post-process their images according to their vision.

I can easily imagine coming upon this woman and envisioning her walking intently into a dream of ethereal serenity as if perhaps she is fearful that she is about to lose it or that she is so happy to see it that she is rushing to get to it. If I had that vision before pressing the shutter release, I might decide to ignore the guideline not to put the subject directly in the middle of the image. I might even decide to ignore two other guidelines by overexposing the background and post-processing it with little or no contrast to capture the dream-like quality of the area. I also might decide to capture the swagger in her arms and the precise position of her feet to convey that she is on a mission and in a rush to "get there."

You have done all of those things, perhaps accidentally. If that's the case, you might consider yourself lucky to have created such a nice image. We all get lucky every once in awhile. Take it and enjoy it!

To go one step further, if I had envisioned this image as it is before pressing the shutter release, I would try to post-process the woman in a style that meets the generally accepted guidelines of standard photography. In doing so, I would attempt to provide a tad bit more contrast while preserving detail in her hat, hair, and the folds in her boots. I believe post-processing her differently from the rest of the image would convey that she has not yet entered the dream.

Having said all of that, completely ignore what I might have done because it's not my image. Instead, everything about your image boils down to what you wanted to convey before you pressed the shutter release and, now that that has already happened, what you you want to convery as you think about how to post-process it.

[mcarmona]

Martýn,

I believe the most important consideration is to think about what you wanted the image to be before you pressed the shutter release. I gather from your first post that perhaps you might not have done that. Many photographers don't but the photographers who consistently produce great photos apparently do. They then post-process their images according to their vision.

I can easily imagine coming upon this woman and envisioning her walking intently into a dream of ethereal serenity as if perhaps she is fearful that she is about to lose it or that she is so happy to see it that she is rushing to get to it. If I had that vision before pressing the shutter release, I might decide to ignore the guideline not to put the subject directly in the middle of the image. I might even decide to ignore two other guidelines by overexposing the background and post-processing it with little or no contrast to capture the dream-like quality of the area. I also might decide to capture the swagger in her arms and the precise position of her feet to convey that she is on a mission and in a rush to "get there."

You have done all of those things, perhaps accidentally. If that's the case, you might consider yourself lucky to have created such a nice image. We all get lucky every once in awhile. Take it and enjoy it!

To go one step further, if I had envisioned this image as it is before pressing the shutter release, I would try to post-process the woman in a style that meets the generally accepted guidelines of standard photography. In doing so, I would attempt to provide a tad bit more contrast while preserving detail in her hat, hair, and the folds in her boots. I believe post-processing her differently from the rest of the image would convey that she has not yet entered the dream.

Having said all of that, completely ignore what I might have done because it's not my image. Instead, everything about your image boils down to what you wanted to convey before you pressed the shutter release and, now that that has already happened, what you you want to convery as you think about how to post-process it.

Thank YOU very much! You've touched my heart with your kind words!

I feel so grateful of you all. I'm learning a lot here since I joined a few days ago.

I can't be thankful enough for having joined here...