Almost but not quite

[ionian]

Here are a couple of shots taken recently that are not working for me at the moment. I like to be creative, but both of these are just a bit sterile. I'm at the point where I might just accept these aren't at the quality I want to present, but I've been staring at them a while and I'd welcome some fresh eyes before I make that decision.

They are quite different, but I'm presenting them together as they are linked by their B-roll status.

1. I was drawn by the modern tower, the natural wood textures, and the composition with the clouds dominating the opposite side of the image. I've turned it into a bit of an estate agent's (realtors to you guys on the other side of the pond) picture. I think it lacks life and movement - not a lot I can do about that now I guess.





2. I like the composition of the top half here, with the pylon and boat balancing each other. It's presented in black and white as there is next to no colour in the original shot - I knew this when I took it and shot it to be converted. Perhaps it's a bit contrasty, but I was hoping to drag the textures out. My main issue is that the foreground barge feels disconnected from the background; the textures are good, but it doesn't flow into the rest of the image.

[Mike Buckley]

The way for me to bring "life and movement" into the first one is to crop just barely to the right side of the tall building, which will change it to a vertical format.

The second one for me is two images -- the top and bottom halves -- rather than one.

[Shadowman]

I like everything in the first capture and everything above the horizon line in the second. With the first image, your brain might be overwhelmed with all of the blue, I would try to emphasize some of the muted colors, the tans and pinks and see how it looks. In the second image, include the small boat in the composition and lose the larger structure in foreground. Just my thoughts, nice captures.

[Rebel]

Hi Simon,

The first image to me does look a bit "computer-generated" have you used any HDR/tone mapping effects on it? I would be interested in seeing the SOOC image.

I think the problem with the second image is the barge is angled in such a way that it takes the eye straight out of the frame. The end of the barge needed to be just off left centre - in line with pylon.

Just my thoughts, hope they help.

[Wavelength]

Regarding the first image, I felt, removing the right side shore completely, giving a feeling that the building faces a huge water body can give more life to the image.
In the second image, the boat should have been sharper I feel. The metal frame in the foreground gives some wrong leading lines away from the boat, which makes the composition, a bit weak?

[Geoff F]

For me, there is too much bland foreground with the first image. Nandakumar's suggestion is one option which would work; although another possibility would be to retain the right side but reduce the amount of water. That would mean a different size ratio but you could probably lose a bit of sky, if necessary, to fit a 'standard size'.

Maybe take a bit from one or both sides as well as the bottom and keep the current size ratio?

I think the basic scene is acceptable, but just a little tweak might help.

With the second image, is the foreground old barge a little on the 'heavy' side; so your flow of vision tends to stop there instead of being 'guided' towards the background elements?

So would another foreground crop help with the 'flow' and encourage the viewer to look further into the scene?

[ionian]

Hi Simon,

The first image to me does look a bit "computer-generated" have you used any HDR/tone mapping effects on it? I would be interested in seeing the SOOC image.

No HDR or tone mapping, but in LR I did pull the shadows all th way up then adjust balance with curves. SOOC below, jpeg from RAW - consider that I'm shooting to process so I don't bother with any of the jpeg in-camera additions other than maximising dynamic range for post.

[ionian]

Many many thanks for the help with these pictures everyone - fresh eyes can be so important. I've made my decision and these are both for the bin. The main problem with both is for me the same - both suffer from trying to put too much in the frame. Yes I could process them differently, and I'm not happy with the processing on either (first is too "poppy", second is too contrasty) but the basic error is the fundamental one - the composition.

I think of photography in the same terms as a sculptor - you have to remove enough from the frame to get the image you want, just as a sculptor removes stone.

Image one could be several shots with a little recomposing - the buildings on the left, the water with reflections, the harbour (if the light is right). At the moment it is none of these. Image two is clearly two shots - even ignoring the difference in subjects, the barge leads you out of the image and there is no reversing that in post. I can reshoot both when the opportunity arises, so I'm not going to work with big crops.

As I say, thanks to everyone for commenting, it has really helped my though processes and it's very interesting to learn how others see them.

[Manfred M]

Simon - a few more thoughts

Image 1 - yes, it is sterile, so, what's wrong with working with that aspect and enhance it, rather than fighting it? I might be tempted to open up the shadows on the left along side what appears to be an old warehouse of some kind. The cool tones of the modern building, water and sky are definitely something to play with here.

I find your first edit is the stronger of the two.

Image 2 - I think you are trying to do too much with this shot. The old barge in the foreground dominates the image so much, that the boat and far shore do little more than distract from the main element in the image. I'd be tempted to crop / clone those out and concentrate on the foreground. It looks like it has a lot of potential all by itself.

[IzzieK]

I am not keen on #1 but I love #2 very much though I thought moving a little bit would have pointed the end of the boat on the tall structure. Having said that, I think a new crop removing much of the clouds or removing that pointy structure will help improve this shot. Having your clear foreground made it to me like it is the subject of the whole shot...and I love what I see. Also envious as I still have to capture a broken boat structure. Went to one when we were in Florida near a cemetery but someone said it was an eyesore and removed it.

[ionian]

Thanks Izzie and Manfred - I'll have to go back and recapture both scenes with a clearer idea of how I want it to look. I find my best pictures, with a few exceptions, are shots I've spent some time (often weeks, and in the case of the recent sunrise picture, a year) thinking about and planning.