Looking for C&C on Image

[rtaylor0129]

Hello,

I am new to this forum, and wanted to post my first photo!

I chose this photo because I feel like it has potential - reflection, decent color, perspective - but I also feel like it is really lacking. Sorry for not being technical, I have been out of the world of 'technical' photography for seven years, and I'm trying to jump back in. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, both shooting advice and editing advice. Thanks!

[Fleshpiston]

Well it does look cold in (I assume) America. On my screen it appears a bit dark in the shadow areas but apart from that all look good. The real question you should ask yourself is "what do I want from the photo?" What direction did you want to make my eyes go to? I like the reflection in the wet road. The colours/color of the buildings are also pleasant. Staples on the other hand I never liked that store

Good work but sit back and ask yourself what is it you want me (as in the viewer) to see.

Jim

[rtaylor0129]

You are correct, this is the aftermath of a blizzard in Chicago, Illinois. I didn't last outside very long .

I decided that a good focus would be the colors and reflection, and agree that the shadows were too dark. What do you think of the correction? And thanks for taking the time to comment - I realize this is not an amazing picture, but everyone has to start somewhere!

[jiro]

Welcome to CiC, Rachel. Your image definitely has a lot of potential for a start. However, I want to point out some details on your image that probably made it look weak. Is that OK with you? Some of what I will say has already been addressed by Jim on his post here.

1. The horizon on the image is a little bit off towards to the right. So, what you could probably do is to rotate the image just a little bit to correct that.

2. The shadow area on the image is too dark. That would definitely rob the image of some detail that the eye would want to see later. A simple way to recover them is to use the shadow/highlight slider in photoshop, lightroom, Photoshop Elements (if it has one), or GIMP.

3. There is a noticeable distortion on the buildings (I think they call it barrel distortion) wherein it tends to lean inside. You can also correct this inside photoshop if you have that software with you.

4. The specific main subject was not clearly defined. Based on your initial posted image on top, I would presume it would be the man looking at the snow plower. However, his location is way too much to the side to be the main subject. My next assumption would be the snow plower since the road lines are leading on that direction.

I tried to edit your work and framed it in such ways that I located the probable main subjects based on the rule of thirds. You can find a very nice tutorial about it here: https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tu...-of-thirds.htm

Here is what I came up with:

1. I framed the image with the concept of the man on the right looking towards the snow plower. On this image, I already made some correction on the white balance, color saturation, shadow adjustment, and others.


2. On this one, I took out the man from the frame and concentrated on the snow plower as my main subject. It looks more like a square framed image now.


3. On this one, I tried the portrait framing (the height size is larger than the width). Still, my main subject is the snow plower.


So, as you can see, your initial image has a lot of possibilities in it. The only thing you need to do first is to visualize what part of the scene would you want to be your main subject. Then, help your viewers see that vision of yours by adding some leading lines just like what you did with the road. Everything that you will include inside the frame will either help your image become strong or become weak when it becomes too cluttered. It takes practice, but you'll definitely learn it in time. Good luck and keep on pressing that shutter button.

[Njbowman]

Jiro, thanks for your input and redone pics.
We all learn.

[jiro]

Jiro, thanks for your input and redone pics.
We all learn.

[rtaylor0129]

Jiro,

Thank you so much!! You took my photo and turned it into what I wanted it to become! #3 was what I was going for, although I also love what you did with #2. I am going to keep your images as guidance, and see if I can learn how to duplicate images of this quality in Photoshop. I cannot thank you enough for this feedback, and if this forum consistently provides feedback of this quality, I will be a very happy person

[jiro]

Jiro,

Thank you so much!! You took my photo and turned it into what I wanted it to become! #3 was what I was going for, although I also love what you did with #2. I am going to keep your images as guidance, and see if I can learn how to duplicate images of this quality in Photoshop. I cannot thank you enough for this feedback, and if this forum consistently provides feedback of this quality, I will be a very happy person

Thanks for the compliment, Rachel. There are far more better photographers here than I am. I felt the same predicament as you do when I returned back to photography after an almost 13 years of absence. I just thought helping a fellow newbie though I have limited knowledge of the technicalities of photography would be of help. I think they call it "returning a favor". Continue shooting and continue posting. I believe we will also learn something from you.

[rtaylor0129]

What do you guys think of this image?

Jiro - I used the tractor as my focal point and ended up getting it exactly on an intersection point, I cannot believe I didn't take the rule of thirds into consideration at first! I wasn't able to get rid of my barrel distortion as well as you did, but it's still better than my original.

Thanks for all the feedback, looking forward to more!

[ilovelucydog]

Jiro, that was great! There is so much to learn here.

[jiro]

Jiro, that was great! There is so much to learn here.

[jiro]

What do you guys think of this image?

A big improvement, Rachel. Good job!