Posted by Cory Freeman on October 13, 2010 at 9:38 AM
Looks like y'all got some good shots of that awesome weather we had a week ago. That sure was nice weather wasn't it? Well last weekend I went up to convict lake for a sunrise shoot, even though I knew it would be cloudless, but expected a bit more color around the shoreline which wasn't the case. I haven't shot a sunrise there yet and so figured it would at least be good practice and get familiar w/ the place. It was a frosty 30 degrees, but sure felt colder due to the moisture in the air!
I'd like to get some feedback on this image regarding the following: 1) does it look natural?, 2) does it look hdr'ish? 3)did I open the shadows up too much on the mtn?) and finally 4)does the water reflection look right, i.e. not too bright or saturated?
I combined two separate exposures in PS using maks to make the image then made adjustments using just curves, masks, color balance, and hue saturation. I chose to work this image up as practice in blending and to see what I could come up with. I like the fg leaves but feel overall it's not the strongest of images and doubt it will go any further than this. Maybe a good stock image.
With clouds returning this weekend and colors hopefully a bit further along I'm hoping to go back this friday and see if I can come away with something a bit stronger.
1. Looks natural to me.
2. No, but the highlights of the shoreline rocks are brighter than that light would make them.
3. No
4. Looks about right, but a very slight desat would still work.
Not bad for a scouting mission. Get back there with some drama!
This is a difficult scene to work with, having bright sun on the mountain and deep shadow as well. I like the foreground pebbles and leaves a lot, as well as the fact that the stones can be seen through the water. The parallel lines formed by the shore and the reflected horizon work well. I'm not sure in this photo whether you're interested in the play between the mountain and reflection, or in the shore and the reflection. The image would be stronger if it were one or the other. There are a couple of things which don't "look natural", though perhaps only a photographer would notice. Shadows tend to get darker rather than lighter the further you move away from the shadow's horizon. Here the shadow becomes lighter from top to bottom. This is somewhat mitigated by repetition in the reflection. The reflection itself is too light, as the reflection would naturally be darker than the item reflected. Perhaps creating a mask where you can lighten the entire shadow area, including the reflection, would work. That way the brightness relationship between reflection and original would be preserved. The vignette of the sky in the upper left could be evened out. The reflection of the sky needs to be faithful to the sky itself, particularly the horizon line on the left side where that vignette is. It would be interesting to the see original capture(s). I hope this is helpful and constructive.
John Richardson
Posted by Cory Freeman on October 13, 2010 at 7:35 PM
thanks for the great feedback you guys-much appreciated!!
@Jeffrey: thanks for pointing out the rock highlights and saturation. I did adjust the sat way down, but I think you're right a little more to match the peak. I was surprised by how much more saturated the reflection was verses the peak in the original raw file. Must be that pesky red channel.
@john: thanks for pointing out those little "unnatural" things as those are tells I don't want to be seen. Sometimes I have a hard time judging what is light or too light with reflections. I'll refine this a bit if I decide to keep it.
Anyone figure out how to use the RGB eyedropper tool in PS to read as stops of light or some sort of way to convert?
Posted by Paul Duval on October 13, 2010 at 11:28 PM
Cory,
I think you got the feedback you were looking for and this is definitely an image worth keeping and working on. I love the way the shore kinda just disappears into Convict without changing, the rocks stay just about the same as they are in the air they just go underwater.
Cory,
I like the image and agree with the comments already stated. It does look like the shadows have been opened up a touch, but to my eye still looks natural. I don't think the reflection is too saturated, but then I'm a saturation junkie, so take it for what its worth. Very pleasing image. Maybe you'll get clouds next time and it'll be a little warmer? Best Regards.
Posted by Harley Goldman on October 14, 2010 at 12:07 PM
Cory, nice reflection image. I think the feedback above was good. I also think that unless you are presenting to photographers, the average viewer/buyer won't care for hooey about any of that. Either they like the image or they don't don't. It is about the impact and emotional connection of the image. It is a great idea to refine your techniques, but in the end, the nitpicky details really don't matter all that much.
Posted by Steve Sieren on October 14, 2010 at 5:40 PM
I agree with Harley on this one. We get anal with our photography and are really pleasing only other photogs and maybe ourselves too. From the photographers POV, the lines where the shadows meet the light are do draw the eye and it's been mentioned.
Discussion
7 repliesI'd like to get some feedback on this image regarding the following: 1) does it look natural?, 2) does it look hdr'ish? 3)did I open the shadows up too much on the mtn?) and finally 4)does the water reflection look right, i.e. not too bright or saturated?
I combined two separate exposures in PS using maks to make the image then made adjustments using just curves, masks, color balance, and hue saturation. I chose to work this image up as practice in blending and to see what I could come up with. I like the fg leaves but feel overall it's not the strongest of images and doubt it will go any further than this. Maybe a good stock image.
With clouds returning this weekend and colors hopefully a bit further along I'm hoping to go back this friday and see if I can come away with something a bit stronger.
Thanks for your feedback and suggestions!
Cory Freeman
Blog
Sierra Impressions
bishopweather.com
2. No, but the highlights of the shoreline rocks are brighter than that light would make them.
3. No
4. Looks about right, but a very slight desat would still work.
Not bad for a scouting mission. Get back there with some drama!
This is a difficult scene to work with, having bright sun on the mountain and deep shadow as well. I like the foreground pebbles and leaves a lot, as well as the fact that the stones can be seen through the water. The parallel lines formed by the shore and the reflected horizon work well. I'm not sure in this photo whether you're interested in the play between the mountain and reflection, or in the shore and the reflection. The image would be stronger if it were one or the other. There are a couple of things which don't "look natural", though perhaps only a photographer would notice. Shadows tend to get darker rather than lighter the further you move away from the shadow's horizon. Here the shadow becomes lighter from top to bottom. This is somewhat mitigated by repetition in the reflection. The reflection itself is too light, as the reflection would naturally be darker than the item reflected. Perhaps creating a mask where you can lighten the entire shadow area, including the reflection, would work. That way the brightness relationship between reflection and original would be preserved. The vignette of the sky in the upper left could be evened out. The reflection of the sky needs to be faithful to the sky itself, particularly the horizon line on the left side where that vignette is. It would be interesting to the see original capture(s). I hope this is helpful and constructive.
John Richardson
@Jeffrey: thanks for pointing out the rock highlights and saturation. I did adjust the sat way down, but I think you're right a little more to match the peak. I was surprised by how much more saturated the reflection was verses the peak in the original raw file. Must be that pesky red channel.
@john: thanks for pointing out those little "unnatural" things as those are tells I don't want to be seen. Sometimes I have a hard time judging what is light or too light with reflections. I'll refine this a bit if I decide to keep it.
Anyone figure out how to use the RGB eyedropper tool in PS to read as stops of light or some sort of way to convert?
Cory Freeman
Blog
Sierra Impressions
bishopweather.com
I think you got the feedback you were looking for and this is definitely an image worth keeping and working on. I love the way the shore kinda just disappears into Convict without changing, the rocks stay just about the same as they are in the air they just go underwater.
Paul
I like the image and agree with the comments already stated. It does look like the shadows have been opened up a touch, but to my eye still looks natural. I don't think the reflection is too saturated, but then I'm a saturation junkie, so take it for what its worth. Very pleasing image. Maybe you'll get clouds next time and it'll be a little warmer? Best Regards.