Hi Everybody, There's no one on the beach at this time of the year (February). Well, nobody except those two lunatics taking pictures of an empty beach in the middle of the winter.
First, here is my retouched version. I use a heavy hand with the Lab Curves. Then it's followed by the original.Ellie says that the original is better. She says that I should have left it alone.
Can we have an opinion or your own retouch of the original. We've agreed not to argue about posted opinions or retouches.
Phil
A little LAB adjustment and saturation boost.
Phil1923 said: Can we have an opinion or your own retouch of the original. We've agreed not to argue about posted opinions or retouches.
The photo itself, I think, is the problem. It lacks a central theme, there is no subject, no action, nothing. For a photo to work, it needs a subject, mood, and emotion to be successful. From a photographers point of view, there's too much foreground, incorrect cropping, and just a generalized "snapshot" feel to it. It isn't an award winner.
What is or (where is) the subject when you look at this image? If you ask yourself either, it doesn't work.
Next time, ask your wife to stand in the frame, do something goofy (or fun), play with the lighting (if you have external flash) and have her doing something to engage the viewer.
I was a professional photographer for many years in Canada. The photos that sold the most were images that conveyed a story, mood, excitement, drama, interest and passion. You need to see creatively through the lens and say what's missing? what do I want to portray? Then look at the juxtaposition, move your feet, keep the subject off center, light from the side to get depth, wait for the "Golden Hour" for warmth and insure good focus on the subject (eyes if it is a person)
Your title mentioned "Graphic Artist", which would yet again yield something different. Then, it is what the client wants, and nobody else, not you, not your wife, nor any us here in the forums.
The bottom line is, "you" as the photographer needs to like it. If you like saturated colors, then it is a keeper, others like muted colors, others B/W, some like grunge effects, tone mapping and pseudo HDR which are now, thankfully, passé. Another fad is pulling shadows and damping highlights, which I hate! And I wont even get into bleach by-passing, cross-processing, Lomo, Retro, pinhole and so on.
So as I finish my ramble, my thesis on pressing a shutter, I will play with your image and have a beer!