Wandering By - A Morning Beach Scene

[PhotoRob]

I've enjoyed this scene and was hoping for some suggestions from the group. The original was littered with people in the background, so this is a version 2 / non-original. I've also toyed with pushing in to knock down that morning sun, however it seemed to crowd my "wanderer" a bit. Thanks in advance for your help.

[Dizzy]

I've looked at this image several times now, and in each case my eyes seem to be
instantly focused on the lady's feet and ankles..right one in the air and lower left leg
seems to be bent at a strange angle ...

I would think the sitting child (cute) would be the main focus, but the lady with the
baby takes over. Might be interesting to see a version with her removed, and just
the child sitting and playing in the sand.

Also, you might want to level up the horizon a bit...seems a little tilted to the left.

Still, a nice capture!

Mike

[Geoff F]

I've looked at this image several times now, and in each case my eyes seem to be
instantly focused on the lady's feet and ankles

Yes one leg seems to be larger, or much closer, than the other. A rather strange effect probably caused by the camera angle.

I wonder if slightly increasing the contrast on the sitting child might help to 'compete' more with the woman passing by.

I think you only have two options with the sun area. Leave it alone or totally clone it out. Either will work so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[Dizzy]

Rob, hope it was OK, but I saved your image and worked with it a bit to see if I could
find any improvements. What I wound up with was a image of just the little one playing in
the sand, as no matter what I did with the lady w/baby she was still the main element
in the pic, and the little one in the sand seemed to add more character. I cropped out
the walking lady and removed her shadow, and then added a little fill light to enhance
the scene.

Cropped to 8x10:



Mike

[MrGladstone]

I really like the original shot. Interesting comp and Its not the sort of image you see every day, which is a good thing imo.

Lovely B+W by the way....

[Donald]

I note the comments made, but I really, really like this. I think the vision is brilliant and has produced a unique attention-grabbing image.

I think I'd maybe try straightening the horizon to see if that works - only because seeing it sloping right to left is a bit distracting. But, note the use of the term 'a bit'. The overall strength of the image outweighs that point and if straightening the horizon weakened other elements in the image, I'd leave it.

The other thing I wondered about was a ever-so-slight dodge on the face of the woman, just to introduce a bit more detail? I'd like to try that just to assess the effect.

[PhotoRob]

I've looked at this image several times now, and in each case my eyes seem to be
instantly focused on the lady's feet and ankles..right one in the air and lower left leg
seems to be bent at a strange angle ...

I would think the sitting child (cute) would be the main focus, but the lady with the
baby takes over. Might be interesting to see a version with her removed, and just
the child sitting and playing in the sand.

Also, you might want to level up the horizon a bit...seems a little tilted to the left.

Still, a nice capture!

Mike

Thanks Mike, appreciate feedback; you're a wizard in the digital darkroom, exciting stuff and your reduced version makes for a whole new image. Thanks!

[PhotoRob]

I really like the original shot. Interesting comp and Its not the sort of image you see every day, which is a good thing imo.

Lovely B+W by the way....

Very much appreciate the kind words; my subject doesn't sit still for long so it's a relief when the results come together.

[PhotoRob]

I note the comments made, but I really, really like this. I think the vision is brilliant and has produced a unique attention-grabbing image.

I think I'd maybe try straightening the horizon to see if that works - only because seeing it sloping right to left is a bit distracting. But, note the use of the term 'a bit'. The overall strength of the image outweighs that point and if straightening the horizon weakened other elements in the image, I'd leave it.

The other thing I wondered about was a ever-so-slight dodge on the face of the woman, just to introduce a bit more detail? I'd like to try that just to assess the effect.

Thank you Donald, very, very much appreciate the feedback! I'll see about adjusting it a bit and see where it takes the story.

[speedneeder]

Cool shot.
Sure you could tweak a few things like shadows and horizons as mentioned or even question if the DOF is too shallow, but it really is a good shot just as it is!
Thanks for posting.

[PhotoRob]

Cool shot.
Sure you could tweak a few things like shadows and horizons as mentioned or even question if the DOF is too shallow, but it really is a good shot just as it is!
Thanks for posting.

Thanks Brian - appreciate your feedback!