Lady of Stone

[FrankMi]

Wasn't there a song by that name?

This is a statue on a large monument in the Oakwood Cemetery (1859), Syracuse, NY. I didn’t think to get an image of the inscription so I haven’t been able to determine who this is or any other background.

The woman is in a ‘thinker’ pose. I tried to soften the skin areas by warming them a little bit but I can't tell if it helps or hurts.

What can I do to improve images of statues like this one?

[Andrew1]

Personally I think the colour of the sky being similar to the statue sort of washes out the entire frame. Needs a bit of contrast to isolate and frame the subject. A cloudier busier sky, (not just grey) or perhaps a rather large tree in behind, either in leaf or not, would give this a different background and some depth that I think would help. I'm not a PP person but I can imagine some very dense tree branches 'shop'd into the entire background that would enhance the picture and add an entirely different feel to it. Spooky graveyard type trees.

[Steve S]

She looks backlit, so some fill flash would prob. get you some more detail. And perhaps clone out the limbs. The color is off...........needs some magenta and yellow or reduce green and blue.


I've never shot a photo of a statue, so i can't offer any composition sugestions, other than i think it would look better if you could gain some elevation some how.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Frank,

You've been powershotting again

I looked at the EXIF to see if suggesting shooting 3 - 5 hours later, when the sun will have moved round more and lit this side was possible. It may be, in a months time or so, as long as the sun isn't hidden from the statue by trees in leaf by then.

The blue sky has given this side a blue cast, which flash may help warm a little, relative to the (probably) 7000K + blue sky light hitting it now.

I have tried shooting statues and unless you're lucky, I have found that you often have to shoot low to get a cleaner background - sometimes backing up a way, and shooting telephoto, can help reduce DoF so the more busy background is blurred.

Given her 'thinking' pose, some fluffy cloud by her head would seem more appropriate

Cheers,

[FrankMi]

Thanks Andrew, Steve and Dave. To put this more in perspective, here is the same statue taken from the other side. Unfortunately, from this side you can't see her face but it avoids the issued created by shooting into the sun. I didn't need to shoot as low as in the previous image as the statue sits near the edge of a bluff. As an added bonus, it has a fluffy white cloud!

[arith]

Statues I think are hard because they tend to be dark and contrasted by the sky. The first thing I thought was have you caught its eye; I'm a bit of a nutcase and think of the statue as a real person and if I can get the exact right angle I can make it look alive.
I think the trees will have to go and possibly adding a little contrast. A vertical aspect might bring the face closer to a powerpoint.
So, what is she thinking.

[FrankMi]

If I get a chance for a re-shoot (this location is about 750 miles from where I live) Steve, I'll try for better conditions and I'll apply your PP suggestions.

What is the thinking? Until I can find out who she is and why her statue is there, my guess is as good as yours. It's a little like trying to determine what the Mona Lisa is thinking but at least there we know her name.

A couple of other views...