Cave Dwelling!

[tennischic05]

Here's a picture of an ancient cave dwelling. Comments and criticism welcome!

[Blazing fire]

I'll be very candid and I hope you don't mind!

The photo lacks the x-factor. It's a boring and plain shot which does not catch one's attention. I believe it could be improved by angling it differently to add perspective distortion or to simply frame the picture better. It should also be post-processed to improve the colour etc.

Just my 2 cents. Please don't take offense.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Emma,

I note this wasn't shot with your usual Canon, and it does seem to be struggling a bit in quality terms.

It isn't particularly sharp despite the high shutter speed and low ISO and, in the high contrast lighting, the blacks are crushed.

I also noticed from the EXIF you have had it pass through Elements 6, did you do much to it there?
Since I have that (although not on a Mac), I wonder, would it be possible to post the "as shot" full size frame to see if a little different PP might help it more?
I'd obviously let you know what I did

You may/will need to use the sendthisfile method Colin usually recommends to get it to me, as it will be too big to use the CiC attachment method.

Here's how Colin suggests we use it:

pop along to www.sendthisfile.com - create a free account - have the link sent to yourself - and then copy/paste the link to me in a PM).

Hope that helps,

[tennischic05]

Blazing Fire- no offense taken! Thanks for the input!

Dave- Yup, this was taken with an older camera (fuji), before I got the Canon. What do you mean by "the blacks aren't crushed?"( I have had very little experience, so I don't really know what a lot of photography terms mean). How could I fix this problem? Also, I will work on editing this photo, and getting a 'send this file' account. Thank you for the input!

[Geoff F]

Try a crop of the left side. Possibly change the ratio to 2 x 3 which will make the ladder appear longer and concentrate on the doorway; which should give the whole image a bit more 'pop'.

[Dave Humphries]

~ this was taken with an older camera (fuji), before I got the Canon. What do you mean by "the blacks aren't crushed?"

Hi Emma,

I actually said "the blacks are crushed", my apologies, because that is actually a slip in to a past life of TV production.

I meant to say "the blacks are clipped". which is possibly a term you have heard. It means there is no apparent detail in the shadow areas of the image. OK, we might expect the cave entrance to hold no detail, but there are other areas, like the shadow of the ladder and the 3 other dark areas where it just looks too black, if you know what I mean.

I gather setting up one of those free accounts doesn't take long, hope you manage it.

It is possible the picture was irrevocably knackered when the camera made the jpg, but we'll see, hopefully.

Cheers,