Winnie Estelle; what might I do to improve this image?

[AndrewMcD]

I was basically pleased with the composition. There is a lot of sky and water but I felt it was interesting enough not to crop. I tried to remove the two bright lamps but my cloning/healing skills in Lightroom just aren't good enough to do so without it being obvious. Shot just after dawn.
Sony NEX-6, crop factor 1.5, 19mm lens, f/11, ss 1/20.
Thank you,
Andrew

[Clive Kirby]

You could try cropping the edges to lose the red brick path on the left and make the "rip rap" stone bank fit snug into the bottom right corner. The sky is a bit overexposed, but without grad filters or lots of post processing that's something we have to accept sometimes. It does seem a little blue, was the white balance set right? I am being picky here since you asked for suggestions to improve. Overall it's a nice shot, great light well composed, you obviously considered the photograph. I didn't notice the lights at first. I was once advised to take lots of photos as you approach your subject so you have a variety of perspectives. Did you take any closer to the jetty and boat?
regards
Clive

[Stagecoach]

Hi Andrew,

The composition as it is is fine for me but it seems overexposed.

I had a play with it and a fair bit of detail and colour can be pulled out of the sky and a boost in contrast makes it look a different image. I will post what I have done if that's ok with you?

Grahame

[pnodrog]

Hi Andrew, the lights do not worry me and I think between Clive and Grahame they have covered most points. The only other thing is I think it may beifit by warming the tones a bit. The simplest way would be to increase the colour temperature a little with Lightroom.

[AndrewMcD]

The common response seems to be that the image is a bit overexposed and could also use a boost in color temp. I have reduced exposure, boosted color temp (shot in auto white balance) and tweaked contrast, particularly with the LR Clarity setting.

Grahame - Please do post your modified version; I would be more than pleased to see it.

Thank you to all for the comments,


Andrew

[Clive Kirby]

Great improvement - certainly makes the boat and wharf stand out more. It also has a lot more depth now. Nice work.

[Stagecoach]

Hi Andrew,

Here's what I did which is simply a darker version of what you have done.



Grahame

[Brownbear]

beautiful scene and a lovely composition... I'm not sure if I prefer the lighter or darker exposure. I think I prefer your edit for the lighter foreground and Grahames edit for the sky...