River Bend - Critique

[Rainforest]

Hi, I've been working hard on this shot and would appreciate your comments and any further PP ideas. I currently use LR and am learning Luminar. I shot it this fall down the road from my house - only wish I could trespass to get some more angles on this spot! Thanks a lot.

[Wavelength]

A superb image; feeling absorbed

[Manfred M]

This image looks like it is significantly underexposed. I opened it up in Photoshop and the histogram show virtually no data toward the right hand side, yet I see lots of specular highlights in the water that normally would either be clipped or would be close to being clipped.

[Rainforest]

;-) Nandakumar. Our mantra is "embrace the rain, the wetness, the moisture"...you get the idea.

[Rainforest]

Thanks Manfred - so try to up the overall exposure? I took down the highlights on the water.

[Manfred M]

Thanks Manfred - so try to up the overall exposure? I took down the highlights on the water.

It depends on what you want to do with the image. I am looking at the technical aspects of the image. If the image contains values that range from black to white, and the histogram does not show that this is the case in the final image, then there is a technical issue with the shot. This affects both the exposure and the contrast.

The normal technique is to ensure you have a correctly set black point and white point (these are usually set where the histogram starts to ramp up) and then changing the mid-point values to darken and lighten the image. This protects the tonal range of the image.

The white point and black point set would look like this:






If this is not the mood you want, then adjusting the mid-point (gamma) will protect the white point and black point, while enabling you to lighten or darken the image appropriately. You might run into technical (artifacts) on a jpeg, but with raw, you should be able to get a satisfactory result.





You can do this type of adjustment in Lightroom.

[bnnrcn]

Lovely shot Susan. I prefer your version as it is similar to what we see in foggy days , it looks more natural

[Rainforest]

Thank you for the examples and explanations Manfred. Even with the raw shot I ran into trouble setting the white point due to the fog - I really didn't want it so bright and so perhaps I will try to do that more selectively and see what I get. It was a very subdued scene and oh so quiet - I'm trying to retain that and yet highlight the light some. ...it's time to play some more in LR ;-). Thank you! again.

[Rainforest]

Lovely shot Susan. I prefer your version as it is similar to what we see in foggy days , it looks more natural

Thanks Binnur, that makes me happy that it feels natural.

[Donald]

Susan - I hope you don't mind, but the best way of showing how I reacted to your image was to show you. If you want me to take this down, please say so.

The thought that immediately came into my mind when I saw your image was 'contrast', or to be more precise, 'Local Contrast Enhancement (LCE).

I often produce low contrast images because I feel that they enhance mood and atmosphere. But my reaction was that your image could maybe do with a bit of an injection of LCE just to give it a bit more 'pop', but not so much as to ruin the beautiful mood that is in your image. So .............. one alternative interpretation :- (But I do think it's all about the mood you want to create. You were the person there at the time and you know what you were experiencing. Go with that feeling. What you've produced is a beautiful image.)

[pnodrog]

Donald I think you have done a well restrained adjustment. Kept the overall mood but given it a needed lift. The ducks on the far bank were almost hidden before.

Susan as well as agreeing with Donald's tonal adjustments I would either like to see a little more dark water at the bottom of the photo or the highlights along the bottom edge just toned down a fraction. I have found it pays to be very careful with brighter area's on the perimeter of images. It is one of the reasons vignetting often works well and a very mild one may do so with this photo.

[Adrian J]

Hi Guys,

Whilst trying to find some in depth information on white balance I landed on this page and joined the CiC forum specifically to post a reply.

I think the original post processing is simply superb capturing the atmosphere precisely and drawing you into the shot which says a lot.

The 'general' histogram in PS CC is not 'sensitive' enough to show that the whites (specular highlights) are well to the right and can be seen much better in the levels histogram where they arent that far from clipping.

Lifting the white point in levels might help but I reckon the light was subdued when shot and I dont think it would be an improvement to a shot that is so well processed from the outset.

Anyway, just my two penny worth from someone who knows relatively little compared to the pro's but knows a good shot when he sees one and constantly strives to get anything remotely similar

[Shadowman]

Nice shot.

[Rainforest]

Donald - Good advice all. I don't mind a bit and this is very much where I would like to aim. Very nice. Are these LR edits? If you want to take the time I would be interested in more precise information about how you applied the edits. I see more contrast and lighter areas as well but I'm not certain how it was applied (LR is still quite new to me). Is that with contrast, clarity, dehaze or the tone curve? Thank you for the kind words and your time Donald..

[Rainforest]

Thanks Paul. I'm getting excited to go at this one again, appreciate the advice.

[Rainforest]

Nice shot.

Thanks John.

[Tronhard]

coming from just up the coast from you Susan, I know exactly the kind of forest image you were presented with. I think you have a powerful photo, and I also like the understated nature of your treatment. I DO agree with Donald's approach of using changes in light levels, combined with contrast to let the mid-tones come more to the fore. When you come to a conclusion that YOU like I would love to see your final result.

By the way, while I have not been to Oregon, I have seen pictures of the state that really make me envious of your location.

[Cantab]

Susan, like Trev, I know this type of scenery well. I'm torn between your posted version and Donald's edits. As others have said, I think it all depends on what mood you're wanting to create.

[rpcrowe]

I like the original version... I have fished rivers in the Northwest that looked like this with very few highlights and a very low key appearance...

[Rainforest]

I missed your post earlier Adrian.. Welcome! I happily stumbled into CIC recently myself. Everyone brings something unique. Thanks for your kind and helpful comments even if I don't completely grasp all the histogram nuances.. just yet!