Xmas Lights

[selig1656]

Pic 1
RSF_9393 edited by Raymond Friedman, on Flickr
Pic 2
RSF_9397 edited by Raymond Friedman, on Flickr
Pic 3
RSF_9413 ed by Raymond Friedman, on Flickr

[Manfred M]

Raymond - I'm not loving the heavy yellow colour cast; try using a different white balance (Tungsten would be a good place to start) and the deep shadows. The cluttered foreground with the parked cars is not working all that well for me either.

[Wavelength]

I think Manfred's color balance did well for the image. The second image is not sharp i feel. Is that taken through glass of a car?

[selig1656]

I agree on the color balance,the cars are as they are.

[Dave Humphries]

I actually prefer the original colour balance on the first image, I assume we've all seen such light sets and can, while out walking past, differentiate between the "warm white" and "cool white" types. I'd suggest that removing that 'cast' by using a tungsten WB actually makes the shot less like real life (whatever that is ). I would crop a bit off the RHS though. For me, the cars provide context for the viewpoint and they don't worry me (once the most distracting, on RHS, is removed).

Yeah, the second shot is "shaken, not stirred" - not to my taste.

For the third, I'd crop a little differently in post, with perhaps a nudge ccw.

When I sit down to process a photo these days, uppermost in my mind is: what I did I want to achieve in the shot and what can I now do (in PP), to deliver that?

For example, I must shoot with the sensor's aspect ratio, but if that includes distracting elements (for the composition I had in mind), I will lop them off. I'll admit I don't always appreciate, when shooting, just how distracting some things can be, especially if shooting in the cold or while moving.

These days, if I shoot a scene, I will give the image a quick study on LCD and re-shoot if there's an obvious improvement to be made, perhaps from a slight higher/lower/straighter camera position, or with better exposure compensation for the dynamic range in view. I rarely try to combine photography with any other activity, I need to be mentally focussed (on photography alone) to achieve acceptable (to me) results - that's how I improve, but I have the luxury of time (being retired). I understand not everyone does.

Hope that helps,
Dave