Black and white autumn photo?

[Shanny]

Is it blasphemy to desaturate an autumn photo like this? CC's as well please.

 

[o hey tyler]

Being from a Fall Foliage state myself, I feel like a lot of the fun and beauty of the season is lost with only 256 shades of gray.

 

[Derrel]

Where I live we spell it gray. "Grey" is a fightin' word!

 

[o hey tyler]

Where I live we spell it gray. "Grey" is a fightin' word!

Sorry, I own a greyhound. Sometimes the spelling slips! Haha.

 

[ann]

what is blasphemy is the falling leaves(regardless of color) to be distracting to the charm of the childs face.

 

[Derrel]

Looking at this longer, I think that it might look good with a "retro" type of Photoshop treatment. Something that makes it look old, and kind of faded, maybe with tattered edges--almost as if the photo were shot in the 1920's or 1930's...or, maybe if it were desaturated and faded-looking, with some good and realistic-looking film damage and dust spots...something designed to make it look as if the image is timeless and not a new, digital capture.

In full color, this image would have a different look entirely, and I think the leaves might be dominant...in this monochrome look, the boy and the leaves are about equal in interest.

 

[Shanny]

what is blasphemy is the falling leaves(regardless of color) to be distracting to the charm of the childs face.

I was more trying to capture a feeling or emotion rather than a classic portrait. Isn't that what every great photographer or artist aspires to do? Capture emotion? There is actually a great shot of Annie Leibovitz taken by John Keatley where her entire hand is obstructing her face. It's not by any means a "classic" portrait, but it conveys emotion which is what made it great.

That being said, (and I'm not really sure if you were just trying to be cute) but one must remember that this is a beginners forum. There is constructive criticism to enable one to learn, and there is destructive criticism where nothing of any value is presented. Until one learns all there is to learn about our art form (which probably will be never) perhaps the destructiveness should be kept to one self.

 

[KenC]

It's not blasphemy to desaturate anything you want, as long as it works. This one does. Capturing leaves in mid-air accentuates the seasonal feel of it and so does the toning. I like the fact that there is a large brightness range in the leaves from almost white to very dark. I used to shoot autumn leaves on bw film with a yellow filter which made the yellow leaves almost white while not affecting the other colors much. You could do this in bw conversion in ps by adjusting the amounts of the color channels.

The only suggestions I have are to darken the bright areas in the upper left and right, and darken the bottom corners a little.

 

[jackiejay]

I think you captured the feeling It is was a great shot,I like that you did it in black and white.

 

[LittleItaly]

Personally when I think of fall I think of gorgeous deep reds and oranges! I like the photo but I think it would be much better in color!

 

[ann]

i was making an attempt of humor, altho, i am intited to my opinion, and this is a lovely child, but you brought the word blasphmy into the interduction of the thread. It would never have crossed my mind to use that word ;with out your lead i would have, lovely photo that i find myself distracted from the leaves falling around the childs face.

But i will remember to keep my mouth shut

 

[8ball]

I feel like its not a grab you out of your seat B&W, its missing something like the emotional connection you get from a B&W

 

[sovietdoc]

Personally, I think that taking B/W photos of things that stand out because of the color (autumn, flowers, etc) is silly. You have a nice shot there, but I almost bet that in color it looks better.

 

[DirtyDFeckers]

I like this shot in black and white.... good for you for trying something a little different.

 

[RauschPhotography]

I wouldn't say desaturating this picture is 'blasphemy'. If it were shot in color, it would more likely be overseen than your desaturation. I've got to agree with Derrel, I think this picture could definitely look cool with some retro/vintage influences!