Does my edit improve the shot or should I leave it as is?

[RKW3]

I've been tampering around with photomatix and photoshop, and while I thought my original picture of this was a great capture, the image seemed a little flat. A long time ago when I posted this many people enjoyed it, so I know nothing is wrong with the original. I just wanted to try some heavy post-processing on this one to see what I could come up with.


Original:

Edited:

Too much? Or do you like the look?

 

[Alex_B]

IMHO you oversaturated the ball a bit.

The blue sky, well it is like a blueish grey washed out sky, which does not really fit into the light you have on the rest of the image...

 

[RKW3]

Thanks, I see what you mean on both topics of what you said. The sky is "fake" since the sky was severely over-exposed on the original. I will try to fix the tone.

And I will desaturate the ball. I will post a new version soon to see if it's better. Thanks for your comment Alex!

 

[PNA]

Go with the edited one......the ball stands out.

If you can extract the ball, perhaps darking the background a bit more.

 

[RKW3]

Is the better Alex??

 

[RKW3]

Go with the edited one......the ball stands out.

If you can extract the ball, perhaps darking the background a bit more.

It's good to hear that I should go with the edited one after all my hard work.

Here's another version where I darkened the background. It may be hard to tell.

 

[Alex_B]

I think, the sky is still to dark, that is what looks odd about it I think. .. but that is just me .. we need more than just my opinion on this

 

[RKW3]

I think, the sky is still to dark, that is what looks odd about it I think. .. but that is just me .. we need more than just my opinion on this

Hmm yes I guess I could have brightened it even more. Thanks for the tips!

 

[RKW3]

Alex, I may finally have it!

And also looking back of my edit where I darkened the background; I don't like it very much. It makes the ball look 2d-ish, like it was pasted into the picture. Oh well.

 

[ilyfel]

I like the first edited one the best out of all the ones you posted...

 

[RKW3]

Interesting. Yeah the first edit is probably the most dramatic.

Thanks for the comment.

 

[skieur]

The first edit is best as well as the idea of a blue sky but the real problem is that you do not yet have the right natural shade of blue. Get that and it will be much better.

skieur

 

[NikonD40x@Denver]

How about this Edit?........ U may or may not like it

 

[mui]

This last picture is closest to being the best one - blown out skies turning grey is a classic technically incorrect solution - professionally it isn't an option.

Replacing your sky is definately the best choice, however the composite of your last picture is also technically incorrect. Look at how out of focus the crowd is in the bg. Now look at how in focus your clouds are. They are further in the distance, should be more out of focus than your crowd.

Also the cutout of the sky is very obvious, but seeing as your sky is so white - you should be able to get away with using a transfer mode on this area - this will save you from having to cut out and will avoid that PS look...

it's a nice shot though!!! and in response to the original question, i think that editing shots GENERALLY does improve them, but PS is a definite skill, as is compositing, and unless you're confident with what you're doing to your images, the result can look 'very photoshopped.' Some people like that look, there are a lot of artists who work like that, but I much prefer subtle photoshop work...