have at it!

[nabero]

I've been working on this photo a bit. And here are two different edits I came up with:

#1

#2 (slightly desaturated)

[My dvd-drive in my computer is not working, so I cannot get at my original files, so I'm editing from ones I posted a while ago on a blog...so I apologize for the not so great quality]

But here is the original--with the blown out sky I was trying to fix and adjust to match:

As always, honest comments and constructive criticism are very welcome! I really want to get better, so please rip it apart! :sillysmi:

Cheers!

 

[The_Traveler]

First, these are wonderful recovery from the dullish originals.
I think these are very, very nice as they are, colors and composition (shame about their feet) , but have terrific potential. The colors of two umbrellas in foreground are echoed in background (sky and building)

I usually hate selective color but it might be terrific here. I would love to see partially desaturated backgrounds with the color of the umbrellas just slightly pumped up.

 

[enne]

I really like the partial desaturation. what The_Traveler is saying is a good idea, i'd like to see that too!

 

[Alex_B]

1 feels a bit too strong for me, 2 a bit too weak ... my favourite would be in between

I agree selective colour is an interesting idea here ... maybe just the umbrellas and one house ..

Schöne Bilder!

 

[EJBPhoto]

Nice picture I decided to do a very quick play. I actually thought they LACKED color considering what you could do with them, so I pumped up the color, did a lot of burning... I wish the right top corner wasn't blown because burning all the edges would look nice Anyway, here's my really quick play. Obviously not perfect. Mostly just a combination of dubbing the layer, adding a lot of contrast and saturation, and then erasing it from the people so they didn't look like oompa loompas. Also recropped and sharpened, I believe.

 

[The_Traveler]

And on the other hand, my idea for contrast.
On a full res image, I think you could add some shimmer to teh background that would make this POP.

 

[nabero]

Thanks for everyone's input! I'll definitely look into the selective color. I'm a complete sucker for it, so I was trying to resist the temptation, but since you brought it up, The_Traveler, I'll give it a go on this one!

I have some newbie questions--what are "shimmer" and "burning"?

Really looking forward to fiddling with this photo more! Thanks for all your suggestions :sillymsi:

 

[The_Traveler]

In a rainy scene, I add a layer with a little color and a pattern and adjust its opacity and the blending mode till the background looks a little like rain if falling.

Burning is just adding more 'light' to any spot - thus making it darker.

 

[nabero]

So, I've been working on it a bit...trying out what you have suggested and this is one I ended up with

I'm not sure how much of a difference I made or if it's getting better or worse...been looking at it too long. Honest comments and critiques very welcome! I'm learning as I go so I appreciate all the feedback! :sillysmi:

Thanks!

 

[Alex_B]

well, the last version is pretty pleasing. however most people will easily see that it has been processed and it lost a bit of realism ... since it appears a rainy day and exposure is just "too good" in most parts of the scene, but that does not mean I do not like it.

to be honest, I like the first two AND this version it all depends on the purpose of the image, and on the wall it will hang on