should I keep it or get rid of it? C&C please

[CorrieMichael]

So I cut off his leg.....which is okay for me because this was at the end of the session and we had gotten all our images we wanted.....but I ended up loving how this turned out. My bigger question is because of the setting I wanted to keep the light house in the image.......now I also think it is a little distracting.........should I keep it or should I get rid of it?

 

[tirediron]

Level the horizon, lose the lighthouse and bin the vignette = great image. The cropped bit of leg really has almost no impact on this image at all. This is a great family keepsake shot!

 

[SnS]

X2 Get rid of it. It is distracting.

 

[CorrieMichael]

thanks that's what I thought but my nostalgia gets in the way sometimes

 

[frommrstomommy]

Can't even see its really a lighthouse lol.

 

[frommrstomommy]

I'd probably try to clone in the water to fill the top of the frame.. The horizon way at the top would probably drive me nuts

 

[Derrel]

The lighthouse belongs on that long spit of land that juts out into the water. Cloning out a big, major landmark that way in a shot like this is a bad idea, in my opinion. I think the fact that it's a MAJOR landmark in that locality makes removing it a non-starter. This shot is or was based on "location within a specific environment"; if you crop it out, it becomes yet another generic type shot that could have been made in a pond someplace.

As for leveling the horizon, yes, that could be done. Luckily the lighthouse and the shining beacon are near the center, so it's small potatoes to level this one...but, if you really wanna go whole-hog...I would clone-in more sky above the lighthouse, all the way across the frame. If there were more sky above the lighthouse and its beacon, the whole "background bokeh rendering" of the lighthouse would make a bit more visual sense, and would be less attention-grabbing.

 

[amolitor]

You could probably just tone the lighthouse down a bunch, mainly the big circular dot of highlight at the top edge of the frame. Just darken that down to "a little brighter than the sky" and it should pretty much fix the distraction.

 

[Restomage]

Unless you're trying to win an award with this image, I'd say it's not necessary to get rid of it, or even worry about it for that matter.

 

[Gavjenks]

I think the lighthouse looks bizarre here and doesn't contribute to the photo.

Yes, if you remove it, it could have just been taken in any old pond like Derrel says. However, which is better: a generic pond photo? Or no photo at all if you trash it for distraction (as seemed to be where you were leaning)?

 

[sarah_19_nz]

great shot in my opinion, a keeper for sure they will love it!