Sunset Orchards

[JoshC.]

Hey all!
I'm pretty happy with these two, so I figured instead of clogging the beginners section I'd throw 'em here.
These came after shooting for and hour or so in grey, boring skies. Just as I had to stop, the skies finally started opening up. I cursed my luck, but after getting out of church and hour later the sky had become even more spectacular. :razz:
I would love to hear your feedback!!

1.

2.

 

[tyler_h]

I like the first a lot more than the second; basing that on composition. A little more contrast in the sky could be nie to really bring out those colours.
In the second have a look at your colours; wb is off; well - snow does show blue but I think it would be a more pleasing image if you made the snow white which would also strengthen the yellows and pinks in the sky.

 

[JoshC.]

I like the first a lot more than the second; basing that on composition. A little more contrast in the sky could be nie to really bring out those colours.
In the second have a look at your colours; wb is off; well - snow does show blue but I think it would be a more pleasing image if you made the snow white which would also strengthen the yellows and pinks in the sky.

I agree with you on number two. Except if i toned the blue down then the sky lost its pop. So how do I fix the white balance without losing the sky?

 

[edtek]

i love both pictures, but the first being my fav!

 

[JoshC.]

i love both pictures, but the first being my fav!

Thank you very much!

 

[tyler_h]

I like the first a lot more than the second; basing that on composition. A little more contrast in the sky could be nie to really bring out those colours.
In the second have a look at your colours; wb is off; well - snow does show blue but I think it would be a more pleasing image if you made the snow white which would also strengthen the yellows and pinks in the sky.

I agree with you on number two. Except if i toned the blue down then the sky lost its pop. So how do I fix the white balance without losing the sky?

Now on desktop monitor instead of laptop; second looks even more cyan :| You could try fixing the wb then masking so you only affect the sky and increasing the contrast (probably drop the brightness a little as you do it too)).

The other thing that can work well in cloudy sky is masking for just the sky then creating a hue/sat adjustment layer and adjusting the cyan's towards the ultramarine blues a little (3-9ish sort of number will vary by image). Best use for this is when you have blue sky and white clouds as cameras tend to render more cyan in the transitions than we see ourselves but could help you a little here. Try this in the first image too; there is a fairly cyan band in the lower part of the blue section of sky. Whether it looks better or not is a lot up to the individual but I think it works for realism in most cases.

 

[JoshC.]

I like the first a lot more than the second; basing that on composition. A little more contrast in the sky could be nie to really bring out those colours.
In the second have a look at your colours; wb is off; well - snow does show blue but I think it would be a more pleasing image if you made the snow white which would also strengthen the yellows and pinks in the sky.

I agree with you on number two. Except if i toned the blue down then the sky lost its pop. So how do I fix the white balance without losing the sky?

Now on desktop monitor instead of laptop; second looks even more cyan :| You could try fixing the wb then masking so you only affect the sky and increasing the contrast (probably drop the brightness a little as you do it too)).

The other thing that can work well in cloudy sky is masking for just the sky then creating a hue/sat adjustment layer and adjusting the cyan's towards the ultramarine blues a little (3-9ish sort of number will vary by image). Best use for this is when you have blue sky and white clouds as cameras tend to render more cyan in the transitions than we see ourselves but could help you a little here. Try this in the first image too; there is a fairly cyan band in the lower part of the blue section of sky. Whether it looks better or not is a lot up to the individual but I think it works for realism in most cases.

Wow thank you for all of that information. I really appreciate it. Now I have to figure out how to do it all!