Christian, I’m afraid we’re regressing here. The brightest part of the new image is the concrete handrail to the right of the main part of the cross, and that pulls the eye first. Then there is the arc over the door – that pulls the eye next. The tonality of the cross is very close to that of the church building, and therefore the cross disappears in the façade of the church. You need better separation between the cross and the background.
Here’s an idea: what if you shot when the sun is low on the left (then the façade of the church will be in shadow), and you position the cross so that it covers the bright handrail (just as you did in the first image), then gave the cross some front light with a fill light, say off-camera and to your right? Again, wide open aperture (we want blurring of the background even if it is in shadow). Maybe a polarizer to drop the brightness of the sky (since the sun will be on the left, you’re at 90 degrees, the best angle to get maximum polarization).
I apologize in advance if you find these comments to be overbearing – but I find that you have a good eye for the subject, now it’s figuring out the photographic tools to bring out the best in it…
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