Whats the point? Input please!!!

[Skhigh]

Ok, so I love photographing nature and wildlife because it is beautiful-imperfections and all! So my question is-how much touching up should be done? I feel like adjusting the brightness/contrast and small things like that are fine, but "erasing" weeds or spots and such should be left alone. What is the point of taking a photo of nature/wildlife if you are going to try to make it look perfect....

 

[SCraig]

Read your signature. Especially the first sentence.

In many ways I see nature as being closer to perfect than man-made objects. If something is in the way and I don't want it there I have no objections to removing it. If the contrast or color or brightness or anything else needs fixing to make it look the way I want it to look then I have no objections to doing it.

 

[jriepe]

You do as much editing as you are comfortable with. If you are uncomfortable cloning out needless clutter then leave the clutter in. In other words to each his own. How much is too much is up to the person doing the editing.

Jerry

 

[Skhigh]

I agree with both of you,..here is a photo that I took..my teacher told me that I should think about cloning out all the dead weeds on the rocks...I think they should stay...

 

[SCraig]

That looks familiar. Is it at Old Stone Fort State Park?

I'd get rid of them to. If someone were painting that scene I doubt they would show the weeds on the rocks. Should photography be any different? They aren't adding anything to the scene and in some ways detract from it.

 

[Skhigh]

hmm...that is a good point.. This is at the spill-way of Montgomry Bell State Park!

 

[marmots]

i agree with the teacher on that one

the weeds just give off a completely different feel than the water, it looks like they should be in a completely different image

the water has a beautiful sort of heavenly look, whereas the weeds look like something out od a dark, grungy/scary image

they just kind of clash

 

[SCraig]

hmm...that is a good point.. This is at the spill-way of Montgomry Bell State Park!

May have to run down there some time. I love a good waterfall

 

[Overread]

I can see where your teacher is coming from, weeds are a somewhat messy and distracting element, plus the composition puts the rocks fairly strong in the frame, which then has you looking at the weeds a whole lot more. Personally I'd consider it too much work for little gain in the shot to remove the weeds (to a good degree of quality).

I'd rather consider heading back (if possible) and trying to get a stronger composition that shifts the focus of the viewer away from the weedy rocks and plays on the water more.

I'm not sure about the strength of the composition over the whole shot - it might be a little weak which makes distractions stronger elements since there is less to compete with them.


All that said if the weeds had not been flagged by you (and your teacher) I would, personally, have probably not noticed them as anything more than part of the scene that you captured.

 

[Skhigh]

hmm...that is a good point.. This is at the spill-way of Montgomry Bell State Park!

May have to run down there some time. I love a good waterfall

There are a few levels to it, none of them are very big but its a really pretty area!

 

[SCraig]

There are a few levels to it, none of them are very big but its a really pretty area!

I've been to Montgomery Bell many times, but I didn't realize there were any falls there. I chased all over Tennessee for waterfalls about 3 years ago. I Really like them in winter when there is ice in places. Bunch of pix Here.

 

[greybeard68 41]

I think my signature says how I feel.

 

[baato]

I don't see a problem with the weeds, and I think sometimes people get a little carried away with manipulation. It's often the case that people manipulate simply because they can, or that they're convinced that they should because they're expected to
Your tutor is entitled to his or her opinion, but hey, it's your photograph, and I think that means that your opinion is what really counts here
Every person (unless they have commercial restraints/customer obligations), should render their pictures just as he or she really wishes to. I think that it's a good pic, and I would be proud of it if it was mine
And, uh, yes, I would leave the weeds in

 

[jriepe]

In this particular shot at this size the weeds don't bother me and if it were my image cloning them out probably wouldn't even enter my mind and if someone pointed them out to me I would probably still leave them in. If the image was displayed much larger where the weeds were more prevalent possibly I would feel differently but I have a difficult time telling much about an image displayed in thumbnail size.

Jerry

 

[Overread]

jriepe - its an attachment using the sites software - if you look just under the picture there is a black bar and the pixels of the fullsized version uploaded displayed. Clicking on the attachment (ie the photo) will open it in fullsize (at the uploaded size of course) in your browser.
If you rightclick on it you can choose to open it in a new tab or you can click it using the middle mouse button (normally located under the scrolling wheel) to auto open it in a new tab (in most browsers).