Which edit do you like best?

[SquarePeg]

Learned a new editing technique and tried it out on some photos from this weekend after I had edited them with my "old" way. Which do you prefer? And why? Also open to any critique for improvement on either photo.

1.
star gazing at the salt marsh by SharonCat..., on Flickr


2.
Salt marsh pano 3 by SharonCat..., on Flickr

 

[Space Face]

The second for me but it needs some NR applied.

I'd also crop off the black area at the bottom as it adds nothing to the picture.

 

[Space Face]

Seeing as you have 'OK to Edit' tagged, I've had a punt. A little touch of NR, cropped off the bottom and healed out a couple of hot spots on the water. Hope that's ok.

 

[Warhorse]

#2 is my favorite, and I also like what Space Face did to it.

 

[paigew]

Agreed. #2 is awesome, I love how you've brought out the colors.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

Looking at these on my phone, I like the first best, but they probably take on a totally different life on a big screen. The yellow light at the right side is distracting.

 

[PJM]

I like #2 as the milky way really stands out, and has more color. The light pollution on the horizon is a bit strong for me though.

 

[Jeff15]

Number two for me......

 

[mjcmt]

Your 2nd edit is closer. I'd put the horizon 1/3 for the way up from bottom (rule of thirds), and darken sky, use more natural milkyway colors w/ less blown out highlights.

 

[SquarePeg]

The second for me but it needs some NR applied.

I'd also crop off the black area at the bottom as it adds nothing to the picture.

Thanks for the input. I may lift the shadows a bit on the bottom to show the reeds that are there. If they don't look good I'll crop it.

Seeing as you have 'OK to Edit' tagged, I've had a punt. A little touch of NR, cropped off the bottom and healed out a couple of hot spots on the water. Hope that's ok.

View attachment 197451

Looks good!

#2 is my favorite, and I also like what Space Face did to it.

Agreed. Thanks for the input.

Agreed. #2 is awesome, I love how you've brought out the colors.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Thank you. I think I may have to go back and re edit all of my recent Milky Way photos with this new technique! It will give me something to do this winter.

Looking at these on my phone, I like the first best, but they probably take on a totally different life on a big screen. The yellow light at the right side is distracting.

Yes I do need to do a little cloning on the hot spots.

I like #2 as the milky way really stands out, and has more color. The light pollution on the horizon is a bit strong for me though.

Thanks - good point. Will try to deal with that a bit better.

Number two for me......

Thanks...

 

[SquarePeg]

Your 2nd edit is closer. I'd put the horizon 1/3 for the way up from bottom (rule of thirds), and darken sky, use more natural milkyway colors w/ less blown out highlights.

Thanks I appreciate your input.

 

[weepete]

I like 2 better. I agree with pretty much all the comments above, the light at the horizon is better in the 1st, the yellow light is a lot more subdued and I do like just being able to see the reeds but the sky in the 2nd a lot more.

 

[smoke665]

Can I choose both???? Or maybe a combination of the two. I like the sky colors, but I also like a little detail in the trees, shoreline and reeds. I'm always jealous of those who get out at night to take these. I start out with the best intentions, but the body just won't cooperate.

 

[SquarePeg]

Thanks all for the suggestions and feedback. I tried the edit again but with all your input in mind. What do you think? I think the sky could be a bit darker but when I do the MW gets a bit lost. I like the reeds and the reflected colors in the water and don't plan on changing that or the horizon line. I have other photos from this spot that are more traditional with the rule of thirds followed. This is a 2 shot vertical pano to get the whole MW and all the reflection in the water into the one photo. I'm on the fence about the boathouse bing visible or not... I have other photos with the boathouse light painted that better showcase it and think it distracts from the MW in this one...

salt marsh milky way 3 by SharonCat..., on Flickr

 

[limr]

I'm going to be the odd one out.

I like the first one.

Yes, you can see the Milky Way more clearly in the second version. And I agree that the second version is better with the bottom part cropped. Those two edits would make this a pretty, technically-proficient image.

I just get a lot more feelings from the first one and feel it's the much more interesting edit. You don't see the Milky Way as distinctly, but unless you want this image to be all about "Milky Way! And silhouette landscape!" then you don't really need to see all of those details. The first image is dreamy, almost spooky - it's as much an image of an atmosphere as it is of the actual things represented in the image. The eyes first go from the the Milky Way and stars, to the silhouette of a sleepy town, and then the eyes travel down the soft reflections until they see those awesomely ghostly-looking reeds/grasses in the foreground. It's like going from the vastness of the universe down to the small details of life.

And I think a lot of that story, that atmosphere, is in the cooler tones that are more consistent throughout the image, and the fact that those foreground details are all but gone in the second edit. Also, that yellow light, which is less prominent in the first version, now becomes part of the story of the image (Who's still awake?") rather than a 'flaw' that you need to edit out.