Urban/A man reading the News

[jorogume]

I took this picture yesterday at downtown with my A720IS
I found these faults:
* Overexposed at the top (I forgot to check the histogram :mad:)
* A bit out of focus (not sure about the reason).

But I would like to read your critiques about the picture and the post-processing.

Thank you.

Here is the Original Picture. (Large size here) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/25602873@N04/2412779511/sizes/l/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3036/2412779511_56e2e9ed09.jpg?v=0

Here is my final version. (Large size here) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/25602873@N04/2412799611/sizes/l/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/2412799611_140e919c21.jpg?v=0

Thanks.

[eddarr]

Welcome to the forum. The top is overexposed just because it is white compared to the blue/grey down below. If you had metered off of the white then down below would be underexposed. The black and white helps the exposure but you should be able to fix it somewhat in PP.

Also, you list the XSi on your wish list. You may want to look at a used 30D for less money or a new 40D for just a little more.

[ADAPTE]

Good picture. I agree with eddarr about the exposure, but IMHO the picture doesn´t need the top part, you could crop it and have a stronger image.

[Glenn NK]

Good picture. I agree with eddarr about the exposure, but IMHO the picture doesn´t need the top part, you could crop it and have a stronger image.


Agreed.

You might also try several different crops, including taking less of the sides.

[jorogume]

eddarr: thanks for the advice about exposition, and thanks about the camera recommendation Maybe a just got impressed by the 12MP of the XSi, but the 40D specs looks better, and the price difference is not much so maybe I should start thinking twice about my future camera.

ADAPTE, Glenn: thanks for the feedback. Cropping... ..definitely, one of my areas of improvement because I don't easily see how much to crop from a composition, specially when objects will be trimmed. In this picture, I left the top trying to make the man look small and fragile, and trying to avoid cutting the columns :confused:. I will keep trying to get that special sense to find the "strong image". Below I just pasted a different cropping, please let me know what you think.

What about this cropping (Large Size Here) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/25602873@N04/2413451725/sizes/l/):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2250/2413451725_291d0d8d77.jpg?v=0

[Redman25]

I'm no pro or anything, but I definitely prefer the colored version. The colors are truly beautiful. I like the composition of the original also over the cropped version. Just my 2 cents.

[Glenn NK]

If you wander over to Naturescapes.net and look at a few threads where someone submits an image, you'll soon notice that there will be several different takes and opinions on an image, often directly opposite views. They're mostly very good photographers on that site, but the point is that none are right and none are wrong.

This part of photography is art, not science; imagination is the most useful tool.

I see your point about making the man look small - that's a good creative approach IMO, and I like your last crop.

Guidelines can be used to crop an image, but I would never suggest any rules. I think the best way to get a feel for it is to look at the work of good photographers (another site is photo.net - it has some superb work, and it's rated by other photographers). There are some very good photographers on this site, but it tends to be more gear-oriented, that's why I suggested the other sites.

I'm not going to offer any more advice as I'm still a work in progress.:D


PS Edit: I agree with Redman about the colour. So this could change the crop entirely.

[jorogume]

Redman, Glenn: Thanks a lot for your time helping me. I am checking right now those sites you recommended.

[Flo]

Love the original! The muted colors, size of the columns and the man...paper, bike.everything works for me.