What would you do with this picture?

I have been sitting here for 4 hours trying to figure what to do with this image. I can't find a crop that I like, and I'm not sure I care for the processing. I like it too much to just junk it because of indecisiveness. I tried to use HDR pro, but converting to 32bit completely screwed up the file and wouldn't even allow it to export as a jpeg for some reason, and I didn't get really anything better than this one exposure. I'm having the editing equivalent of writers block.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/jcareyphoto/10​721059634/

Hi bud I like it I would crop from the first post from the left and being it up to a bit where some of the road shows and some of the gravel shows where was it shot.

steelbluesleepr wrote in post #16431332
I have been sitting here for 4 hours trying to figure what to do with this image. I can't find a crop that I like, and I'm not sure I care for the processing. I like it too much to just junk it because of indecisiveness. I tried to use HDR pro, but converting to 32bit completely screwed up the file and wouldn't even allow it to export as a jpeg for some reason, and I didn't get really anything better than this one exposure. I'm having the editing equivalent of writers block.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/jcareyphoto/10​721059634/
not sure what to do by Jcareyphoto, on Flickr

I'd discard it and try again. The angle and distance are uninteresting. Move to the edge of the road and attempt a lower angle from a much closer location. Neither the pavement nor the surrounding foliage contribute to the image. If the car is supposed to be the main subject, frame it tighter.

DC Fan wrote in post #16431826
I'd discard it and try again. The angle and distance are uninteresting. Move to the edge of the road and attempt a lower angle from a much closer location. Neither the pavement nor the surrounding foliage contribute to the image. If the car is supposed to be the main subject, frame it tighter.

I already have several from this set from the roads edge and other angles.

dambuster wrote in post #16431454
Hi bud I like it I would crop from the first post from the left and being it up to a bit where some of the road shows and some of the gravel shows where was it shot.

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying?

I don't quite know how to explain how I would alter this if it were my photo, so it's easier for me to just show you. I did a quick edit on your pic. ( See below ) Hope you don't mind. If it were mine I would do something along these lines. I would crop in to lose some of the foliage around the edges. Then try to blur the foliage closest to where you took the photo to give a false sense of a larger depth of field. Something like this in the link below.

http://www.flickr.com …00812298@N03/10​735391736/

Just my two cents.

Make it all Black and white except the car.

You may have wasted 4 hours thinking about something that doesn't need any thought. If you don't like an image, just move on. It isn't a particularly compelling image, so wasting time might not be the best move. Having said that, an image on its own is often out of context by itself, however, when combined with other images from different perspectives it can then become part of a visual narrative that says something.

lusospeed wrote in post #16433863
You may have wasted 4 hours thinking about something that doesn't need any thought. If you don't like an image, just move on. It isn't a particularly compelling image, so wasting time might not be the best move. Having said that, an image on its own is often out of context by itself, however, when combined with other images from different perspectives it can then become part of a visual narrative that says something.

I liked the image, that's why I was spending the time to try and figure it out. to be honest, I was kind of just letting it stew on my second monitor while I did other things, coming back to it occasionally to try different processing. Most of the time I had in it was dealing with PS doing some weird things when I tried a 32 bit HDR.

I ended up using a different, better image.

The main thing I liked about the image was all of the space around the car. I've been trying to shoot with more of a mind towards being printed in a magazine, so I left a lot of area in this image for a designer to place text etc.

Darhawk wrote in post #16433657
Make it all Black and white except the car.

not sure if serious...

liquorboxracing wrote in post #16433504
I don't quite know how to explain how I would alter this if it were my photo, so it's easier for me to just show you. I did a quick edit on your pic. ( See below ) Hope you don't mind. If it were mine I would do something along these lines. I would crop in to lose some of the foliage around the edges. Then try to blur the foliage closest to where you took the photo to give a false sense of a larger depth of field. Something like this in the link below.

http://www.flickr.com …00812298@N03/10​735391736/

Just my two cents.

I like the crop, but it's a little too dark/contrasty for what I was going for with this image. Thank you

Liquorboxracing did what I was going on about that is where I would have cropped it

steelbluesleepr wrote in post #16434824
not sure if serious...

yes I was serious, because to my eyes the foliage is distracting. I was trying to just give an idea, if you didn't think of it.
I kinda think you could make the black and white part even more moody and it is could feel as if the little car was going into the Evil Forrest.

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steelbluesleepr wrote in post #16434824
The main thing I liked about the image was all of the space around the car. I've been trying to shoot with more of a mind towards being printed in a magazine, so I left a lot of area in this image for a designer to place text etc.

Giving a client what they want, or as much variety as possible within reason, is always a plus. I have found that magazines for the most part shy away from putting text on images, unless it is an opening image. Images that have more breathing space don't seem to be used as much.

lusospeed wrote in post #16436581
Images that have more breathing space don't seem to be used as much.

OTOH, if you don't have one, some AD will ask for one!
(And NO!, it won't have been on your shot list, either!)

PhotosGuy wrote in post #16437105
OTOH, if you don't have one, some AD will ask for one!
(And NO!, it won't have been on your shot list, either!)

I've had editors say, ah... some images with breathing space, and they never use them. With established relationships, I've gotten a sense of what they use and cater to that. Often the image selection ends up on the art directors lap, and sadly, many of those aren't even car guys.

If it's a good shot that they asked for, & they didn't use it, I don't worry about that. But I'm not going to give them the opportunity to think that I didn't listen to them & deliver what they said they wanted.
I always shoot what they said they wanted, & then shoot what they should have asked for. ; )

PhotosGuy wrote in post #16439870
If it's a good shot that they asked for, & they didn't use it, I don't worry about that. But I'm not going to give them the opportunity to think that I didn't listen to them & deliver what they said they wanted.
I always shoot what they said they wanted, & then shoot what they should have asked for. ; )

That is always a good thing. There are instances where I have found that you don't give away the store. Most magazine features usually include anywhere from 6 to 10 or 12 photos. If you give them let's say 80 photos, and they only use a few, you have handed over work that can potentially be used down the road. This plays itself out with licensing agreements, which have become more and more one-sided, and not on the photographer's side. So, for editorial work, it depends on the outlet and if there is a licensing agreement.