Portrait of my parents - C&C please

My parents came in town to see my wife and daughter and maybe me... not sure about that last part... lol... for the last time until our baby is born in a month+. We went out to the beach to eat dinner and watch the sun set while my daughter played in the sand and water. BEAUTIFUL evening and SUPERB light! I don't know the last time my parents had a picture taken of them so I asked if they'd like one. This is the result...

I don't mind the glasses, adds a sense of casualness.
I'd crop the boat out of the background its too visually distracting.
You might want to spend some time with Lightroom or Photoshop to add a bit more definition to your parents.
I think you can do that without destroying the backlit flared look you want.

dmward wrote in post #17488480
I don't mind the glasses, adds a sense of casualness.
I'd crop the boat out of the background its too visually distracting.
You might want to spend some time with Lightroom or Photoshop to add a bit more definition to your parents.
I think you can do that without destroying the backlit flared look you want.

they chose that particular location specifically because they like the boat. So let me ask this, would desaturating the sails help? Or is it the shape of the boat that is attention grabbing?

I posted this over in the other forum where you posted the picture at first.so I will repost here

Looks like a beautiful night and a happy couple. For me the boat is very distracting and catches my eye right away. I also think the faces could be brightened up a little. You should post in the Critique Corner. You will get a lot of good feedback there.

I am sure the loud colors draw my eyes to the boat. Also being it is a large item in the picture.

OK, this may be the most unconventional answer and please, my intention is not to come across as being rude or whatever. Instead of worrying about the sailboat and your mom's glasses, just seize the moment, take a deep breath, perhaps have a glass of wine and relax. It's a fine shot. I'm almost sure your mom and dad will cherish the memories of that moment. But will you, looking at the same moment through a prism of your camera?*

*most cameras have no prisms...figurative talk

jebrady03 wrote in post #17488369
What I'd like to change a little if I could redo the moment...

Have my mom hold her glasses with her other hand so we can't see them. Then, use the free hand to interact with my dad.
Angle my mom slightly. Either turn into my dad or have her put her back against him and face the camera.
Have her expression be a tad happier.

If you did this, then you'd have a posed portrait, not this essentially relaxed photo. Be thankful for what you have achieved.

I like the boat, it adds colour and dimension. You could work on drawing more attention to your parents, though, perhaps by locally increasing the contrast on their bodies and faces, and brightening up their faces. I often brighten faces in backlit portraits, and I find that half a stop can make a big difference to the impact of the image, without being obvious.

I posted this on the other thread too...

I know you want critique - But I smiled, I love this photo - they look relaxed, natural and genuinely happy...Perfect capture to me. I think if you started to pose them and do the things you wanted to make a perfect portrait - you would not have captured this perfect moment.


Diane

This one is tough, because I like the boat. I just wish there were not two random strangers behind the boat. With that, I would probably crop it out because of the strangers.
As for your parents, I love the way they are actually touching each other in the photo. And while I love flare, it really ruins the contrast for your parents. They look faded and washed out. And that is fine, but being that this is something you were taking specifically for them who have not had a photo in years, it does not put them in the right light! I would have probabyl taken one more by stepping to the right and do it without the sun in the image as well, just to have the different shots for comparisons sake.
And the reflection of the sun on the water is BRIGHT and draws the attention away from the parents. If that could be darkened, even just a small bit, I think it would help.

Played around with the image a little. It was mostly local edits on my parents and changing from global adjustments to local adjustments.

I had previously globally raised the exposure a tad to increase the exposure on them.
I also globally crushed the highlights.

I went back and locally adjusted just their exposure, contrast, clarity, and sharpness and then globally, adjusted the exposure and sharpness back to 0.
I also locally selected everything EXCEPT my parents and then crushed the highlights.
I also desaturated the red and green in the sails.

I know many don't care for the boat and I truly wish the strangers weren't there, but I don't feel like I could clone them out. I really like the boat and again, they wanted it in the frame, so it stays

Thoughts on the image now?

I like the edit and I think your parents will love the pic!

Definitely like the look of the redo. I absolutely understand your point on the boat, and if they like it, then do what makes them happy. I like that your parents are more clear and defined in the re-edit. I am sure they will love this shot of the two of them. Made even more special by the fact that you are the one who captured the image.