“New guy” needing some C&C on a shot…

I’m brand new to photography and have only my XSi for 3 weeks, but I’m really enjoying my new hobby!

I took this shot this morning. I like the “idea” of where I was going with this (the pylons) but for some reason, it just doesn’t look right to me.

• It doesn’t seem “vivid” enough.
  
• There was a lot of high fog at the harbor today and I don’t believe that I’m compensating correctly.
  
• What else am I doing wrong? My PhotoShop skills are limited (but improving) so is there something that I should be doing in PS? This picture has little to no post-processing.

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Well the overcast sky definitely puts a damper on the overall liveliness of the picture. I love the composition tho, maybe get down there and reshoot on a sunny day!

Dennis Valet wrote in post #6398411
maybe get down there and reshoot on a sunny day!

I'd say that would be a mistake too.....

Best light is around sunrise/sunset. Get there around those times and catch some golden rays in the beautiful soft light of the morning/evening.

I think the problem is the lack of contrast between the colors, all range from white to blue...with sprinklings of orange & red mixed in.

As far as vivid, there are few colors or objects in this picture that I would expect o be "vivid", the blue sails are pretty much the only things I would expect to be vivid in this type of setting.

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It may have worked better if you had gone for a bigger DOF EXIF Says f6.4 at 1/4000
so plenty of light around so you could have used a much smaller apature. the concrete post start to go out of focus about halfway into the frame, it is common to focus about 1/3rd into the frame for landscapes (seascapes in this case)the other issue is you have grey water, grey posts,grey sky and white boats. not a lot of contrast in the image.
Agree with the don't shoot it in the sunshine comment maybe sunset/sunrise with strong low angle lighting.
The other thing with boat shots i always um and err over is the masts, cut em off or get them all in???? i would personally re compose the shot to cut most of the masts out and get in tighter to the shape of the boats and the posts.

G'Day Jeb,

Glad you're enjoying your new toy!

Sounds like your PP skills were similar to mine when I first got started;

jeb4 wrote in post #6398380
My PhotoShop skills are limited (but improving) so is there something that I should be doing in PS?

Well...maybe not should, but definately could be doing.

nw85887 wrote in post #6398604
I think the problem is the lack of contrast between the colors...I used a slight USM, messed with the curves a little, and played with the Hue/Saturation.

Curves are often described as the ultimate PP tool, and I'm glad I took the time to learn what they're all about.

Cambridge In Color has an excellent tutorial on curves.

There are plenty of others to be found here on POTN, and by Google-ing.

I highly recommend reading up, and doing some experimentation with Curves.

PETERSYMES wrote in post #6405000
It may have worked better if you had gone for a bigger DOF....

Agreed. As Peter points out, you had plenty of scope stop down to F8 or F11. On the other hand, you could have narrowed your DOF if you only wanted the focus on one or two of the pillars. The DOF you've chosen is middle of the road and is a little....awkward.

PETERSYMES wrote in post #6405000
The other thing with boat shots i always um and err over is the masts, cut em off or get them all in????

+1

Always a difficult choice, especially your example, where the rigging makes the boat masts & booms look very 'busy', and draw attention away from the pillars. There are 101 different answers to this...but you're best off settling on what you like!

Keep at it!

Hi,
Hope you don't mind the edit on your photo.

Heres my version. Curves, on Lab mode; White point, black point definition; Unsharp masking, cropping for a better composition : not loosing the long vertical lines (bars) in the picture on the left hand side; which I feel is an attraction (though minor). 5% crop from the right side, still showing the boat fully (doesn't interfere with the overall environment of the scene). PS CS3

The day does not seem as dull anymore; details on the water surface (ripples) maintained. Colour of the water maintained. Sharpened to give less of a flat look.
--
Beautiful idea!

-Reef

Whoops. Forgot to attach the image.

-Reef

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Nice job on the PP. One improvement I would make is to crop out the "stinkpotter" power boat on the right. There's a lot of clutter over there. It does not contribute to the image and breaks up the line of the pilings.

mi_reefy wrote in post #6405454
Hi,
Hope you don't mind the edit on your photo.

Are you kidding?? That looks great! I learn so much from this site....

Black and White is to photography that Caulk is to a big ass crack.

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burelphotography wrote in post #6407394
Black and White is to photography that Caulk is to a big ass crack.

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Ok never thought of it that way

I never have a screw up. Blown out, hot, blur, cold, dark, over exposed, under exposed...............​just jack it up or calm it down, convert it to B&W and call it art!

For what it is worth, in my ever so humble opinion, the problem with the shot is it has no subject. Often you can use a repetitive object like the pilings to lead you to the subject. But in the case the boat in the distance is to minor in the shot to be that. Other times, the repetitive objects in a pattern can be the subject. But in this case, there is just too much other stuff going on for that to completely work. Other times they can just be a complimentary element in an overall shot, like a sunset or the like, but again, this shot doesn't have that either.

It's not a bad shot... one I would have likely tried too. But the fact that as you look at it, nothing jumps out. I would try it again under different skies like mentioned, or tweaking the angle to see if you can find a subject in there that is a little stronger.

Again, just my opinion, I may be wrong.

With all the talk about light, exposure and post processing, which are valid, I have to agree with the poster above me, Mark.
The composition doesn't do much, lines are nice, patterns are nice, but in this particular image, those pylons are just lost. If they are you main subject or somthing you want the viewer to note, you need to figure out a way to make them more dominate via composition, depth of field or color/contrast.
It's all about how you use space.
As it is, the composition looks like you're trying to lead the viewer to that boat at right side of the frame which is out of focus and too small.
Rules are meant to be broken, but there's a reason why they are rules...99% of the time they work!
Here's a link on some compositioning rules.:
http://www.secondpictu​re.com/photography_com​position.html