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CS w Shem Creek help and
ginger_55
Registered Users Posts: 8,416 Major grins
decisons needed. As you all know, my camera is going in for repairs. I just put CS on my computer. Shem Creek seems my best bet, I have been trying to get pink in the sky ever since Steve did. With the CS, I used basically the Curves, with settings from Kelby's book, and shadow/highlights. I have three versions here, lighter than I would have chosen before. Please critique. Let me know which you like, if you think I should do something, please let me know kind of what. I am new to CS. I did buy it, but cut rate, so I have no video or instructions and only a few of my books address CS, glad some do.
ginger
I decided on this one for Shem Creek from the ones I had up, but I don't know if the darker green cast on the Challenge site is better?
I am going to try to post my wedding shot and the house, here. Not to confuse, I am only posting one here, the one with the photographer.
I like my wedding shots, too. If they would be accepted as after dark, I would submit one of the two I will post. They were after dark, I go by my watch. They were taken at a place in Mt Pleasant, on the Cooper River, it rents out for occasions, this must have rented for a wedding. Since I love shots of photograpers, and her before and after shots, I sat there and took them, just after dark, the grounds and house are lit up for the occasion.
I also like a photo I took of the house, a replacement for one that burned down. It reminds me of most of my life, outside looking in. What else are we as photographers.
This is the original, only USM.
g
ginger
I decided on this one for Shem Creek from the ones I had up, but I don't know if the darker green cast on the Challenge site is better?
I am going to try to post my wedding shot and the house, here. Not to confuse, I am only posting one here, the one with the photographer.
I like my wedding shots, too. If they would be accepted as after dark, I would submit one of the two I will post. They were after dark, I go by my watch. They were taken at a place in Mt Pleasant, on the Cooper River, it rents out for occasions, this must have rented for a wedding. Since I love shots of photograpers, and her before and after shots, I sat there and took them, just after dark, the grounds and house are lit up for the occasion.
I also like a photo I took of the house, a replacement for one that burned down. It reminds me of most of my life, outside looking in. What else are we as photographers.
This is the original, only USM.
g
After all is said and done, it is the sweet tea.
0
Comments
I've always liked the creek shot. If you could soften the lights and get some of the red out it might be better. If you could make the water more blue it might be better, but maybe it would look artificial. I'm sure the water is green. If you could select just the sky, then just the water and try to make the changes selectively? I don't know really. I do like the shot lighter than the one you put up on the challenge. I'm not sure which version that is.
The bride and the photographer shot has been growing on me. It's after dark even if the grounds are lit up. The dark background indicates it is after dark. What I really like about it is the expression on the bride's face. Actually, all three of them look very intente on what ever shot they are going after.
I like the lights on this version of the house. You got the yellow/orange out of the lights and it looks wonderful. The people show up very clearly here too. If the bride and groom were down on the lawn, it would be perfect.
Oh, would that we were painters, not photographers.
Susan Appel Photography My Blog
The bride, that is a shot I really like, actually my favorite........ remember I like to tell stories and show behind the scenes and stuff. I love the expression on the bride's face, too.
I have shot two after wedding, before photography (and during and after) brides. They all look MISERABLE. I have not seen one bride look happy then. Not coming and not going, smile. Interesting.........
Shem Creek is a problem, and it is the only one I would want a print of. I mean I like the bride best, but I would like a print of Shem Creek and I will probably get one, but way down the road. I certainly don't have any money now. If I tone down the red and the yellow, then the comments are that it doesn't "pop". The current one is as blue as I would want the water, bluer and it would look very artificial, this is bluer than any others I have liked. Maybe I will work on toning down those reflections, the red one in particular, on the left, a bit. I need and like the reflections, that is real, is real night (and that is an advantage, there can be no mistaking this shot for before "after dark")
I have so many versions of this shot, I am into creative naming. Actually, the ones I have up now. I don't know exactly which ones they are
Thanks, ginger (I am waiting for Bill to come home and get the copy of the invoice, so that I can personally take the battery and CF card out of the camera that he has with him. He is great at mailing things, because he does it for the company he works with all the time, coincidentally cameras.)
Ginger,
No, don't change the light on the house. It looks beautiful. It's a nice picture, but it needs a real point of interest. It needs a couple on the lawn.
The only lights that seem too orange are the ones on the Shem Creek photo. I like the sparkle and sharpness of the very first pictures, but it just needs to be a little lighter and the lighted signs toned down so that they don't distract. The reflections in the water could be toned down a little to match. But, don't lose the sparkle. It's a tall order, I know. I would try to keep the picture as close to the original as possible, don't overdo it. I would try using curves on the sky selectively to get the blue.
Susan Appel Photography My Blog
This is the version I would want framed. I made 10 or 11 more copies, some of them photoshop, etc. I saved changes as I went along so that I could come back to them in case I messed up. Towards the end, I thought I was there..............Elements does this drop shadow. So I switched to Elements and framed two versions, one a bit toned down, a bit darker. I am not sure which one this is, but I looked at it on Smugmug and thought, this is the one I would want. "Pop" is good, but I would look at my frame then at the photo and I would think, I could not stand that much brightness on my wall, so I picked this one.
Snappy, I brought it over here to put it on the Challenge, but I put it here, since you had posted. Funny that you were posting as I was finishing. I still could change my mind, but I am through for this minute,
As for Shem Creek, you know it's very good. But the version I see here strikes me as really heavily processed. I liked the old softer version better, even before the color correction, which I also liked. I think it had more atmosphere. Just my $.02...