Your Help Please

Murphy66

I caught my wife in a pensive mood.

Does the burned out sky on top bother you? If so, how would you fix it?

C&C Welcome

Thanks

System

yes, it does bother me-so--

1) drink the rest of the wine, or

2) build a higher fence, or

3) crop it out, or

4) select and replace or fill in with some effect (I sometimes use nik color effects graduated blue), or, better yet,

5) wait just a little longer for someone who is not such a smartass who will give you some decent and knowledgeable advice-

sorry- long freakin' day-

george

ps otherwise, I like the pic-

Murphy66

George,

Days don't get too much longer than the ones at my job lately. Without my camera I'd be nuts. There are thise that argue that even with my camera I am well outside of normal.

Don't apologize for your day, feel free to edit / crop and repost. Just tell me what you did because my one brain cell is very tired by Friday.

Murphy66

Is this better?

System

cropped

System

selected-
filled with lt blue-
used nik color effects grad blue-
don't like it -too fake-
remember-DON'T BLOW OUT THE HIGHLIGHTS-(if you can help it)-

saurora

Ok...here I go. I know it's against the rules to "burn out" the sky. Once in awhile, some rules are just begging to be broken. This lady looks like she has a lot on her mind or maybe she has just "had it" for the day. I happen to like the sky the way it is...it seems to go with her mood. I defnitely dislike the filled sky and the crop boxes her in. Her mind seems to be "floating" somewhere in that "empty" sky. I definitely like it in the black and white, and it may play down the burned out sky for you. (I also like the just barely-there leaves in that sky!!!) :

HeldDown

It feels like a weak background to me; it's not so much the burned out sky as the 'point and shoot' feeling of it. The fence isn't straight, it's at a bit of a wonk angle, and the leaves look accidental. The picture of your wife itself is fabulous, and I'm a big fan of the texture of the fence behind her. I'm someone who loves a challenge, so I'd probably try cloning the fence higher and eliminating the sky altogether.

But I'm crazy, so take it with a grain of salt

System

no, no, no, no-

no on the sky as it is (no offence, saurora)-

me, I'm going to start taking pictures of skies and stock 'em so I can just cut and paste-

to me, this is one of the biggest pita's I can face on pp a pic-

will research it but in the meantime I hope you keep getting some ideas and suggestions from all-

george

ps I bet andy's got some good ideas---andy?-

elfving73

I think it's a great image, and the burnt out sky doesn't bother me to much. Yes, technically it is a flaw, but the picture is strong enough to cover up for it. Personally, I think people has gone obsessive about remarking burnt out areas.
To me, the dog that you almost see is more of an distraction - but I don't think it ruins the picture. If it was my pic, I would crop out approx. halv the sky and clone out the dog. But the pic is fine as it is!

Matty

Murphy66 wrote:

I caught my wife in a pensive mood.

Does the burned out sky on top bother you? If so, how would you fix it?

C&C Welcome

Thanks

System

obsessive?!?!-

me?!?!-

ubetcherass!!!!

elfving73

Haha! No offense taken huh! I wasn't specifically meaning you!

gefillmore wrote:

obsessive?!?!-

me?!?!-

ubetcherass!!!!

System

if you didn't specifically mean me you should have!-

and no offense at all-

I don't mind you being wrong-:D

george

Murphy66

saurora wrote:

Ok...here I go. I know it's against the rules to "burn out" the sky. Once in awhile, some rules are just begging to be broken. This lady looks like she has a lot on her mind or maybe she has just "had it" for the day. I happen to like the sky the way it is...it seems to go with her mood. I defnitely dislike the filled sky and the crop boxes her in. Her mind seems to be "floating" somewhere in that "empty" sky. I definitely like it in the black and white, and it may play down the burned out sky for you. (I also like the just barely-there leaves in that sky!!!) :

Saurora, how perceptive of you.

My wife is recovering from her second cancer surgery, performed on March 6th. While pathology, etc all look good, we were told that the chances of it returning are very high. These surgeries are major and take an enormous toll on her...and me.

The news of today combined with the likelyhood of the future put us both in a bittersweet, pensive mood. That's what I hoped to capture in this shot. This shot was less candid portrait as it was more photo journalism.

Everyone's opinions and insights are more than welcome, we appreciate your help!

System

best to you and your wife and prayers for complete recovery-

george

Andyman

Here's one w/o the dog.

Owen

Nice work, Andy.

saurora

Murphy66 wrote:

Saurora, how perceptive of you.

My wife is recovering from her second cancer surgery, performed on March 6th. While pathology, etc all look good, we were told that the chances of it returning are very high. These surgeries are major and take an enormous toll on her...and me.

The news of today combined with the likelyhood of the future put us both in a bittersweet, pensive mood. That's what I hoped to capture in this shot. This shot was less candid portrait as it was more photo journalism.

Everyone's opinions and insights are more than welcome, we appreciate your help!

My prayers go out to both of you for what you are having to endure. It's a lovely shot, (color and black and white are equally nice) and you captured her mood perfectly.

Steve Cavigliano

Murph,
FWIW, I agree with Matty. The blowout is a technical fault but your subject is strong enough to carry the image anyway. Some of the most moving pics I've viewed aren't "perfect" technically either

I like the B&W treatment you did. To me it best conveys the feeling of deep thought or pensiveness.

The clone out of the dog was done very well Andy

Good work and a very nice spur-of-the-moment shot

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your beautiful wife

Steve

binghott

Steve Cavigliano wrote:

The clone out of the dog was done very well Andy

that's really awesome.

i like this shot a lot, her blue shirt is particularly vivid, well done.

Murphy66

Thanks for all your words of support and great ideas.

I have learned something with this shot. If I'm selling wine, use the color shot. If I want the pensive mood and draw more attention to my wife, then use the B&W.

I experimented with different croppings. Which is your favorite?

Murphy66

Or this?

Angelo

I like the original!

System

nice bw of your wife-

george