Friends

DRebelGirl

I took this shot back in early Sept.. Does it work for you? I also converted it to B&W but thought it looked best this way. What do you think?

rutt

DRebelGirl wrote:

I took this shot back in early Sept.. Does it work for you? I also converted it to B&W but thought it looked best this way. What do you think?

Where is the focus in this picture? Not on the men and not on the ocean. Did you want soft focus?

The horizon isn't level. I didn't use to notice this, but since Andy has fixed that and now it stands out like a sore thumb.

Shots of people's backs like this can work, but you are already taking a chance by shooting from behind. Nothing else can be sloppy and there has to be something very gripping about the composition or content.

ian408

I don't think it works as well as it could because there is no place the four
could be (practically) headed. Something that comes to mind that could
work is a shot with them headed down a road to some destination--like the
mountains.

For me, the thing I find compelling is the relationship between the four. They
seem to be talking and enjoying each others company.
Ian

52Caddy

I'm the same way with the horizon. That seems to be the first thing I notice now.
I like the shot, but I think it would look better with a focus.
Eric

DRebelGirl

I never really noticed the horizon.

52Caddy wrote:

I'm the same way with the horizon. That seems to be the first thing I notice now.
I like the shot, but I think it would look better with a focus.
Eric

I applied a blur thru photoshop on a layer of the photo. I wanted it to have a dreamy effect I guess. It was a moment between friends (before one was to be married) where they were walking down to the water to look at the ship.

The horizon advise is great. I'll pay more attention to detail next time I take one of these kinds of shots.

Thanks.

rutt

DRebelGirl wrote:

I applied a blur thru photoshop on a layer of the photo. I wanted it to have a dreamy effect I guess. It was a moment between friends (before one was to be married) where they were walking down to the water to look at the ship.
Thanks.

You can fix the horizon in PS with Image->Rotate Canvas. As for the blur, IMHO you overdid it. Maybe try the blur tool to blur just some parts of the image? But I think you already took a chance in this image by shooting from the rear. Try to make the rest of the image as clear as possible.

ginger_55

If I were a beginner, I would take the blur off, not to confuse you. If I knew a bit more, I might put it on, but I would use the soft light feature to drill it in, in layers, in photoshop. I would want those men in focus.

I basically really like the shot. I was so busy looking at the blur, and I did wonder if it was added, just had that look..............anyway, I was so busy looking at the blur, not liking it, I did not notice the horizon.

If you have the tools to blur, you have the tools to straighten the horizon. In photoshop you go to images, then to rotate, usually. I used to be ignorant and just eyeballed it with the crop tool which has the feature of being able to tilt the photo. If you go to rotate and do it, you do need to crop it a bit anyway.

ginger

Harryb

DRebelGirl wrote:

I took this shot back in early Sept.. Does it work for you? I also converted it to B&W but thought it looked best this way. What do you think?

How are you doing? I like the pic. The 4 friends walking towards the horizon works for me. The only way to get that feel is from the back. The blur works but I would not have applied to the subject in this pic. I would have done a layer mask and applied it to everything but the 4 friends. Good job though, you only learn when you take a few chances and roll the dice which is what you did here.

AHarry