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Archive 2013 · Some Photoshop help on this candid/street image

  
 
unravel
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Some Photoshop help on this candid/street image


Hiya,

While at a photography critique i found at meetup.com (which was awesome) i've had suggestions to both LEAVE and REMOVE the bottom blue line on the following picture. While i don't have photoshop installed on this machine (and neither am i proficient in it), could someone do that for me while retaining the texture/gradation. Also, would love to hear your opinions on whether i should leave that blue line/bar in or not, the logic for it would be that it is a candid and logic against it being that it competes for attention.

Thanks!

(PS, i will link to flickr as well for original image quality)

picture







Jan 10, 2013 at 08:38 AM
JHut
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Some Photoshop help on this candid/street image


I can lend a hand. Below is your version with the "blue line" removed as well as a few distracting anomalies. I also made a cropped version that is more pleasing to my eye.

cropped version with "blue line" removed:
http://www.littlepawsontheprairie.com/fred-miranda/760657 blue line removed and cropped.jpg

full size version uncropped and "blue line" removed:
http://www.littlepawsontheprairie.com/fred-miranda/760657 blue line removed.jpg



Jan 10, 2013 at 09:08 AM
Eyeball
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Some Photoshop help on this candid/street image


I think it is a judgement call regarding how "perfect" you want the yin/yang symmetry. Too perfect and it can come across as the equivalent of telling the joke by starting off with the punchline. Too imperfect and the viewer may miss it or be distracted from it.

In this case, I would probably vote for removing the blue tarp or whatever it is. If it was a small flower vase or something, you could probably get away with it and it might even help make the yin/yang a little more subtle without losing it. But since it is a big blotch of color the same as the color of the table, I think it doesn't add anything and it disturbs the symmetry to the point of being an annoyance.

Here is my shot, made by just stretching the non-blue part of the floor. I left the dark blotch on the floor but I did spot out much of the dirt and light spots on the stairs. Again, it is a judgement call as to how perfect/graphic your want to go vs. leaving it more imperfect/real.

Regarding the crop, I prefer leaving the chairs. I think those chairs extending from the table are part of what echoes with the model's hand, foot, and bag. Again, a judgement call.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12145446/HatTable.jpg

Did you set this up or was it spur-of-the-moment opportunity? Nicely seen in either case.

The image does appear to have artifacts at the pixel level, perhaps from shooting at high-ISO, with a small-format camera, or with pretty significant sharpening applied. It doesn't impact the image much at small sizes but it is something that might limit enlargement or might knock some points off if you were going to enter it in to some type of competition.


Edited on Jan 10, 2013 at 09:50 AM · View previous versions



Jan 10, 2013 at 09:42 AM
RustyBug
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Some Photoshop help on this candid/street image


John & Dennis have done a nice job on the blue line for you, to go along with your vision @ capture.

There are several things in play here that you might find helpful as you wrangle with it in your head.

First ... as to the "candid". In essence every image we ever take that doesn't have pre-production or staging to it is candid. A shot of a hawk with a telephone line in the sky is effectively a candid. Removing the telephone line from the scene to remove the distraction serves to improve the compositional draw of your viewers eye to your subject.

Obviously this is not an "accurate" representation of the image that was captured by the camera. However, when one considers the purpose & intent of the image being captured and subsequently created, then the integrity of the accuracy becomes a bit more of an issue.

When the purpose & intent of the image is to present accuracy as in the case of some PJ, event or forensic/evidential intent (et al), this becomes paramount to adhere to. However, in the case of an artistic presentation, the mandate for such is understood (or widely accepted) to be rescinded in favor of artistic liberty as needed to convey the message being constructed.

For those reasons (et al) ... I wouldn't be overly concerned by the "candid" aspect to keep you from maximizing the impact of your message to your viewers.

On to the image ... much goodness in many ways.

Okay, so we've got rhythm in the stairs and rhythm in the chairs. We've got repetition in shapes in the round table and round hat, We've got contrasting shapes in the rectangular stairs to the round hat/table. We've got lines showing direction with the rail, arm, leg / foot / toes. There are gradient tonal values to move us toward lighter values in the SAME direction as we want to show movement of our subject's prior & future direction (assuming she's headed to the chair/table). There is contrast in the shadows & lights, as well as the warm (yellow) & cool (blue). Her hat and the table have symmetrical scale and balance, while stairs and the floor have asymmetrical scale and balance in concert with each other and the rail wall. The chairs are radial to the table. Her arms & leg are radial to her hat.

I've probably stated them neither well, nor complete ... but, hopefully you get the gist involved. In that regard, I can "see" what your vision / recognition sought to capture something filled with compare & contrast, coupled with movement. Unlikely that you "thought it through" to this degree as a "candid" ... yet, you still "saw something" that captured your attention. Make it the best you can ... lose the blue line with no concerns at candid. After all, if you had a slightly different shooting position, or even caught her one step sooner, the line would be out of the scene or at least a clean crop.


As to my nits ... IQ and focus seem to be wanting for more dof to go along with the goodness of the elements/comp involved.



Jan 10, 2013 at 09:46 AM
unravel
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Some Photoshop help on this candid/street image


Thank you for helping me out and the feedback, i really like the final version!


Jan 10, 2013 at 11:13 PM





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