This scene, from Montgomery Bell State Park in Tennessee, captured my imagination for its dreamlike reflection and the soft colors reflected in the still, smooth water. I wanted to convey some of the soft pastel sense I had of the scene without heavy processing.
Specific Feedback Requested
I’m curious about the reflection component of this image: does it work? Why or why not? What suggestions do you have for anything that could have improved the composition or processing?
Technical Details
Canon 5DMIII, 24-105 at 40mm. 1/160 sec, f5 and ISO 200. LRC adjustments (principally highlights, clarity, shadows).
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Hi Ric,
So I feel like this scene has potential, but the negative clarity or orton filter you added to soften it really looks strange and its muddying all of the nice details and texture. I would definitely either reduce that significantly or get rid of it all together. That’s something that I am unable to fix in the JPEG now.
However, I opened it up in PS to play with the color. You have a severe yellow cast right now which is ruining the color separation and tonality here. I cooled down the white balance and added some magenta to the tint which pulls out all the individual colors and looks more natural.
Next. I feel like you need a crop. The tree on the right is somewhat distracting, so I think it can go, it just feels different than all the other trees in the scene whose trunks are more obscured. You also need to crop some of the bottom as well, to make it more about the trees than the reflection below. This gives the scene some visual flow by not having it split right in the middle where it feels 50/50 and I don’t know where to look.
I would definitely try editing this one again! It’s worth the effort, and you shouldn’t need to do much to it really. It’s mostly about getting that white balance right in your initial LR/Camera RAW adjustments.
Hope this helps!
Your friend,
Eric
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Eric, thank you for the input, suggestions, and the rework. I’ve learned a new term (Orton effect) and like the crop and color changes you made. This image apparently supports the premise that there is value to at least some compositional rules in certain circumstances (like don’t put the horizon in the middle).
I admire your work and value your perspective.
Best regards,
Ric
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