I ventured to the local community park on a rather cool morning with no clouds in the sky. The park pond created a very localized fog which played very well with the morning light and proved a nice backdrop. I didn’t think this shot was going to turn out very well, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any CC is appreciated. I warmed the sunny side of the image a bit, perhaps too much? Thanks for taking a moment to critique. Your input will help me improve my skills.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Nikon D750
Sigma 35mm lens
Hand held
ISO 400, f-11, 1/640
Raw image, processed with Capture One.
No wonder you were drawn to the scene. Fog is a photographer’s best friend. This tree portrait is well exposed and you’ve done the light justice. A bit more room would be nice, it feels a bit tight, but it’s a single tree image and so too much room would make it a more environmental landscape which doesn’t seem to be your intent. The emphasis on the transition from the sunnier side to the shadier is natural and well done. I like it.
Beautiful light and fine tree. I would agree with @Kris_Smith about wanting a bit more room around the edges, but not a huge thing either. Great mood to the image with the fog and the warm/cool transition.
The fog creates a peaceful mood. I too like the warm/cool transition and don’t think you went too far with warming up the sunny side. It only adds to the mood and atmosphere.
I like the simplicity of emphasizing the lone tree. Having the tree bare of leaves like this results in a very graphic image. And the fog adds some wonderful atmosphere and sense of mystery.
I would also like to see more breathing room on the left and right. The transition between warm and cool looks natural because it occurs across the entire image. Colors and saturation are a matter of personal taste. For my taste, while I do not think the warm tones are unrealistic looking, I would prefer to see the warm colors on the grass with slightly less saturation. The grass is in a relatively more shadowed area, and shadows tend to have lower saturation colors. The saturation of the warm tones in the sky looks fine to me however. This is a nitpick, I’ll admit.
Thank you, I was having the same thoughts in post-processing. I was going to desaturate the grassy area but was not sure how that would look. I really appreciate your thoughtful input, next time I will trust my instinct. BTW it is the nitpicking things that separate OK photos from great ones. Thanks again!
The atmosphere and mood of this just lovely, you have a stunning image as is, but I agree that some more space on the sides would make a big difference. I would also consider a 4x5 crop, I personally do not like portrait images in 2:3. I was able to add some info to the sides by using content aware crop in Photoshop which worked extremely well!
Sorry I’m late to the party…I thought I had posted on this earlier.
I was glad David brought up the 4:5 crop as I was going to say the same thing, especially for this image. I also like his breathing room from adding canvas as noted. Otherwise a perfect shot.
