The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This is a photo I took earlier this week at Mirror Lake in Yosemite National Park. This was my second visit to this location; last year, I went in the fall and did not see much water, but, thanks to the winter rains, there was lots of water at Yosemite and Mirror Lake in particular. I took many photos from various vantage points around the lake but this location provided a nice symmetrical reflection.
Specific Feedback
I am hoping to create a serne, calming image and for that reason left the reflection darker. I think if both the mountain range and reflection are the same brightness the photo itself would look too bright. I also left the trees on the right and left darker for that reason.
Technical Details
Photo was taken with a Nikon Z6 and the Z 14mm-30mm lens, at 14mm. Shutter speed 1/640, f4, ISO 125. Light editing in Paintshop Pro 2023.
Critique Template
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I think you succeeded in your goal of creating a serene, calming image. The reflection is great. But I feel the crop is way too tight. You need more breathing space on both top and bottom. If you were to have this printed and matted, you would most likely cover part of the mountain.
Richard,
I too think you succeeded with your goal of a serene image. I agree with my brother @Michael_Lowe about the crop being to tight. You should be able to add a little canvas along the top and bottom to fix that. The reflection is quite nice and very natural looking. You made the right call on keeping it darker as reflections are darker. My own personal taste would be to dial back the saturation of the blue some as it is a little intense. I could also see a crop from the right and left sides making it more of a vertical; not necessarily better just a different option. I hope you don’t mind. but here is a repost with what I was thinking.
Quite the crystal reflection! I can see why they named the lake Mirror.
I think you met the goal; the darkness levels work fine for me. It appears I’m the third Lowe brother on this one; I agree with @Michael_Lowe about the crop, and my personal taste agrees with @Ed_Lowe on the blues.
Richard, this is an excellent reflection view, with an amazingly clean reflection. I think the to achieve serenity, you need more space above and below. The very tight crop, the saturated blues and the strong contrast feel very dynamic to me, not serene.
Hi Richard, what a wonderful image! The water perfectly still, the trees floating around, and that all in contrast with that wonderfully sculpted granite wall and the light on the vegetation contrasting with the shaded conditions in the valley.
I agree with the other members that the crop is much too tight, and I also agree on the high intensity of the blue sky.
In noticed that you used the widest end of your 14mm zoom, so a wider view was perhaps not possible. An alternative solution would be to crop the top and bottom of the scene altogether. This radically changes the feeling of the image, though, so it might not be to your liking. I often find myself cropping or not including the sky to get a more intimate feeling, and that’s what this crop also does. Most importantly, it removes the cramped feeling most viewers get when the mountain top is so near to the edge of the image.
Here’s an example of what I mean:
I think the composition is pretty good. I think Gerard’s changes actually improves the composition.
The issue I have is with the tranquility of the image. The subject is tranquil but the light and contrast isn’t at all. The high contrast with the black lines going in all directions, some on the light background, is disturbing in a way. To me that is the biggest issue in this image - that it is a contradiction in what it is trying to say.
I do like the composition, however, with the horizontal layers, each adjacent one being different and therefore engaging. The dark trees on the sides frame it nicely. There is also an X composition which leads the eye nicely into the center.
The blues are too strong and that too gives it that screaming sense of appearance.
Richard, there are a lot of elements in this photograph that would naturally draw one to take a picture and, as the reader, to take a look. My first reaction was, “That’s a place I’d love to be”. However, for me the image that you’ve produced has a lot of problems - the two most obvious being the tightness top and bottom and the hyper-saturated sky. I do like @gerard 's very imaginative choice of crop, which does indeed respond to the two most obvious issues and creates a more compelling frame. However, I’m not sure if it is in accord with your intention for a “serene, calming image”. I want to thank @Igor_Doncov for naming what was bothering me without my ability to articulate it, namely the high contrasty, disruptive lines that run throughout. Personally, to attain the feel that you are going for I would want to reduce the contrast and that might also include the clarity (which, after all, is all about micro contrast). I would also be tempted to play with the colour - not just saturation but also colour grading. If, by chance, you use the TK9 panel, there is a nice, easy to use colour grading feature that is fun to play with (Lr has a similar colour grading feature although it is nice to use it with the layering and masking features that Photoshop provides). I hope this is helpful.
What a dramatic reflection. How nice that you got to see Mirror Lake with all that water.
I agree with the others about the tight crop. Having such a tight crop, with the edges of the subject very close to the frame edge makes for visual tension. We feel uneasy because the subject doesn’t have enough “breathing room”. If you want a serene feeling, it would be good to have more room at the top and bottom (the left and right edges are fine to me).
I also agree with Igor about the strong contrast and saturation. Strong contrast and saturation generally don’t make us feel serene. I imagine that it was actually very serene standing there at the edge of the lake on such a still day, but the processing doesn’t match that feeling.
You’re right about having the reflection be a bit darker - that is how it appears in nature.
Thank you all for the helpful and wonderful feedback. I agree that I can certainly “dial back” some of the color saturation and contrast, which should give the photo more of an overall calm feeling. I was also thinking of creating some black and white versions to see how they work. Black and white may give me that calm or serene feeling as well.
I also agree that the crop is very tight and that the tight crop and lack of sky makes the photo more “aggressive” (for lack of a better word). I was at the widest this lens goes, (14mm) and, when I took a few steps back, I had the leaves and branches from the trees I was standing under at the very top of the photo. Those turned out well so I may edit a few of those. I also was dealing with other people who were standing where I was standing. The lesson for me here is to exercise some patience and wait until other people leave, to get the shot.
Ed and Gerard, I like what you did quite a bit. I think both versions add a different and unique element to the photo.
I may post one or two additional photos (black and white and with the branches) to get additional feedback.
Richard, this is a beautiful moment. Allowing the reflection to be darker is true to the way it is in nature. I have one small observation. The crop is rather tight at the top and bottom. A bit more sky and water would allow for some breathing room.
