[Jocko]

Here is a shot taken where a section of the Caledonian Canal joins the south end of Loch Ness, at Fort Augustus. Taken at the end of October 2008, it features some nice autumn colours. How could I have improved it?

   
Nikon D80, 1/250 sec, f8, ISO 200, 27mm lens equivalent.

[EdMak]

Different, but, improvement? Cheers. Ed.

[MrB]

John, I think this is already a nice photograph so it depends, of course, on what you would deem to be an improvement. For me, the danger here is going too far away from its original natural look, unless you prefer some kind of arty effect!

If it were mine, I would consider the image to be slightly under-exposed, plus the shadow areas look darker than human vision might perceive them to be. In software such as Photoshop, these can be changed by adjusting Levels - move the highlight slider (white point) to about 240 and the centre (gamma) slider somewhere between 1.2 and 1.3 to taste. It probably then needs no further editing.

   

Cheers.
Philip

[Jocko]

I like your exposure, Philip, but I feel that now it needs a bit more Contrast. What do you think?

[EdMak]

Agree John, on my monitor, lacks punch. Ed,

[MrB]

I like your exposure, Philip, but I feel that now it needs a bit more Contrast. What do you think?

I suppose it might be my monitor, although I doubt it as other images display well. So I would have to reply that, if the shot is intended to be reflecting the reality of the scene, it has plenty of contrast, and looks about right to me, just as it is.

However, to state the obvious, it is your image, so you are the one who must decide how it looks!

Cheers.
Philip

[Jocko]

I suppose it might be my monitor, although I doubt it as other images display well.

That is always the issue with images viewed remotely. In a competition, where prints are being viewed, it is a level playing field. On a monitor it is anyone's guess. If my monitor lacks blue, I turn the blue up in software. If your monitor is rich in blue, then everything I post will be far too blue for you. I only use my monitor for hobbies and games so I do not have the need for calibration equipment. Different if you are preparing images to sell. We are all in the same boat. What you see is what you get. I have a laptop connected to a large screen monitor and I know that the images on the laptop look far darker than those on the monitor. Just something we hobbyists have to get on with.

[Jocko]

If it were mine, I would consider the image to be slightly under-exposed, plus the shadow areas look darker than human vision might perceive them to be. In software such as Photoshop, these can be changed by adjusting Levels - move the highlight slider (white point) to about 240 and the centre (gamma) slider somewhere between 1.2 and 1.3 to taste. It probably then needs no further editing.

Comparing the two images, side by side, in Lightroom, I do prefer yours.

[EdMak]

John, if you use Levels, Ctrl+L, holding down Alt will show clipping as you move the sliders. Also the 3 eye droppers, Black, Grey and White, can be effective, clicking on appropriate colours, Grey is supposedly the most effective, there is a way on finding the best Gray, but it is extremely convoluted! Easy to overdo, rather than Cancel, hold down the Alt key, changes the Cancel, to, Reset, this shortcut works in all instances. Look at Adobe Gamma, should be on Control Panel, is in System32 Folder, great for Calibrating Monitor. Apologies if you were aware of this, but may be help to others. Cheers. Ed.