Charm Song

[draymorton]

Working on this shot from two years ago (thanks again to gahspidy for assisting that day).

I figure I should give this guy a print, but before I do, I'd like to know what you think needs fixing or modification (within reason - I only have about an hour to work on this before printing tomorrow morning).

And what do think would be the best way to crop?

Of course, if you don't think it works in the first place and that I'd be making an ass of myself by giving the subject a copy, I'd like to know that, too.

Thanks for taking the time.

[armando_m]

Looks good . I think the guy will be glad to receive a print !

Horizontal lines are leaning a bit to the left

[draymorton]

Thanks for the feedback, armando. Yeah, I couldn't tell if it was just the wall leaning that way or all of the horizontals. I'll either try to use the wide-angle lens correction or rotate the whole image.

[Greg McCary]

Dray I like the shot but really don't care much for the circular flares. How are you at photoshop? Replace them with bubbles adding some mystery? Just an idea you may hate it. It does however remind me of the Wicked Witch of the West coming in for a landing.

[draymorton]

Thanks, Greg. I can remove them pretty easily if that would help.

[Greg McCary]

Dray you caught me while,I was editing my comment.

[john9]

Very good ! In earnest appreciation.

[LeeIs]

Gotta get used to this new forum now. arghh.

Excellent capture Seth. At first, I had my doubts about the bright spot next to his face, but the more i look and the more i know you've done it on purpose, the more i like it. The tones of the photo are great. Excellent colours/contrasts, etc. I don't mind the lens flare either. The only thing is the slight tilt/distortion that's in the photo. looks like it's leaning left.

Is that gahspidy in the photo? If so, I hope he's doing good. Long time no see. If you still talk to him, send him my best wishes.

[draymorton]

Thanks John and Liban.

Well, I didn't actually end up printing and sending him a copy (yet) because I was looking and thinking, for some reason, that the image was not ready.

Liban, great eye (re: the fake sun flare), but how did you know that it was manufactured? And what can I do to make it more realistic?

Also, what do you figure should be done to make the toy piano look more realistic? I'm a little stuck there.

I took the bokeh flares out, btw, and that leaf in the upper right corner.

Oh, and no, it's not Gary! Gary was helping with setup, lights, etc. It was really great to have him there. Will definitely say hello!

[GB1]

Dray - Unusual concept. Taking the shot into the sun's always tenuous, but looks like you frontal illuminated him OK. I agree that the flares need to go if so possible. I do see the slight tilting angle, also. Trying cropping in just a tad.

GB

[mattb]

I really like it and I don't mind the flare. That's part of shooting into the sun IMO and they don't obscure any important elements in the shot.
I agree it seems to lean to the left just a couple of degrees. I can see the top of the bench and the line in the wall are parallel so I think just a couple of degrees rotation to the right should do the trick.

[draymorton]

Thanks guys. The flares can come out if they're a problem. Wondering if the piano looks okay, lighting- and sharpness-wise. Trying to get it to blend in more.

Will rotate the image to the right, as well. Easy enough. But the legs of the bench are also crooked. Will try to straighten them with the wide-angle correction in CS6.

Thanks again.

[LeeIs]

I had no clue the flare was 'fake'. Also the piano looks just fine. thumbs up! ;-)

I can't stand how small the photos are in this new 'redesign' for the site.

[EOSThree]

Liban, I was thinking the same thing about the size, so I dug around a bit: Under the settings tab at the top of this page is My Settings/MyAccount/General Settings. Toward the bottom of General Settings is a place to change the forum skin, there you can the skin back to full screen, like it used to be.

[LeeIs]

Liban, I was thinking the same thing about the size, so I dug around a bit: Under the settings tab at the top of this page is My Settings/MyAccount/General Settings. Toward the bottom of General Settings is a place to change the forum skin, there you can the skin back to full screen, like it used to be.

Thank you! Back to normal! yaay!

Seth, your inbox if full. Sure send me that design and delete some of your pm's so that i can reply to you.

[treehuggrr]

I love this! it's so whimsical and almost seems like something out of a fairy tale. i adore the sun spots (a favourite thing of mine). did you have them in the picture on purpose or was it just a coincidence of the setting?