Dead History

[CaraRose]

This grave was in one of the many little cemetaries in Cades Cove. I took this one because of the age and the dates. I like the fact I have the second tombstone in the background, but overall, is this as boring in composure as I think it is?

[modena]

do you ever wonder why not many people comment on your posts

[Lyra]

CaraRose, you have what IMO could be a really nice photo with a few minor adjustments. What I would do is rotate it 1.5 degrees clockwise to level out the side of the headstone with the side of the photo, then I would give it a tighter crop, preferably up from the bottom and in from the left, cutting off about half the excess on each. I would also crop off about 1/3 of the excess from the top to the background headstone. Once that is done I would then add a duplicate layer and set it to multiply with an opacity of 34% and finally I would increase the saturation by no more than +6.

IMO this would give you a much stronger image and bring more attention to the main subject.

[gahspidy]

Exactly as Lyra has suggested , only afterwards i think B&w would suit this shot best as there are no colors here to add any real appeal.

[CaraRose]

Okay, how's this crop?

I'm not sure how to work with layers. I was able to make a duplicate layer, but didn't know how to set the opacity of the layer. I'm using the trial version of Photoshop Elements right now.

I did one in color and one in b/w. I increased the contrast and decreased the brightness a little bit.

[Lyra]

You did a great job with the rotating and cropping from the side and bottom, but took a little too much off the top for me. I believe I prefer it in B&W, but the headstone seems to blend in too much, perhaps a bit more contrast will help, or if you're really daring try some selective coloring.