Red Barn - N.C.

I took this in Highlands, NC and have always thought this barn would make a nice picture. However there just seems to be something missing? Any suggestions how to improve or retake this photo? Thanks.

Welcome to the forum. You have chosen a great subject and it is easy to see why this barn would catch your eye.
The things I like about your picture first off is the angle of the barn, which shows some of the side and provides a good three dimensionl point of view . I like that the barn is off to one side of the frame and not dead in the middle ( although it is very close) and also how the trees seem to surround and frame the subject in. The inclusion of a little sky as you have is also good.
What i think hurts the shot is the inclusion of so much fencing. I always like to include things in the fg ( foreground) too, but in this case there is too much with the fence in the front, then again as it curves towrds the back and also on the sides. Another problem with the fence also is that, your camera ( assuming this was auto focus) focused on it rather than the barn. Might have been your intent, but I don't find it effective.
From what I can see from this picture, and the location/shape of the fence, I cannot see a strong shot with the fence included in the fg.
However, I seem to see what looks like a gravel path or road of some kind off to the distance to the left of the fence. I think shooting this again but with the perspective of the path leading up to the barn as the foreground might be worth a try.
Also, if I were there and shooting this scene, I would be setting up all around from various points of view trying many different compositions. you will find that when you do this, you become more aware of what looks to be a stronger composition. By having many shots from various angles and perspectives, you will be able to sort out which ones you feel more strongly about later on. Always a good thing to shoot many frames at different angles and settings to have a choice for comparison later on.
As this picture stands now, i like it mostly because the subject is appealing, but there are many stronger pictures from this awaiting you.

Thanks for the tips. I will try that again when I'm back up there. I took this with my wife's point & shoot and it probaby did focus more on the fence....plus I was in a hurry so I just took it from the car window ;)
Now though..I have some ideas for when I pass by again. #1 take my time ;) and I like your idea about the gravel road leading up to the barn. Thanks

Don't we have great barns??? :)

I like the shot as well, though agree with Gary. You can also try and crop it vertically and see if you can't salvage it some. I don't care for the sky much, but when I scroll up and cut it out of the view, it improves the image tremendously. Maybe with a vertical crop, you can get rid of the expanse of fence and the sky. And maybe tweaking contrast, brightness and USM, you can get it to where you want it.

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Originally Posted by Capstone

I took this in Highlands, NC and have always thought this barn would make a nice picture. However there just seems to be something missing? Any suggestions how to improve or retake this photo? Thanks.

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Hello, welcome aboard!

I basically agree with Gary except for the fact that I don't think that the fence necessarily hurts your picture. This may not be the best angle you can get from the barn but I still find it appealing. What I really don't like is the sky which doesn't seems to add anything to your image.

Here is a kick and dirty edit which I think works well (by all means, feel free to disagree, this is just my take on this). I totally got rid of the sky and cropped to the right accordingly to keep the ratio of the picture and to take the barn off center. Then, I simply hit auto level in Photoshop to get better tones and I applied a slight unsharp mask.

regards

Seb

Wow...like that very much. The trees have a richer color than before and I agree about the sky it just seemed to be a whitewash. Thanks.

Hi,
I agree with all the comments above. What really irked me about the sky was the very noticeable chromatic aberration (purple fringeing) between sky and trees. This is also noticeable between the gravel path and the fence. Nothing much you can do about that as it's down to the camera, but I just thought I'd point it out as another reason for pestering the wife for a new camera :D

Chris

Hi again,

Sorry, I couldn't resist putting this through Photoshop. I took out the purple fringeing by reducing the cyan and magenta channels; which had a pleasing side effect of making the fence less blue. I also did some curves, contrast and unsharp mask. Finished with a crop that I thought flattered the photo.

Just my opinion :)

Chris

I like the fence and the angle. The grass is an amazing green, and looks great against the red. Another possible solution to rid some of the fence (if that is your wish) would be to just shoot between the planks on one side. That way, you would still have the fence on both sides of the frame leading you into the barn. The winding path is a good option as well. As Gary suggested, take a few shots from different angles/areas.

Hindey, good job at correcting the colors. I had not even noticed really until you brought it up. A definite improvement in the tones. however, i find the original picture to be the best crop as i find the V that the trees make in the sky to be effective.

Much better after Seb done his bit. Only thing missing is a horse or two.Good angle and DOF.
Bobby