cant decide between the two...

i cant decide which of the two versions of this pic i like the best. what do you think?

They are similar.......however, I would pick the 2nd one for the larger sharp area in front of the bench. I feel it gives the bench a bit more "room to breathe" if that makes any sense. :rolleyes:

They're both nice images, but I think the added sharpness in that area gives it a slightly different perspective.

Liz

How come you didn't post this one the Photo Critique forum? Seems like it would be a better fit there. It's ok to post it here. But I'm just curious why you didn't post it there. Have you posted on that forum before?

You have to look close but I agree with LIZ on number 2. Little more in focus and a little more detail, Jeff

i think i'll post it on the critique forum after i have a little help deciding which one to make my final draft. =) then they can critique the photo as a whole.

so far everyone ive asked has said the second one. i just wasnt sure if that extra focus area took away from the effect. i keep flipping back and forth between them...

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Originally Posted by xwingkiller

i cant decide which of the two versions of this pic i like the best. what do you think?

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There is no question the second is the stronger shot. The first uses an artificial selective focus for no apparent reason. Artificial in that no camera would naturally capture just that one small segment of the shot in focus with areas of the same visual plane blurry (unless of course there was junk smeared on the lens or you were using one of those dumb lens babies... :D).

IOW, it's obvious it was photoshopped.

Selective focus is only effective if you really need to isolate a detail in the shot. In this case, isolating just the back of the bench is just distracting. The entire bench should be sharp and in focus for this shot to work.

I'd go with #2 but with a top crop. Just too much that doesn't and to the image up there. Need to get the eye back to the bench.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by xwingkiller

i cant decide which of the two versions of this pic i like the best. what do you think?

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Well, ok. I was just answering xwingkiller's question, but heck, we may as well go ahead and critique the shot while we're at it.

I agree the composition could be stronger, but IMO cropping the top won't help. What the shot really needs is more space in front of the bench (foreground) to balance it out.

To me, the main problem is the blur is way too heavy-handed. Almost like a piece of glass with vasoline smeared on the upper half was placed in front of the camera lens. It is especially obvious with picture elements that maintain the same focal plane, like the fence posts, the poles on either side of the bench, and even the trees.

Even with a tilt lens (which can create some funky focus effects), these vertical elements would never just go suddenly out of focus at a single point the way they do in this shot.

Plus, there are areas in focus behind the out-of-focus spots (like the grass right behind the fence). Again, looks like it was shopped...

IMO, to really strengthen the shot, the transition to blured areas should be more gradual, and the grass right behind the fence should be selected and blurred slightly, too.

BTW, and this may sound weird, but I actually think this particular image would look better with the entire pic sharp. It's a strong horizontal symmetry that really doesn't benefit from selective focus.

Selective foucs is much more effective when it's used on shot elements that come forward and recede into and out of the frame, isolating the area in between...