Snapshot to Fine art

[Bol Ray]

Gateway of India


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-pr3uTcVo4J4/US5gSk9jOuI/AAAAAAAABUs/wE0Sp1xKa1M/s700/ANGD6015.jpg

First of all sorry for not being as active as you are on the forum.

I clicked this on a photowalk ans something about this shot is not in synchrony with the shot. guys could you help me identify why this shot looks and feels like a snapshot and not a fine art print? I just can't put my finger on it.
thanks
Angad

[Matt K.]

it is blown out. And it is a snapshot. There is no dynamic in the image, it is bland .... lacking saturation, definition. It is just washed out. Wonder if you used a different colour space for this? Needs to be worked on in post processing to make it into a fine art printable image. But then again, the composition is not really what I would call `fantastic`....

[Marko]

I'm with Matt here. A quality fine art print is normally made from a finely crafted image. This includes good exposure and composition. This shot is so blown out that you are starting out with something with technical problems. The composition for me is not very deliberate here. For me the most interesting part of the image are the 5 boats in the foreground.
Some post processing play in the hands of a skilled photoshopper... who knows what a photoshop magician can do. But a snapshot to fine art...? Normally it doesn't work that way.
if this were my image, I'd likely try again.
Hope that may help even though it's a bit harsh.

[Bol Ray]

I'm with Matt here. A quality fine art print is normally made from a finely crafted image. This includes good exposure and composition. This shot is so blown out that you are starting out with something with technical problems. The composition for me is not very deliberate here. For me the most interesting part of the image are the 5 boats in the foreground.
Some post processing play in the hands of a skilled photoshopper... who knows what a photoshop magician can do. But a snapshot to fine art...? Normally it doesn't work that way.
if this were my image, I'd likely try again.
Hope that may help even though it's a bit harsh.

Thanks
I had rejected this image, but recently, something in this image drew me in, and I could not figure out what it was. I thought there was something about the composition, that was pulling me but now I know, its the faint boats in the back.
Thanks for knocking some sense into me.
This, although a bad example of deliberation and hardwork, has given me some insight into what will be my style.
Thanks guys for being honest and blunt. This tells me that I am in a good forum that will help me and not in one of those places where everyone will just agree with me.
:D
Angad

[tiggert]

Here is an exercise I teach.

In PS or Gimp, use the crop tool. See how many images you can pull from the snapshot. I see at minimum 5. Look for a story.

Given the exposure I doubt that they are salvageable, but if you perform this exercise, it will help with your creative viewing down the road! This is a good image to do this exercise with. Dont worry about the pixels or the exposure, just worry about the composition. AND don't limit yourself to 8x10 porportions. Try 4x10, 13x19, round?

[Bol Ray]

Here is an exercise I teach.

In PS or Gimp, use the crop tool. See how many images you can pull from the snapshot. I see at minimum 5. Look for a story.

Given the exposure I doubt that they are salvageable, but if you perform this exercise, it will help with your creative viewing down the road! This is a good image to do this exercise with. Dont worry about the pixels or the exposure, just worry about the composition. AND don't limit yourself to 8x10 porportions. Try 4x10, 13x19, round?

oh its actually me who pushed the exposure up, on my uncalibrated screen everything except the yellow boat were subtle or blow-out, but I really really like your exercise. GREAT TIP!!