horizontal lines

[artsyjz]

Gear: Canon XS
focal length 50mm
1/320 @ F/5.0
ISO 100
WB: Sunlight
Evaluative Metering

A shot from a weekend on the beach. Just wondering whether I should have tried straightening the horizon. It was more of the spur of the moment thing.

Newbie on my cam.. any advice is appreciated.

[Michael_2010]

If it were me, I would straighten the horizon, tighten the crop, boost saturation and bump up the contrast. All easy post-processing tasks. Also, if her head did not go past the horizon, I may or may not lose the sky all together.

[KansaiGreenie]

Hi artsyjz,

What a fun image! It looks like you had a great time at the beach.

Just wondering whether I should have tried straightening the horizon.

Absolutely not. I think that the dipping horizon adds a sense of movement and energy, which is exactly what this image is about. I think you would be far less happy with a straight horizon line.

I am going to agree with Michael_2010 that a tighter crop would be good. Try to fill the frame with the subject. Lastly, I find the seagulls and the head just poking out of the water a distraction. If it were my image, I would clone them out.

Very well done. I think this image really captures a fun day at the beach.

KG

[Michael_2010]

True that the child's movement tells the story of joy and frivolity in the moment, but I am not lovin' the skewed horizon. Maybe, if it were more exaggerated it would add to the overall feel, but right now it looks more like a mistake. If it was my capture, I would have already spun it around 360 degrees, looking at each angle.

The bobbing head on the water's surface is a little distracting. Might make a great picture on its own. lol

[sican]

I have to disagree with KansaiGreenie on the horizon topic. If the horizon was even more tilted to the left then it could've worked as a lead-in line converging with the shore line and meeting the point of attraction. But leaving it like that, looks like a mistake/poor composition.

If you are interested, I have an article on my website where I'm talking about "How to improve photos by straightening the horizon in Photoshop".

I agree with the suggestions of Michael_2010. I'd also prefer if the girl was facing the other way (the camera) instead of the "exit" of the photo.
Hope I helped a bit!

Regards,
Alex Cican

[Michael_2010]

I took the liberty of making some quick edits to simply provoke thought and discussion. The horizon thing is interesting......

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/...bd121706_z.jpg

[ricklumpas]

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

I took the liberty of making some quick edits to simply provoke thought and discussion. The horizon thing is interesting......

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/...bd121706_z.jpg

Interesting. It is not bad to break the rules sometimes. In this photo the titled horizon further emphasized the jerky emotion and physical motion of the subject. I like it.
The overexposure in the original can be easily corrected.

[artsyjz]

Thanks for the feedback and the tips everyone! I have long ways to learn about photo-editing.

[z0mbina80]

personally I like the tilted horizon... but then I'm no expert by any means lol. The only thing I would change, which I dunno how much you cropped to begin with but I would add more beach in front of the subject rather than behind and also as was said previously I would play around with the saturation and contrast just a bit.