Beach scene needs some pizzazz

[mlinfoot]

Is there anything that can be done to give this scene more punch? The only post-processing was to adjust the lighting. What might be done to bring out the colours?

I wanted the focus to be the sad looking dog, juxtaposed with the happy people playing. I think some cropping to make the dog more in the forefront might help. Is the background distracting? Would a shallower DOF be more effective?

What would you do to improve this image? Thanks for critiqueing!

Camera: Nikon D5000
Exposure: 1/400
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 200
Focal length: 55mm

Mexico beach dog

[Krusty79]

I don't think there is too much else you can do to emphasize the dog. I took your image and made a duplicate layer and did a Levels adjustment to set the white and black points. I then adjusted the mid-tones slider. Let me know if you want me to take it down.

Levels: Getting the Professional 'Pop'

[mlinfoot]

Thanks for the feedback, Krusty79. The link to the tutorial on Levels was very useful, too. I think I'll try adjusting them myself with the Gimp. I like what you did, really pops, but I'd like to see what it would look like toned down a bit.

Do you think the composition is okay?

[mlinfoot]

Thanks benchdog. I like the crop. If you want to take it down, please do. I'm thrilled that someone is even taking the time to look at it! Much appreciated.

Is it proper etiquette in this forum to show a final version that incorporates some of the suggestions or would it be better to post that in "How I Took It" or "Show Your Shots"?

[Krusty79]

Originally Posted by mlinfoot

Thanks for the feedback, Krusty79. The link to the tutorial on Levels was very useful, too. I think I'll try adjusting them myself with the Gimp. I like what you did, really pops, but I'd like to see what it would look like toned down a bit.

Do you think the composition is okay?

I just did a real quick job to give you an idea. I know it's overdone a bit.

I think the composition is okay, but to me, the dog doesn't look sad. He just looks like he's checking out the photographer. I think you might have to eliminate some of the background buildings if you want to emphasize the dog and people more.

[milosh]

Mlinfoot, I also gave your photo a small edit... The lack of "punch" in this case is almost entirely about white and black points not being set. Setting them improves the global image contrast and removes that blueish "haze". The other problem is the composition. Like Krusty said, the dog doesn't look sad in the first place, but, also, your framing doesn't help to emphasize the dog. I think that by cropping it I placed a bit more emphasize on the dog, but it could be even better of course.

One note, in my experience, knowing how to set black and white points using Levels (or a similar tool) is only half of the story...You also need to know when to do it, because not all images need to have totally black or white points. It all depends on image content.

[mlinfoot]

I've got some ideas to try -- thanks again to krusty79 and benchdog.