Checkmate or Stalemate

[vjhoward]

I was recently on the Carnival Conquest and they had one of those oversized/life-sized chess boards on the Lido deck. Personally, I like this shot. I did some post processing to clean up the King (it was really scuffed) and applied a little antique treatment.

Now, what can I do to make it better? Composition? Cropping? Does the antique treatment work? More cleanup? Other?

EXIF: D300S, 18-200 lens, ISO 200, 44mm focal length, f/4.5, 1/2000 exposure


Checkmate on Deck on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[Lightwriter]

I love photographing games! I did a lot of that this past winter when I was stuck inside. Life-size chess pieces would be a fun challenge. The main focus seems to be a bit tilted and that is distracting me. I like the sepia treatment but I wonder if a straight black and white or a bluish tint might be better for this shot. It is a very cold shot to me. I like it though and I think it could be really neat with just those simple adjustments.

[RecurrentNerve]

Agree with Lightwriter, straighten and true B&W rather than sepia.

Tutorial on B&W with punch here.

[vjhoward]

Thanks for the feedback. Very good ideas. Check out my re-edit. I converted to a low contrast B&W, straightened, and did a very subtle vignette.

Checkmate on Deck on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

4819637727_c76ca1260f_z.jpg

[Lightwriter]

I like the second edit a lot. Very snappy.