Gardener

[sourav]

This pic has a great subject but somehow I blew it. The colours seem pinching to me, but if I reduce the saturation, the pic becomes dull and dead. I tried black and white, but then a flowers and b/w didn't quite click.
Could you suggest something to make this pic more appealing?
Is it cause I have taken this pic from the 3rd floor, its looking weird?
Help me out here!!

EXIF:
Model Canon EOS 1000D
ISO 100
Exposure 1/125 sec
Aperture 5.6
Focal Length 300mm
Flash Used false

TIA

[sourav]

Does this look less eye pinching?

[sk66]

The hat's too hot and the lighting is pretty flat (contrast/clarity)
I did some tweaks which included a black/white layer (2x) one set to overlay(reduced opacity) and one set to multiply (reduced opacity)



Came out a bit more "norman rockwell" than intended...

[sourav]

Wow. This seems to look like those old Lee jeans advertisment posters
Thanks.

[ncbcymtechie]

Eh, not a big fan of all three. The two adaptations from the first one don't turn out well simply because the first picture was not as spot-on as it could have been. The hat is overexposed, for one; it is completely blown out. Even the third version (which feels underexposed...) is unable to bring out any detail in the brim of his hat. The brim of his hat may not be important, but it is one indicator of the fact that the colors just aren't right.

I daresay shooting this from a third story window has something to do with it. At 300mm on a budget lens there is bound to be a great deal of chromatic aberration and vignetting and whatnot, simply because the lens is not well-equipped to shoot at that focal length. It can, but the results usually won't be fantastic. As a result of these naturally arising lens issues, the flowers seem hazy and like they're glowing; his left shirtsleeve (the right one when we look at this image) also seems a touch too purple. The haziness of the flowers is what gets to me and it makes my eyes hurt from trying to focus on them all at once.

[sk66]

Originally Posted by ncbcymtechie

Eh, not a big fan of all three. The two adaptations from the first one don't turn out well simply because the first picture was not as spot-on as it could have been. The hat is overexposed, for one; it is completely blown out. Even the third version (which feels underexposed...) is unable to bring out any detail in the brim of his hat. The brim of his hat may not be important, but it is one indicator of the fact that the colors just aren't right.

I daresay shooting this from a third story window has something to do with it. At 300mm on a budget lens there is bound to be a great deal of chromatic aberration and vignetting and whatnot, simply because the lens is not well-equipped to shoot at that focal length. It can, but the results usually won't be fantastic. As a result of these naturally arising lens issues, the flowers seem hazy and like they're glowing; his left shirtsleeve (the right one when we look at this image) also seems a touch too purple. The haziness of the flowers is what gets to me and it makes my eyes hurt from trying to focus on them all at once.

While I will not disagree that none of the images are "perfect" due to trying to recover from blown highlights (possible in RAW, not from a Jpeg). The biggest cause is not gear, but rather angle of the sun and dynamic range (shadow detail under a tan/white hat)..... many of the reasons you suspect are simply not evident.
I can discern no significant chromatic aberrations nor vignetting "and whatnot".

As for color and exposure, that's very difficult with the web.....I regularly calibrate my display but most do not; add in screen irregularities and then exposure and color are *VERY* subjective via the web.

I will also agree that the flowers are not in crisp focus (and they are not "the subject" IMO) but this has almost nothing to due with a "budget lens"...it has to due with a wide aperture and focus on the shoulder. (1/3 in front, i.e. the hands...2/3 behind)

You are free to have your opinion, but please do not blame the equipment for faults not justified....That only leads to "gear envy/lust" and undue/unwise expense (been there, done that).