Critique Stairs to the Beach

[acnomad]

Cross posting this from this week's CS to get some suggestions for better post processing. I tried working this one in C1, which is well outside my comfort zone (I'm currently using LR for 90%, PS for 9%, and C1 for 1% of my post work).

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[Butlerkid]

Perhaps a B&W......?

 

[gchappel]

Where are YOU trying to go with this?
For my uses Capture one is great and awful. If I know what I want the image to look like, C1 lets me get it there quickly.
If I do not know where I want the image to end up, C1 has too many options and I get lost.
In black and white, I usually know what I want, so C1 works.
In color I am less sure of my end point, so in C1 I often end up lost.
Gary

 

[acnomad]

Perhaps a B&W......?

It is a B&W, or at least monochromatic, treatment. I added back in some toning afterwards.

 

[acnomad]

Where are YOU trying to go with this?
For my uses Capture one is great and awful. If I know what I want the image to look like, C1 lets me get it there quickly.
If I do not know where I want the image to end up, C1 has too many options and I get lost.
In black and white, I usually know what I want, so C1 works.
In color I am less sure of my end point, so in C1 I often end up lost.
Gary

I think I'm falling into the too many options and getting lost camp. My goal with this image at the time of capture was to convert it to monochrome and bring the viewers attention to the textures and shadows. Instead, I feel the image looks quite flat, despite my efforts to give it depth. I realize that part of the problem is that the sun was low in the sky, but directly behind me, so the light was hitting the risers and the edges of each stair tread at basically a perpendicular angle, but I thought there would be a chance to bring something out of the file in post.

 

[Terri French]

I have never used C1. To me there is too much toning added. The first thing I notice is the color instead of the image. Maybe you could tone it down and see if it looks less flat.

 

[gchappel]

I think the lighting you had is working against you if you are trying to show texture and detail.
There is no such thing as bad light, but almost front lighting is going to look flat no matter what you do with it.
Front light can be great, and a lot of the bird photographers look for it.
But it will not give you the graphic details, the shadows, the blacks that can create interest in a graphic image.
My thoughts, yours may vary
Gary

 

[GonzoBernelli]

Acnomad,
Watch the C1 videos by Paul Reiffer on YouTube to get yourself up to speed quickly. Merely place his name in the YT search box. There must be about 40 of them out by now and he is continually adding more, usually one a week. He has a following and he processes their images 99% of the time.

 

[Butlerkid]

It is a B&W, or at least monochromatic, treatment. I added back in some toning afterwards.

But it isn't black and white, it is toned a strange tone. If you think the photo is flat, then add contrast. Get the B&W where you want it, then tinker with toning.

Here is a variation, but not sure what look you were hoping for with this image, so this image may not be what you are looking for.

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[Walter Rowe]

I concur with the others. It isn't black and white. It is monochrome, but that tone doesn't suit the subject in my humble opinion. I would treat it straight grey scale and see what you land on.

 

[acnomad]

To me there is too much toning added.

I think the lighting you had is working against you

it is toned a strange tone

that tone doesn't suit the subject in my humble opinion.

I think I see a trend...

Thanks to all for the feedback. To describe my attempts to get depth out of this image:

I did begin with ordinary adjustments to contrast, then tried to add texture, used a grad mask to darken the foreground, but didn't like the result, so I added the tone as a last ditch effort. Might be time to go back to the scene (easy enough) and get a better capture in more favorable light, I think. Then I can return to C1 and see what I can achieve and learn from the process.

 

[Walter Rowe]

The background is busy. The palm trees might be a bit of a distraction if the stairs are supposed to be the primary focal point. A shallowed depth of field so the trees are blurred might help keep the viewer's eyes focused on the stairs. Just expressing my ruminations as I ponder this image. You have a wide angle focal length so a smaller aperture would still get most of the stairs relatively sharp.

 

[gchappel]

Sometimes there just is no image there. We can try to squeeze something out of the file, but it is a chore and rarely does post processing take an image from blah to great. Post can take an image from good to great but there has to be good bones to start with.
If you see this as an image you really want to go after, returning and studying the scene in many different types of light is a good choice. I personally have several scenes that I have returned to many many times as I know there is a shot there somewhere. Rarely do I get the shot, but I always enjoy the journey. Let us know how you proceed. It is an interesting problem I suspect we all have.
Gary

 

[acnomad]

A shallowed depth of field so the trees are blurred might help keep the viewer's eyes focused on the stairs.

I personally have several scenes that I have returned to many many times as I know there is a shot there somewhere.

I'm not really sure this scene would be worth the effort to anyone else, but there is something about this particular location that tells me to keep looking for an image. As it began with nothing more than a CS contribution, and it is conveniently close, I do think I will give it another whirl. Even if it serves no other purpose besides practicing my B&W workflow and to learn a thing or two along the way. The Journey should always continue.

 

[Terri French]

I'm not really sure this scene would be worth the effort to anyone else, but there is something about this particular location that tells me to keep looking for an image. As it began with nothing more than a CS contribution, and it is conveniently close, I do think I will give it another whirl. Even if it serves no other purpose besides practicing my B&W workflow and to learn a thing or two along the way. The Journey should always continue.

That is great that you want to keep trying and learning. I admire that. Hope I don't miss the new and improved image.

 

[Hylander]

there is something about this particular location that tells me to keep looking for an image.

I like the image (though maybe not the toning), probably because I was right there in February, when I visited Jupiter for my cousin's 90th!

 

[Bart]

The toning is indeed a rather overwhelming to my taste but that is personal, isn't it.
I agree with @Walter: if you're going back, I'd try out some selective focussing to get strong detail at the beginning of the stairs and let the end fade into nothingness.

 

[Kry27]

The background is busy. The palm trees might be a bit of a distraction if the stairs are supposed to be the primary focal point. A shallowed depth of field so the trees are blurred might help keep the viewer's eyes focused on the stairs. Just expressing my ruminations as I ponder this image. You have a wide angle focal length so a smaller aperture would still get most of the stairs relatively sharp.

I think this is a good idea. As it is, it suffers a bit by lacking a clear subject - the stairs - with too sharp a background.

 

[Walter Rowe]

So .. one thought I just had .. maybe go super side and point up more. The lines will converge a lot more and you will get some sky to provide a simpler background and the tree will fade out and not be such a distraction.

 

[Binnur]

I like what Karen did to the image. Pinkish toning doesn't work in my opinion either. You might try other compositions with those stairs .