SP reader Rakesh Babu should be commended for taking a picture of the humble crow (not many people photograph crows!).
Not being a posed picture, Rakesh probably could not control the background illumination, which has provided low separation between the crow and the darker shade of green background. The overall contrast is low and the picture seems a bit dull.
In the edited picture, I have slightly lightened the green background so that there is better separation between it and the crow. The crow has also been lightened slightly. The rusted angle-iron pole and the bright spots in the background have been toned down. The picture has been cropped to show greater emphasis on the main subject. And finally, the picture has been sharpened.
 Original Image |
Edited Image |
The Baby
Smart Photography reader John Philip loves to photograph babies. And going by the photo he has sent us, I say he is doing very well.
The selection of the background is perfect. There is nothing disturbing there to draw the viewer’s attention away. The light, that seems to come from about 100 degrees from the left of the camera, is beautiful. The diagonal composition is nice and there is enough space in the direction where the baby is looking.
So, is there any chance to improve this picture? What would I have done if I were you?
As good as the photo is, if I were you, I would have avoided the hand (or rather the two fingers) of ‘grandpa’ holding the child in place (left hand bottom corner). When one is totally engrossed in capturing such sweet innocence, it is possible not to observe these things. It is possible that even I would have missed seeing the hand while taking the shot.
So, using Photoshop, I have edited the picture to remove the hand. I also slightly toned down the highlight on the baby’s face.
 Original Image |
 Edited Image |
The Landscape
Fifteen year old SP reader Aayush Saraf who has just given his tenth standard exam, started photography last year. He wants to know how his photograph can be improved.
Aayush, this is a good effort. Keep it up and remember, practice makes a man perfect.
Under normal circumstances, we generally set the camera to its lowest ISO sensitivity. Before we press the shutter release button, we must be sure as to why we are taking that particular picture. In other words, what is it in the frame that has excited us to take the picture? Once that element is decided, we should ideally focus on it as sharply as possible. The next question you should ask yourself is, from what point to what point do I want the picture to be sharp? Depending on the answer, you set the required aperture on your lens (if you want greater depth of field – the zone of sharpness – then use a narrow aperture like f/11; if you want a shallow DOF, then opt for a wider aperture, like f/4 or f/2.8. Of course, if you are using a ‘slow’ lens, then you may not have the required aperture on your lens. In that case you have no choice but to use whatever wider aperture is available. If you are using the camera in Aperture Priority mode, the camera will then indicate the required shutter speed. If the shutter speed is too low (which can cause hand-shake), one should ideally use a tripod. If that is not possible for whatever reason, we should increase the ISO sensitivity till we get a reasonably high shutter speed.
Now back to your picture. It is not as sharp as it should have been. This could be because you may have shot it hand-held. And the fact that the aperture used was f/5.6 has provided a shallow depth of field. The tree in the foreground which occupies about 1/3rd of the frame, appears out of focus (due to limited DOF at f/5.6).
Using Photoshop, I have adjusted the tones and contrast in the picture. Notice the details in the foreground tree. I have also sharpened the picture but more sharpening was applied to the tree. Get into the habit of using a tripod and see your images take on a new look.
 Original Image |
 Edited Image |
