What I saw vs. what I felt

[MikePDX]

I've just returned from a photo workshop in the Pantanal region of Brazil. We were especially targeting Jaguars, and had wonderful success. The two images below are different takes on the same shot. As I started to process it I realized that the "photojournalistic" version (the first picture), while seemingly effective, didn't seem to capture how I felt when looking at the scene. This got me thinking about how to convey emotion in a photograph. So I tried a different version that seemed to better represent the drama I was feeling as the Jaguar lay in wait for it's prey.

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And then, for good measure, I went even further.

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I'm curious which of these resonates most, and of course why.

Thanks,
-MikePDX

 

[DripDryMcFleye]

I think all three are quite OK. However, as a matter of taste, I seem to like my photos just slightly darker. For me, last is best.

 

[bleirer]

I think number one is too bright, the whites are almost blown out viewed on my tablet. Number 3 is too dark with some loss of details in the eyes. In my view it could benefit from some cropping off the left side, maybe try a 5 to 4 ratio and trim off some of the more unruly brush on the left.

 

[Viathelens]

If your intent is to show drama then the last one is the best version toward that goal. You might try making the shot even darker, but making the animal lighter as the center of attention. I would not crop as the animal, being as large as s/he is, needs some room to move forward. Just my thought on it.

 

[Topper1946]

I def like the last as the focus is on the jaguar. And it needs the room on the left so not to seem cramped. I do like the low perspective.

 

[cchuck]

Lowest feels more ominous. Bad news for some critter, or boatful of tasty photographers. Nice work! What is it looking at?

 

[bleirer]

The reason I suggest cropping off a little on the left is the clump of leaves far left is nearest to the viewer and as large in the frame as the subject's face. Both factors tend to draw the eye there first and distract from the subject.

 

[Viathelens]

The reason I suggest cropping off a little on the left is the clump of leaves far left is nearest to the viewer and as large in the frame as the subject's face. Both factors tend to draw the eye there first and distract from the subject.

My eye goes to the lightest part first, which happens to be the subject. The average viewer would see the brightest part first. If the scene were a bit darker the foliage may not be as noticeable.

 

[Anjin San]

First is too bright and third is easily the best…it pops.

 

[Larry S.]

My personal pick is #3 for the dramatic rendering. Sometimes I’ll take it a bit further if you want the viewer to get pulled in a bit more. I immediately separated the jaguar from the grass by color. I converted your terrific image to B&W thus hiding the jaguar a bit more to make him blend in…..waiting. If my editing has offended you, please accept my apologies…

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[MikePDX]

A very interesting discussion. And no, Larry S, your edit didn't offend at all. I appreciate it.

In the end, after staring at all three of my attempts, both on my screen and in print, and after considering all your points of view, I'm leaning toward the middle edit. For this simple reason. The first is too bright, and the third appears to me as if it was shot in the evening using a spotlight on the Jaguar. The middle one has the drama that I felt along with a little highlighting on the cat for emphasis.

I've captured all three edits using virtual copies in Lightroom Classic. There may be uses in the future for them. For now, I'm going to print the middle one at 12 x 18 to see how I like that.

 

[Charles Loy]

3rd. Why?, best of the lot

 

[peachfront]

A very interesting discussion. And no, Larry S, your edit didn't offend at all. I appreciate it.

In the end, after staring at all three of my attempts, both on my screen and in print, and after considering all your points of view, I'm leaning toward the middle edit. For this simple reason. The first is too bright, and the third appears to me as if it was shot in the evening using a spotlight on the Jaguar. The middle one has the drama that I felt along with a little highlighting on the cat for emphasis.

I thought the same but didn't want to comment given my low level of experience. #2 is the one I'd print too... it's wonderful!

 

[Abinoone]

No comparison- the 3rd is the only one I'd show. As others already mentioned, #s 1&2 are way too bright to grab the viewers interest (except for the subject matter of course).

 

[ricardo00]

A very interesting discussion. And no, Larry S, your edit didn't offend at all. I appreciate it.

In the end, after staring at all three of my attempts, both on my screen and in print, and after considering all your points of view, I'm leaning toward the middle edit. For this simple reason. The first is too bright, and the third appears to me as if it was shot in the evening using a spotlight on the Jaguar. The middle one has the drama that I felt along with a little highlighting on the cat for emphasis.

I've captured all three edits using virtual copies in Lightroom Classic. There may be uses in the future for them. For now, I'm going to print the middle one at 12 x 18 to see how I like that.

I have found (with a few shots) that prints are better with some exposures that are different than for showing on the screen. I would think that this could be one of those cases. The last best for computer/phone viewing whereas printing might be better with the middle exposure.

 

[MikePDX]

I would agree with you. Lightroom's soft proofing setting shows that the dark areas of the third version are nearly entirely out of gamut for my printer. While the middle version is quite "rich" in both color and feel.

 

[carbon]

Very nice shot!

The third looks a bit fake.

I say #2, but feather in some vignetting like I did below. The white hatching is where I added it. This was done quickly on my iPhone’s stock Photos app, so don’t judge the quality of it. It’s just to show you what I mean.

Suggested edit:

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Your #2:

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Where I added vignetting:

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The idea here is to let the eye enter the pic from the upper left, and to keep the focus on the jag. People tend to start looking at pics from the left. Western people, at least.

With vignetting, a little goes a loonnnng way. The trick is to do it so the viewer doesn’t notice it. Otherwise pics start looking like bad high school portraits from the 70s-80s.

I probably overdid the top bit too much, but such is the coarseness of the tools in the Photos app (i.e. no gradient brush).

 

[MikePDX]

Very nice shot!

The third looks a bit fake.


I say #2, but feather in some vignetting like I did below. The white hatching is where I added it. This was done quickly on my iPhone’s stock Photos app, so don’t judge the quality of it. It’s just to show you what I mean.

Suggested edit:

View attachment 102673

Your #2:
View attachment 102675



Where I added vignetting:
View attachment 102674
The idea here is to let the eye enter the pic from the upper left, and to keep the focus on the jag. People tend to start looking at pics from the left. Western people, at least.

With vignetting, a little goes a loonnnng way. The trick is to do it so the viewer doesn’t notice it. Otherwise pics start looking like bad high school portraits from the 70s-80s.

I probably overdid the top bit too much, but such is the coarseness of the tools in the Photos app (i.e. no gradient brush).

I didn't have a chance to reply to this earlier. I agree with you that my third example looks a little too contrived. I also like your approach to editing the second version. It is quite subtle, but it does a better job of conveying what I was trying to achieve. Thanks!

 

[Doc Murdock]

Nice photo of a magnificent Jaguar! I suggest editing #2 by darkening it a bit (a little less than #3) and softening some of the background. The starburst flower at the upper left corner is a slight distraction that might be softened. Whatever edit you choose to do, you have a great piece of art.