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I need some advice on this image. I really like it but it seems to be missing something - I'm not sure what. Is it to dark? Not enough contrast? What do you think I could do to improve it?



It looks better in Lightroom and it seems to be losing something in the export.

It is wasting a bit of latitude on the bright end of the scale, hitting "auto-levels" in Preview made it look a bit better (EDIT: but it made the bokeh look worse).

That said, it is a very nice portrait of a curious looking creature. It would make a good forum avatar, too

Cheers
Steffen.

I am finding the bright area top left is pulling my eye away. Dodge it perhaps (or is it burn - I can never remember).
I am also wondering if a square crop would work - if only for the avatar
The pano crop created by the "post reply" window improves things enormously. That may be just getting rid of the bright area I mentioned above, or it may be considered in its own right. It cut the tip of his (?) nose off and cut the forehead at about where the pale fur on the side of the head meets the edge of his head. Does that make sense?

How about this?

Andrew

I think the original is better than the square crop. I agree it looks a bit flat and share Steffen's views re: the AutoTone etc. Curves and level adjustment needed IMHO and perhaps vignette the corners and brighten the centre.

Edit: Forgot to say I also like the image. the eye contact makes it IMHO.

Any better?

I think the image is a little flat in two regards, 1) the processing leaves it a bit flat, there are a number of ways to beat this one on the head which could make it a stonger image 2) the composition makes it seem flat, the position of the monkey within the frame is uninteresting, good from a scientific point of view but a bit boring from a photography point of view. I think jazzing up the composition could have gone a long way to improving the depth of the image, even as simple as a off centre composition may well work here.

With that said, working with teh image you have, if it does not have enough impact, do as the film makers say, 'go wider or go tighter' in this case I reckon go tighter and work on teh processing. Also i think adusting the vertical tilt a fraction may help in giving more of a symmetrical frame.

here is a 30 sec crack on the low res version which may give you some alternative ideas. if you want it removed or object to your images being edited le me know and i will remove it.

He/she has some intense eyes, possibly working that avenue will help.

I see one monkey and raise you another.... [btw what's on it's nose? ]

It's just unfortunate that the light wasn't your best friend to give you more depth that day. It is a flat image because the nose and face just seem to melt together.

I quite like the square crop as it helps isolate the more interesting parts of the image which for me is the monkey's face.

Hi Andrew - Firstly - very interesting find and image - wow what a nose . I reckon cloning out that bright spot upper left has definitely improved things however the composition is a little straight on and in the middle when you've included so much animal and surrounds. It also looks like the tones and contrast of that great nose (which presumably is the main subject) blends too well with the rest of the face/body/etc. Back on the original image I think I find the crop at the top a little close - I reckon I'd either want the top of the head chopped or a little more breathing space at the top. I quite like Suren's processing of the image - it's made that nose (and eyes) stand out a lot more and have some detail and texture - perhaps another monochrome treatment of the original might work to lift them more from the rest of the image.

Is the composition of these any better?

Andrew, I was thinking of an even tighter crop.
More like this:

I cropped and straightened so the eyes were on a horizontal plane, the increased contrast then added fill light to compensate for the excessive darkening around the eyes.

I like the composition in the first.

I think the eyes are the key - are you able to bring them out even more? (kinda like Gerry has done but with just the eyes)

Might be as simple as that

ATJ wrote:Is the composition of these any better?]

yep in order of preference, 3,2,1.

makes him/her more than just his/her snout!

biggerry wrote:

ATJ wrote:Is the composition of these any better?]

yep in order of preference, 3,2,1.

makes him/her more than just his/her snout!

Oh wow, they're all excellent (and arguably better than the original one). My favourite is the last (profile) image. I can't help but chuckle at all of them…

Cheers
Steffen.

For those that prefer the first image, here it is with the bright bit darkened and the eyes highlighted:



And here's a bright version of the profile.



Note that the males have the big nose. The female's nose is relatively small:

Andrew

I think you've nailed it with the rework and those are the pick of the images as well. For me I far prefer the male in profile despite the great eye contact in the other image. I think it shows the proboscis better.