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This waterfall is just outside of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Any

comments, suggestions very much appreciated. I just don't think it's

quite right. What should I have done?

Wish I was there. M

Most (Me) would have slowed the shutter speed ( to give the water that smooth look) but I think that would have not been as good as this, I like this photo it captures the moment. Beautiful place. Congrats

Thanks both for the comments! I had thought about slowing the shutter speed, too, but since I went to this waterfall on a tour and of course we were there right in the middle of a sunny day, I thought slowing the shutter speed would let in too much light. I like the way that the rocks came out in the foreground, but i don't like the leaves at the top right. Is there a way to selectively darken those using curves in photoshop? I am still learning the program. I didn't use curves almost at all on this because when I tried it it didn't look right, so I abandoned the attempt.

You could burn them, or even color them a darker green. You can set the brush very small and flow at about 5% and opacity at about 20% and paint them. I'm not sure how much experience you have with the program, but I am quite proficient. You could use curves to reduce the greens, but you would need a selective color mask for that. Feel free to email me if you want to know more. Good luck.

 

BTW: I love the rushing water. It adds power to the shot. M

When I read in your intro: you 'only' read the manual and know not much about photography..I could say my dear Kristin .. by the time you start serious Photo lessons we all can pack in .. you will be the Queen of Photo.net.

Here I see a wonderfull photo!!! and will rate it 6-6 .

Regards from Holland:

John

M Nelson- I didn't even think about coloring the leaves- thanks! I will give that a try this weekend. I am new to photoshop but I am finding it quite easy to learn and very fun to play with! Thanks for your offer to help- I will take you up on that if I get stuck! :)

 

John- Thanks so much for your wonderful comments. They really made my day!

 

Regarding the waterfall- the more I think about it, I'm glad I decided not to slow the shutter speed. I have never been near a waterfall before this, and the first thing that hit me was how powerful and loud it was, which is something I didn't expect. I could hear it well before we got around the cliff to the waterfall itself. I think slowing down the water would take away from that. Not necessarily in every photo, but this one, for me personally, I mean.

 

Again, thanks for the great comments and tips. Mostly when I post I get mediocre ratings with no suggestions for improvements, and that can be frustrating. I am very happy to see good feedback and suggestions I can use to improve my next photo!