Puzzles

"Puzzles" seems to fit both the little girl's expression and my own

indecision about editing this photo. After trying a few artsy tweaks

last year I decided to revisit it with the trial version of LR5.2 and

try a more straightforward b&w version. What do you think about the

overall balance of the foreground against the brighter background?

I like the low angle you have used for this shot. All are contemplating, individually. Try one of the red filters... it will probably blow out the highlights but in this composition it could be purposive... effectively seperate the foreground and the backdrop and mitigate the compressive effect of the lens.

Agree with your title ,but there is a lot of distance between the for and background ,,if it was mine ,I would decrease the distance between the two since increasing it is with no value,I would burn the walls more and then burn the windows even more. Just a personal opinion.

Thanks, Rajat and Saad, I appreciate the specific feedback.  I wanted to retain the enigmatic characteristics of the little girl's expression, and the little boy and older fellow gazing into different directions.

 

The scenario was extremely contrasty and my main goal was to tone down the background while maintaining a sense of distance and separation, as if the building was somehow unattainable or mirage-like.

 

I'm testing a trial version of Lightroom 5 now and the new radial filter and improved heal/clone tool really helped get this photo closer to what I have in mind.

 

Saad, I may revisit this again and perhaps tone down the building a bit more.  I don't want to lessen the brightness too much, since it might hinder the sense of depth and distance.  But I'll wait a few days or so before trying another variation.  I've worked on this photo in various sessions since May 2012, and each time I revisit it I see new possibilities.

 

Again, thanks very much for the specific feedback - that's very helpful.