Actually, you're right!
This forum should also be about the craftsmanship of a photo.
It's just not like that!
Enjoy your time in this forum as long as you're in tune with the three saints 😄
You can't make it easy for yourself!
You're one of those people who makes photos worse in post-processing.
The chain usually starts with boring photos.
THE REAL QUESTION IS: DO YOU LIKE YOUR OWN PHOTOS?
IF SO, WHY SO MUCH POST-PROCESSING?
This is a stitched panorama using Photoshop Elements.
Sticking out slightly behind the cliff on the left is Pulpit Rock. Walking all the way down is no problem, but I am getting too old to struggle walking back up. It's a long way and where this pano was shot is only about half way down from the carpark. Nowadays I would need an ambulance on standby if I attempted to climb back up from the bottom there.
Excellent shot and lesson in contrast. If one squints their eyes the buildings look like big pumpkins which is humorous. I like the dark sky as a background.
Personally, I would remove the cars from the equation, but it's up to image maker...
If we treat our photos like the people or landscape around us, you'll treat them harshly beyond recognition!
You can't get back what you missed when you took the photo!
By the way, if you look at the original forums, you'll see how much approval I get.
I take into account all the feedback/opinions I receive from wherever my images are viewable, not just from a small handful of contributors here on dprevived.
Your thoughts/opinions are just one of many and carry less weight than most as described earlier.
The iPhone made a mess of the clouds in the image you posted earlier.
You often ramble on about images needing to look realistic to you and then you post images like you did earlier this thread which is very unrealistic with the clouds and leaning rooms as described earlier.
The drinksellers are key to photo one as well as two. In 1 they are established by the pink colours and central position. The two foreground figures give a line to that centre while adding easily distinguished clothing clues to the holiday atmosphere.
Number two, on its own, doesn't feel as successful. It lacks the party vibe that the crowd and blue sky brings to 1. The horizontal position of the solitary boat also makes it feel more passive.
Seen in series with 1 however is a different matter, it becomes additional information to a setting already established. As such, I think it needs the shadows lifted small amount to make the main character's face and the front edge of the boat a bit clearer. Not much.
A project with lots of possibilities. Your choice of B&W is important. If it had been colour, I imagine (I sure don't know) that there might be colour sheens playing a part in the outcome. In B&W, lines, edges, patterns and tones are what we look at.
Number one doesn't interest me. Too much is out of focus for the main elements to convey much.
Not so 2 and 3. In both the oil/water mix is creating patterns and lines to be explored.
The curves and edges of the flower pattern in 2 are replicated in the bubble forms.
In 3, the drops become lenses of different sizes that give multiple clues to the nature of the bowl.