Don’t forget, it’s all about composition

This shot was taken at ISO 400 with a Canon 1D-Mark III using a EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM at 170mm (221mm effective) set to 1/500 @ f/2.8.

I love this shot, and based on the feedback I’ve received most people do as well. However, when I first saw the unedited photos from this shoot I wasn’t a happy camper. The model’s hair had frizzed out from the heat and humidity near the falls, the color was blah, and nothing seemed to look good. I nearly deleted most of the photos from the shoot – including this one. However, I thought this model looked like a super model in this shot (in fact, while I was photographing this shot people were asking her to take photos with them) and I loved the background. I thought it was a strong composition but a bad photo from a technical perspective.

Photography isn’t just about technically perfect photos, so I decided to process this shot the best I could. Initially I still wasn’t very satisfied with the results so I once again turned to Nik Software Color Efex 3.0 Complete. After some experimentation, I settled on the Color Stylizer filter and immediately I knew I had a winner.

It’s taken me a while to mature enough as a photographer to realize that a great shot doesn’t have to be perfectly sharp, or every hair in place for it to be a great photo. Instead, if my gut tells me the composition is good then I know I just need to work on it in Photoshop until I have a result I can be proud of. I’m proud of this shot, so mission accomplished.