>>3662584Firstly, your picture isnt entirely sharp. This is because you took the picture at F22, in which you will suffer a lot of softness due to diffraction.
Secondly, I am not sure what kind of editing you did to cause this, but the top left some shit is going on that I cant even explain. Never mind some color fringing.
Seeing how you have an APSC at 18mm f3.5 max ap, I assume you use the Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens. It doesn't seem to have terrible chroma at 18mm, so you could easily correct it with the proper button in lightroom. You can also do it in photoshop I think, but its a bit more involved.
Personally, I am not a fan of a random crop, better stick to the known crop factors and decide on those already when you take the picture. Also think about what you want the focus on, I think the stream is your main subject here, so I would crop out more of the top of the trees, there is nothing interesting there, and especially to avoid nasty highlights from the sky peaking through.
I like the foreground but maybe a bit too much water.
See the example for a crop that looks a bit better imho, but this is a lot of personal better. I sticked to a 4/3 crop since that is closest to your original crop.
As for the mysterious feel, you firstly have to think in contrasts and colors, I think this article helps a lot:
https://www.sharkandpalm.com/design-tutorials/4-vsco-editing-tips-to-help-you-stand-out-on-instagramLets go through the checklist:
- What mood do you want?
Eerie, mysterious
- What colors do you need for that mood?
Cool colors, dark greens, blues
- What colors should be minimized for that mood?
Warm colors
- What parts are too bright to convey that mood?
In this case, maybe the brightly lit trees in the background
- What parts are too dark to convey that mood?
Not very applicable
- Does the image need more or less contrast for that mood?
More contrast