I didn't have a camera - just my phone - and I wanted a picture of Rochdale town hall. So, I took the picture below, but I'm not too happy with it. How would you improve it? [I only have the JPG)
March 14, 2025
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A) go back on a sunny day.
B) get them to cut some of the trees down, or find a less restricted view.
If you dont want to wait for the above conditions, and are convinced that this is potentially a winning shot, cut off the bottom bit as far as the steps.
David
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Too busy scene to find clear subject, but I would try next (Ektachrome simulation, perspective, crop, color adjustments, local adjustments):
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I wouldn't change much, it looks like what it is - a nice scene, but shot on a day in cold harsh light. Not every situation is going to yield a stellar photo and, while you can certainly do things to improve the look, trying to make it look like something it isn't - like a warm sunny morning, will almost always end in failure. That all said, with this one, I'd just want to warm and open up the dark crunchy looking shadows a bit and recover some tonality in the sky....
Also, from a compositional standpoint, I would have been more careful to align the steeple, the fountain, and the center line or the foreground walkway, being careful to keep the building lines vertical (which you sort of did). Like you got here, keeping the architecture vertical will result in exaggerated foreground with a wide angle lens (hold your camera as high as possible to minimize this), but it's usually better than converging verticals alternative (IMO). A compromise with some electronic geometric correction in post is an alternative. Here, I straightened the buildings (primarily on the left) and cropped for a more subject-centric framing...
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ErikWithak, your edit is great.
I'll send you a heap of my shots for you to work on. -
I wasn't happy with the WB, gave it a twiddle, something else to think about.
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On second thoughts, if a picture of the town hall is what you want, the pool is a distraction.
But, maybe that is too severe. Try putting the pool back:
Your choice. (Maybe clone out the twigs at bottom left and right).
As I sugggested earlier, the real answer is to return and have another go when the sun is shining, but before the leaves on the trees get in the way, and take some different views. August Bank Holiday weather does not flatter buildings like this!
David
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Since a picture of the town hall was indeed wanted, a big crop was my thought too:
Just noticed the oops at top right, duh.
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Try taking the picture again holding the phone/camera horizontally (landscape mode).
