Downtown Perrysburg Ohio

One of the things we love about living in Perrysburg is how close we are to downtown. I love going in and out of the little shops. It’s a great activity to let the kids burn off some energy before dinner. A plus for me, is that time of day during winter usually has pretty light. Miss M and I bundled up on this afternoon to get some fresh air and soak up the sunshine.

Settings

f 3.2; ss 1/1000; iso 800

Before & After

Since we were outside because the sun was finally shining after weeks of clouds skies, I took full advantage. I wanted to incorporate the sun and I noticed it playing peek-a-boo with me as it was getting lower in the sky. I asked M to stand by the fence while I moved the camera until I saw the light was just right. The trick with flare is to move all around until you see the rays you want in your camera. I was drawn to this image because I love how she moved her hat over her eye in a playful way. The textures of her hat and scarf also add a bit of warmth to the image.

This image just needed a clean edit. I cropped the little bit of blown out sky and house above the fence. Then I added contrast and a levels adjustment to make the colors pop. When shooting backlit images, it can wash out the tones so I like to add them back in while post processing. I also brought up the exposure just a touch.

I also knew this image would convert to black and white beautifully. There is a wide tonal range from the bright sun to dark hat and jacket. By removing the color, you can see how all the tones work together. When I convert to black and white, I also like a clean, contrasty edit. This means deeper blacks and bright whites.

Which one do you like best? Color or black and white?

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Downtown Perrysburg Ohio – Before & After