How to recompose an image in Photoshop – well one way that I have tried using the content aware crop tool.
I need to try something. I have had a quick go with the content aware crop tool. And now I have the need to have another go. I am going to do something to this image that I don’t normally do.
Hopefully.
Firstly I need to explain.
The problem with this image is that the horizon is too high in the picture. I want more sky.
It is all down to how I took the shot, which in my defence was some years ago.
I might have mentioned before how important composition is.
This is a case in point.
The composition Is not good, but hopefully I can fix this in Photoshop.
It is not how it is meant to be I know, but every now and then it is fine. I obviously prefer to get my composition correct in camera rather than create if afterwards, but lets give it a go and see what happens.
First thing I need to do is get rid of the vignette in Lightroom. I am working on a virtual copy of the final edit by the way.
Once the vignette is gone I send the picture over to Photoshop, where I select the crop tool, and crop outwards.
Yes I know.
Crop outwards!
I chose the top left hand corner and dragged up and left until the horizon line was in a better position.
I went left and up as I thought this would give me the best results.
Then I selected the tick to apply the effect, and went off to make a cuppa.
Boom!
Well that worked incredibly well.
There is a blotch in the sky which I got rid of using one of my new favourite tools, the patch tool. So powerful and effective.
That just left a problem over to the left, where the sea did not work quite as well as I had hoped. And there was sea in the sky.
Obviously this cant be right.
But don’t worry. I have a plan.
I went out wide and high as I wanted the picture to go up to get more sky, but I did not need more sea, so all I needed to do was re-crop out the excess stuff I didn’t want want way and that is the image reworked.
I have lost some of the foreground but I am fine with that.
A quick final check for blemishes in the image and I am done.
So here is my brand new picture of the beach at West Bay. I have put the before and after images below for direct comparison
Rick McEvoy Photography