LONG-EXPOSURE WORKFLOWS
sharon tenenbaum (sharontenenbaum.com) explains her steps for perfect long-exposure cityscapes
1 SET UP AND SHOOT
compose the skyline to maximise geometric harmony. in this case symmetry was an obvious choice. i was using B+W nD filters (a 10 and a 3 stacked), which resulted in a slight reddish colour cast.
2 OPEN RAW FILE
Architectural subject matter celebrates lines, form, shape and texture. therefore, increasing clarity and adjusting contrast are fundamental steps before taking the image into photoshop.
3 BRIGHTEN THE WATER
the first step is to apply the Lens correction filter. i opt for an exposure to achieve the desired sky and then brighten up the water with a White to transparent Gradient adjustment layer.
4 CREATE REFLECTIONS
reflections in water add an element of balance and symmetry. i add a reflection by duplicating the pixel layer, selecting the skyline and flipping the layer vertically.
5 BLUR THE REFLECTION
reduce the opacity. then go to Filter> Blur> Motion Blur, choose 90° for the Angle box and play with the Distance slider. Go back to your skyline and mask areas you don’t want blurred.
6 WORK WITH COLOUR
i chose to go with subtle colour tones for this capture, using Levels and curves, as i wanted the story to be about the form and balance of the image.