Bad photo and why it's bad . . .

I went for a walk on the beach this morning and the light was kind of strange — sunlight filtering through intermittent clouds and a lot of mist. A child was playing with his dog in the surf and so I took a quick photograph. I like the way the clouds look, the soft blue tones, the body position of the dog, but I do not like the way the child's head merges into the background rocks. I wish his head had a cleaner background so that it would stand out more.

Could I fix this in Photoshop? Yes, but it would take me a long time and, frankly, the overall photo isn't worth it. I normally would throw something like this away, but I figure no, it's a good teaching tool. So there you have it. I'm not proud. I'll say it loud: this is not a good shot! And now you know why. ©Carol Leigh