A bad attempt at a CSI theme

…is the bad photography and photoshopping.

Sure, the composition is good — tough to mess up a very basic pose. But the two big things that annoy me are the lighting, or lack thereof, and the bad photoshopping.

That harsh lighting is causing a hard shadow behind her, which looks very unprofessional. And let’s talk location: where the hell is she? Because the shot is so tight, you can’t tell if she’s in a seedy alleyway (cool) or next to an elementary school (not cool). Because of the lack of context, the theme is lost.

And dude, if you’re going to photoshop something into a photo, study it in real life first. That lens flare is not fooling anyone. The flashlight would have to be pointed directly into the lens for it to achieve that, which it clearly isn’t.

Do it better

1. Make sure you get a wider shot, to show context of the scene.
2. Go for more dramatic lighting with a subject like this
3. Just turn on the flashlight instead of photoshopping it