This is not the first time I’ve seen an overlay or filter that makes the image look pale and washed out. Anyone know why the $^&#@ people do that? I can think of no reason whatsoever, and it just looks terrible.
@PhilO: If you “just” fade behind the text, with such a busy image, it actually looks worse. In fact, there’s a cover here, on LBC, that has that very effect.
It almost always looks like what it is–a rather kludged-together “save” for an image that either the illustrator didn’t leave enough space for the title and/or byline (or both) or the author fell madly in love with an image, that also didn’t have room for either/both. [shrug].
I have one, literally, right this second, in my shop,came to us to be fixed/salvaged, with this identical problem. Background image is a photo of the Arizona or Nevada desert; beiges and sage green and some sky and some brownish mountains–very busy, if you really look at it (for such an empty landscape!) and nearly impossible to put description text over, the title, the spine…we’re going to have to create background boxes for them (rather than Fart Clouds!) and that is going to leave exceedingly little of the actual cover image to be seen. sigh.
This is not the first time I’ve seen an overlay or filter that makes the image look pale and washed out. Anyone know why the $^&#@ people do that? I can think of no reason whatsoever, and it just looks terrible.
I think they do it to make the text more legible.
But why the entire image? Just do it around the text if you must, but better yet, find another solution!
@PhilO: If you “just” fade behind the text, with such a busy image, it actually looks worse. In fact, there’s a cover here, on LBC, that has that very effect.
Ummmmmm…yup, this one: https://lousybookcovers.com/1930105/#comment-72883 and @EricL mentioned that as a “fart cloud.” It’s difficult to do that and make it look intentional and good.
It almost always looks like what it is–a rather kludged-together “save” for an image that either the illustrator didn’t leave enough space for the title and/or byline (or both) or the author fell madly in love with an image, that also didn’t have room for either/both. [shrug].
I have one, literally, right this second, in my shop, came to us to be fixed/salvaged, with this identical problem. Background image is a photo of the Arizona or Nevada desert; beiges and sage green and some sky and some brownish mountains–very busy, if you really look at it (for such an empty landscape!) and nearly impossible to put description text over, the title, the spine…we’re going to have to create background boxes for them (rather than Fart Clouds!) and that is going to leave exceedingly little of the actual cover image to be seen. sigh.