Found the levels slider in PS

[ndwgolf]

My initial try at retouching a scanned 8x10 veg looked very muddy to me but after playing some more with the levels slider in PS it’s definitely made the Black and Whites pop…….. what do you think
After using the sliders



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[Alan Klein]

She looks great in both pictures.

[cowanw]

I hope you will take these comments as I mean them, in good faith. A lot of people like the high contrast look. It is the default setting for store reprints (for digital and usually colour prints), which has influenced the fashion. If that is the preferred look, well and good.
I will offer two related things to think about. Firstly the increase in contrast has resulted in bright white sky coming through the trees as well as the larger area on the left where you have lost the nuance and balance of the horizon of the water and the sky. These bright areas might be distracting.
The second thing is related and that is the white shirt.
When I was younger I did a degree in photography class where we talked about this. The prof. was pointing out that white advanced things in the picture and that darkness put things toward the background visually. During the exorcize a fellow student presented a picture of a young lady with very large breasts in a bright white tube top, vividly emphasizing the principle of bringing something visually forward. As it happens, it elicited rave reviews from the Prof. whose male gaze got stimulated while he got quite enthused about how great the woman looked in the picture.
Point is, in your picture, the stronger contrast brings forward the white shirt and, I think makes the point of interest move away from her face. The change in contrast has created two pictures saying two slightly different things.
It may be a point worth thinking about. Or not.
PS Conflict of interest notice: I am stuck in the 1930's
PPS I like the first iteration.