Critique My Image

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  • lkbuchananlkbuchanan Posts: 17Member
    BW Dried Rose II

    Still learning my camera but I have been taking many photos and learning the lenses.
  • henrik1963henrik1963 Posts: 567Member
    @Msmoto: Like the shot. To my eyes the WB is a bit off - too yellow. I like the softer look in your version - maybe moving it a bit in Donaldejoses direction?

    @Ikbuchanan: Chilling shot - death is creeping in? Square cropping?
  • PierrePierre Posts: 360Member
    Agree, the increased contrast/sharpening makes the image look more like it is alive….however, for the orchid folks, I am thinking they want to see a more accurate rendition. In my shot, I actually was considering making it flatter……LOL I will se what the orchid growers have to say.
    I kind of agree with you. I see a tendency even in my work to go for the wow by over saturating/contrasting to the detriment of more subtle, natural and rich color gradiants. By attepting to over impress, lots of photos become more cartoon-like, not that I have anything against the style, if it is what one wants to achieve. Personally, I think the bacground could be different even if it remains dark, like strongly bokeyed leaves, unless your are seeking a modern-art look.
    The flower leaves could be lighter to give it less the look of a picture taken inside.
  • WestEndBoyWestEndBoy Posts: 1,456Member
    edited February 2014
    Here is an image that I would like people to critique.

    _DSC6979.jpg

    D800, 85mm 1.4G, ISO 1100, 85mm, f/1.4, 1/400 sec

    First off, the ISO is high because I am going for sharpness with a 1/400 sec shutter speed.

    I am also going for bokeh. I am not crazy about the bokeh in this background. It seems to wash out the skin. What I would really like people to comment on is the sharpness of the eyes. I focused on the right eye, which is sharp, but the left eye is soft due to the narrow depth of field. Pitchblack, I suspect that you will have some things to say as you strive to achieve the bokeh effect while keeping things sharp.

    Is the sharpness of the left eye acceptable the forum's view given the desired bokeh effect? If not, what would you have done different?
    Post edited by WestEndBoy on
  • MsmotoMsmoto Posts: 5,398Moderator
    @jshickele

    I might have shot at f/2.8, 1/100 sec. It may be the lens/body is front focusing slightly… There is no bokeh…at least not any point sources to give some interesting texture. I think I would crop the top and left some to move the child's right eye slightly higher and to the left.
    Msmoto, mod
  • PierrePierre Posts: 360Member
    edited February 2014
    @donaldejose This is a pretty picture, looks a bit like Aladdin's magic something. I would try to white balance the snow whiter, giving it a creamy color and perhaps edit-out the foot-steps and tilt-it a bit to the right to make the structure vertically straight. Maybe increase the contrast on some of the structure but not on the snow.

    @shickele I find his face a bit too dark, I would bring it up while leaving the background dark. I also find his head too tilted to the left so I would rotate it rightward a bit. The white balance is a bit too blue, especially in his eye so I would make it whiter.
    Post edited by Pierre on
  • MsmotoMsmoto Posts: 5,398Moderator
    @lkbuchanan
    Try it flipped horizontally….. I am not certain what you are looking for, but a wilted flower effect, dull, gray, dark, is what I see. There is a lot of potential for other presentations….
    Msmoto, mod
  • lkbuchananlkbuchanan Posts: 17Member
    @henrik1963 Thank you, yes death already crept in...That was a 3 year old dried rose

    @Msmoto I will try your suggestion

    Thanks for the input!!
  • Benji2505Benji2505 Posts: 522Member
    Here is an image that I would like people to critique.

    _DSC6979.jpg

    D800, 85mm 1.4G, ISO 1100, 85mm, f/1.4, 1/400 sec
    Content: portrait of a child, always a good story, like it
    Technicals:
    a. Subject: front eye is in focus - good, camera angle is slightly above the eye level. My personal preference is to photograph on eye level.
    b. Background: Nice bokeh, blurred backgrounds have the advantage that the viewer focuses on the subject. Sharp backgrounds put the subject into context. I like to see light/color contrasts between subject and background, and this photo is on the right track (check pitchblack photos).
    c. Composition: Bulls-Eye photography here, the eyes as the focus subject are right in the middle. As MsMoto said, crop the picture such that the eyes move. I would move it higher and to the left. I prefer some negative space in front of the face rather than behind it.
    d. Light: fairly well lit portrait. I don't know how many options you had to set up "light support", but there are shadows underneath the chin and the front side could be lit evenly.

    Overall I think it is a keeper.

    All my personal impressions, no offenses intended.
  • PierrePierre Posts: 360Member
    DSC_1157
    What about this one, I see potential but not sure how to make the clouds pop more.
  • donaldejosedonaldejose Posts: 3,675Member
    edited February 2014
    jshickele: Here is how I would post process it in Lightroom.

    jshickelephoto

    It looks like I just lightened it: but there is more. I cropped differently, removed flaws on the skin, lightened the eyes a small amount, cleaned up the back of the hair, removed the black background which had merged with the hair to give a clean hair line, and added a bit of sharpening. If you like it you can download the original size from my flicker account.
    Post edited by donaldejose on
  • henrik1963henrik1963 Posts: 567Member
    edited February 2014
    @PitchBlack: I don´t mind to stray from reality :-) I am trying to get a handle on Aperture 3 - and getting braver :-) I don't think I´m ready for PS just now. I am trying to find a way to do local changes to a picture in stead of global changes.

    I find it less of a challenge to make a good picture if I have strong colors and or a clear form. Here I have a lot going on - my original idea was to let the arch of the tree be "form" and then play with contrast and the limited color.

    Thank you for your feed back - I will go play some more.
    _DSC4235 - Version 2

    Here is a quick and dirty - getting closer to what I want. Thanks for the inspiration :-)
    Post edited by henrik1963 on
  • MsmotoMsmoto Posts: 5,398Moderator
    I have been exposed (NPI) to a lot of good photographers who have shared what they seem to like. Some ideas are as follows…

    In general, composition works well when one follows "Rule of thirds" However, there are many dramatic composition styles which do not follow this.

    Live animals, including humans….try not to crop through a joint…..like a hand, wrist, knee, etc. (not talking about a subject smoking in Colorado).

    The center of the frame can be a focal point if there is very clear symmetry bringing attention to the center.

    I am offering the above as something to think about when cropping. I will often fiddle with moving the image very small increments to obtain what I see as a "pop" in composition. Sometimes, flipping horizontally will create a better image which reads from left to right, the convention in English at least.

    Here is one to think about…a girl falling off her skim board…. and I have some thoughts about this which I might use to change it, but for those who want…say it out loud…


    Hatteras
    Msmoto, mod
  • SportsSports Posts: 365Member
    …say it out loud…
    My immediate thoughts, for what they're worth.....
    She's falling off her board => she needs to fall away from the centre => crop the image to move her to the right.
    I would probably cut off her left hand and lower arm, like she's really falling and out of control :-)
    (If she was jumpings towards something, I would move her to the left, of course.)
    Additionally, I would remove some of the beach at the bottom of the image.
    D300, J1
    Sigma 70-200/2.8, 105/2.8
    Nikon 50/1.4G, 18-200, 80-400G
    1 10-30, 30-110
  • MsmotoMsmoto Posts: 5,398Moderator
    edited February 2014
    How is this?

    Critque_REV 02.13.14

    I have difficulty cutting arms if they are part of the image, i.e., a demonstration of loss of balance.
    Post edited by Msmoto on
    Msmoto, mod
  • donaldejosedonaldejose Posts: 3,675Member
    My immediate impression is that the right side of the frame doesn't give her enough room to fall. I think it would work best as a long horizontal which places her in the middle or left of the frame so she has a full body length in which to fall. Of course that was not captured. I understand some people can add parts to a frame which do not exist, but I cannot do that.
  • heartyfisherheartyfisher Posts: 3,186Member
    edited February 2014
    I think the people in the background are too distracting .. i think the space to the right is good in the original .. the crop off the bot in the second is good .. I would up the contrast and brighten the splash around her legs to bring more attention to that .. :-)

    Post edited by heartyfisher on
    Moments of Light - D610 D7K S5pro 70-200f4 18-200 150f2.8 12-24 18-70 35-70f2.8 : C&C very welcome!
    Being a photographer is a lot like being a Christian: Some people look at you funny but do not see the amazing beauty all around them - heartyfisher.

  • JuergenJuergen Posts: 315Member
    How is this?


    I have difficulty cutting arms if they are part of the image, i.e., a demonstration of loss of balance.
    I think this is pretty much what you can do with this image, I like it that way.

    @donaldejose: adding a bit to a picture is easy in photoshop with adding a background layer with a bigger working space than the original image.

    @ heartyfisher: Funny, I think the people in the background are great, since they are giving the picture depth.

    Thanks for bringing up the topic MsMoto. I was debating with myself about the right crop for the image below. The original has the bird in the center. By cropping it the way I did, I had to cut away the nice water circles. I did not like that, but cropped at the end according to the "golden rule"

    So, what is your opinion?

    Zwergtaucher
    D4, D800E, Nikon 1 J2, 600 f/4, trinity, PC-E 45, PC-E 24, 105, 50 f/1,8g, 85 f/1,4, Sigma 150-500
  • MsmotoMsmoto Posts: 5,398Moderator
    I would do it this way…

    Juergen_Guest_Image 02.13.14
    Msmoto, mod
  • michael66michael66 Posts: 231Member
    How is this?
    I have difficulty cutting arms if they are part of the image, i.e., a demonstration of loss of balance.
    Interesting thing happened when I was looking at Flickr. It had your image of the waterboarder up and it had the crop going through the hand. It looked like she was grabbing for the frame of the picture border to regain her balance. Looked kind of cool.
    I would do it this way…
    Yes, a good crop, the poor duck looked a little lost. Nice shot Juergen!

  • SportsSports Posts: 365Member
    edited February 2014
    How is this?
    I like your suggestion, Msmoto, more than the original.
    Anyway, this was my original idea:
    image
    You have kept the picture nice, but my point is that you probably have a set of nice, perfectly composed shots of smiles, balance, and grace, so the one where the girl falls should add a fair amount of drama.
    Btw, I can support the duck crop.
    PS I didn't see the accidental Flickr crop of the girl, but it could be fun.
    Post edited by Sports on
    D300, J1
    Sigma 70-200/2.8, 105/2.8
    Nikon 50/1.4G, 18-200, 80-400G
    1 10-30, 30-110
  • PierrePierre Posts: 360Member
    edited February 2014
    @msmoto Not sure I like the croped hands, feels like something is missing, I would darken the background to emphasize the action, gradient starting from top left corner diagonal fottowing the wave about 2/3 the way.
    Post edited by Pierre on
  • Benji2505Benji2505 Posts: 522Member
    cropping off limbs only works in very few occasions imho.
  • dissentdissent Posts: 1,329Member
    Just posted this in PAD. Fire away.
    Arboretum snow early February
    - Ian . . . [D7000, D7100; Nikon glass: 35 f1.8, 85 f1.8, 70-300 VR, 105 f2.8 VR, 12-24 f4; 16-85 VR, 300 f4D, 14E-II TC, SB-400, SB-700 . . . and still plenty of ignorance]
  • Vipmediastar_JZVipmediastar_JZ Posts: 1,708Member
    edited February 2014
    @juergen i like @msmotos version the contrast or clarity that was added makes it pop.

    Here is mine for today. Maybe the seat was moved but it seems with her series the light is a little brighter than what I metered for with the cybercommander.

    I softned skin, cropped, added a little more saturation in lips, added some contrast and added clarity to the eyes. after i posted i removed the black dot on her cheek

    Ehisha side
    Post edited by Vipmediastar_JZ on
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