Settings;
Aperture; f/1.6
shutter speed; 1/320
ISO; 100
taken with my 85mm lens, no flash
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Encouraging critique anyone?
So one of the main things I want this blog to be about is helping each other grow in a way that is both encouraging and productive. I really want us to be able to gently help each other through different things as we all learn to take better photos and be better photogs. My first idea in getting this sort of interaction started is simply to do a photo critique where, if you want to, you post a photo for critique and we all, no matter our experience level, share how the photo impacted us, what drew our eye first, what areas caught our eye in good and bad ways (distractions or drawing you into the subject) and if there are things that might make the photo better. Of course there are all levels of photography so when we post a photo might I suggest we specifically ask for certain areas of critique ie; posing, lighting, exposure, angle, composition etc. just to narrow our initial field of what would be most helpful for each person especially those starting out. Lets all remember that we are each artists and all of us have a unique eye that may or may not like something. That doesn't always mean its technically wrong. Please take the critique with a grain of salt and if you like something that someone else doesn't, don't necessarily change it just for that reason. Evaluate each critique with a grain of salt and knowing all of us are here to be helpful. With that, lets begin! Here's a shot I took earlier this year of my sis in law for her photography headshots. I chose it for critique because, like Lisa mentioned posing is often hard for my little brain and I'm not so sure this pose worked? Thoughts on how to make the pose better? How to make the entire shot better? It's SOOC (straight out of camera) with RAW edits (warmed, upped blacks). Any editing thoughts would be much appreciated as well!
Settings;
Aperture; f/1.6
shutter speed; 1/320
ISO; 100
taken with my 85mm lens, no flash
Settings;
Aperture; f/1.6
shutter speed; 1/320
ISO; 100
taken with my 85mm lens, no flash
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beautiful!
ReplyDeletethat's all :)
hey??? did you just change the pic?
ReplyDeletethis one of Jamie is beautiful too - but, first I saw an image of a young girl with awesome lighting!
Haha! You caught me in the middle of my third or fourth revision! I was trying to pick a photo that I didn't all together love because I wanted someone elses eyes to tell me what wasn't working. I changed it to this one because I just don't know, something seems off but I can't quite pin it.
ReplyDeleteok - just my thoughts....after my last shoot I decided I had taken all the images with a bit of a tilt with my camera...i like it on alot of images- but, I was really disappointed that I hadn't straightened the camera out for some of the shots - I think this one, since it has the lines of the pillars I would straighten out - but, like I said - I just got done with tilt overload :)
ReplyDeletehaha - that is funny i caught you in the middle :)
ReplyDeleteI like the pose...I think it has a fluid movement to it (if that makes sense)...I like how one hand is in the pocket and the other hand has a soft bend in the fingers...I also really like the crossing of her feet and the space that is created between her body and her arm by having her bend to the side. I think the only critique I would have would be the hair in her face (which could be removed)...I am always watching for hair because my daughter has tons and I hate fixing it in post! And then the other thing would be her expression in her mouth...she looks a little uncomfortable..but nothing major. I ♥ all your stuff though...really, your light is always amazing...and I would love to be able to get that all this time with my images. Do you ever get bad lighting? lol ;)
ReplyDeleteHaha!!! Do I ever get bad lighting?! Oh my ;)I used to only shoot at noon when I first started! I swear every time I went out it was BRIGHT blaring sunshine, I'd get so frustrated and finally it hit me; Light is pretty much the first thing I need to look for and anything can look nice in good light. On paid shoots it's the first thing I scout. I only go out when the sun is low on the horizon and for weddings I find the most shaded area possible. That's it Diane! I think you're right, it's the angle combined with the lines that I don't love. Maybe a straight crop. Great thoughts too Lisa, making sure all the little details are just right is super important (hair, hands, outfit etc.). Keep it coming girls! This is also a good eye training exercise to really get us thinking about every little thing when taking a photo.
ReplyDelete***Keep in mind this is all subjective*** I don't get my feelings hurt when it comes to my work, so I don't assume anyone asking for critique would either. Putting this out to everyone - I don't ever say anything to be mean - it's just one person's opinion and you don't have to like it or take anything from it :)
ReplyDeleteOverall I like the image - exposure and color are great! If this was a paid shoot *I* probably wouldn't show it to a client. I am not a fan of tilt, you could straighten it out, but you would probably lose the cool beams on either side. So, probably wouldn't save it. I would have centered her head in the glass behind her - I LOVE the orange door with her purple sweater and I think it would frame her head nicely.
Also - and this is personal preference, I like the subject to be looking *somewhere,* if that makes sense. It doesn't always have to be at the camera, (although I find those are the most "saleable" images when it comes to Seniors hence the reason I probably wouldn't show this to a client) but I feel like the connection is between her and her shoe, or that mark on the ground instead of you, or someone off camera - even if imaginary.
If I was to guess what you aren't seeing in this image it's that "connection"
Just my 2 cents :)
Hey Ashley. :) I agree that the color and exposure look good, and the colors of the outfit and the surroundings blend well.
ReplyDeleteI saved this image to my computer and played with it in elements. I cropped it like 3 different ways...and none of them worked for me. I edited out the spot on the ground. It helped, but didn't really change how I felt about it.
I don't always need to see a connection to like a photo. Depends on the reason of the photo. Sometimes a photo that shows emotion doesn't have to be connected to another person, object or camera. I think she looks shy in this shot. That may be her personality, but I am not thinking so.
I think for me, it comes down to the fact that it doesn't look quite like a purposeful pose....nor does it look like a true and natural moment. It looks like it was caught "inbetween". You know what I mean?
I'm chuckling again because I just now noticed that she's totally "connected" to the spot of goo on the cement! I noticed it right away when I brought the shot back up onto my computer and would have taken it out had this been an image that I edited for her but with all this talk of connection I'm realizing she's connected, to that goo ;) Not exactly what I was going for! I personally like tilt in lots of images but I think this one was too linear with structure to do tilt. I do vaguely remember this pose being a bit tricky to pull off when we were out playing around and while she is not a shy girl I think the pose lends itself to a more timid personality. That's a good thought Corey!! That would be a great thing to do with my inspiration poses, to sort for personality. Then when I have a shoot for someone I don't know the posing may come easier just because I've preplanned for lots of different personalities... can you tell I'm a rigorous planner?! Great thoughts!
ReplyDelete