Photo Critiqing Thread

[Photog]

Brian,

I took your advice and looked through what I had and I think this is closer to what I should have posted in the first place. Thanks for all your help, not only are my pictures looking better but my eye for weeding out what I have is improving as well.

Now that snow-blower looks like it is really moving. Good composition, color, etc.

It might just be my monitor; but it looks a little bright. Make sure you didn't loose detail in the brightest snow, when you made your adjustments.

Nice work.!

 

[7wt]

Now that snow-blower looks like it is really moving. Good composition, color, etc.

It might just be my monitor; but it looks a little bright. Make sure you didn't loose detail in the brightest snow, when you made your adjustments.

Nice work.!

Thanks, how about this one? It's my first attempt at night shots.

 

[Photog]

Thanks, how about this one? It's my first attempt at night shots.

That is excellent.

Technically, this is a twilight photo. There is still some wonderful color in the sky. Twilight is a great time for photography of large shiney things (cars, trains, planes, rockets, etc).

Leave the shutter open a bit longer, and lighten up the image. Bring the overall exposure up to a point just below mid-tone (-1..0..+1). If you want to work on this photo, adjust the exposure & brightness, to get the bulk of the histogram to be a little left of center. This will keep the feeling of evening; but brig out the colors and details.

The image is well composed. The nose of the plane is on the 1/3 lines. THe plane is "looking" out the edge of the frame (usually a bad thing); but it seems to work well in this image. The wing line is great. You are looking up at the plane, making it seem large (they are large).

The only thing I don't like, are the cones. I know why they are there, and I know it is normal for them to be there. I also know you probably can't move them. They are still distracting. If I were to prep this image for print, I would remove them, digitally.

Bring up the exposure. I want to see it again. Nice work!

 

[pwc]

Here is one from another member of my family:

I've tried vertical crops with just the left section of the Rock, and horizontal with the rocks, but nothing solid.

Any help is appreciated.

Holy cats!! I've been away for a month and this thread has really grown! In this image I took Brian's idea and went a bit narrower. I also tweaked the curves a little to bring out something of the blownout sky while attempting to not freak out the other colors.

 

[Photog]

Holy cats!! I've been away for a month and this thread has really grown! In this image I took Brian's idea and went a bit narrower. I also tweaked the curves a little to bring out something of the blownout sky while attempting to not freak out the other colors.

PWC,
The skinny crops are great for all kinds of marketing materials. Book marks, inside flaps on book covers, margin photos next to text, etc. If you have an odd piece of wall space, many times a slim-jim will make a nice piece of decor. Great idea on this crop.!

 

[Railvan]

I posted a few new photos to my pbase site:

http://www.pbase.com/railbat/scratchpad

I backed off the saturation on the railroad wheel photos discussed above too. I think they look better now. Just over cooked them, I guess!

When you look at the photos, click on the "original" size below each photo. They look sharper at this size.

Brian R

 

[Photog]

I like the photo "Ship 2". Dramatic, well composed, you can read the company name, and ship's name. This is a good one to play with.:wavey:

 

[pismo62]

You guys have been very kind in reviewing a couple previous shots, so I thought I'd throw a couple more out.

I was in luck, on our way to one of our local campsites, a couple weekends ago. There's a grove of walnut tree that had this amazing carpet of what the local kids call sourgrass.

Thanks for looking. :sombrero:

 

[7wt]

How about this one? I got a couple of nice shots yesterday in beautiful Mystic Connecticut.

 

[Superu]

I like that tug shot.

Here are a few of mine.

 

[Photog]

You guys have been very kind in reviewing a couple previous shots, so I thought I'd throw a couple more out.

I was in luck, on our way to one of our local campsites, a couple weekends ago. There's a grove of walnut tree that had this amazing carpet of what the local kids call sourgrass.

Thanks for looking. :sombrero:

These types of images draw you into the scene. The colors in these are very nice. The hard sunlight makes the image a bit too contrasty. Bright flowers and black shadows. Makes you almost squint, with a feeling of brightness. You did fine, with what you had to work with, and the time of day you were there. If you could be there when the sky is cloudy, or at twilight, you would be able to create an even more pleasing image. It looks like the first one might be out of focus. Might be the editing software; but take a look at the original file.

The second photo draws attention to the pile around the base of the tree. Its location in the composition, and the heavy contrast, draw your eye to it. What is it?

 

[Photog]

How about this one? I got a couple of nice shots yesterday in beautiful Mystic Connecticut.

The subject is great. Mid-day light is not great. Light is everything, when it comes to photography. Without light, we have no images.

A pigs ear, can look good in good light, and a Supermodel will look bad in bad light.

You have a great subject and good composition; but in bad light. I am forced to take photos like this sometimes. It is either to keep in an album of our trip, or to push the limits of my skills, to ceate a pleasing image in mid-day light.

Note: Mid-day light is sunlight that is coming down from a high angle. Different latitudes and seasons, will change the actual time (on the clock) when there is mid-day light.

Things you might try, with this image: Increase saturation, increase black point, and try cropping or photo editing, to remove the bright skiff behind the fire boat. Its cover is the brightest object in the image, and it draws attention away from the subject.

Be there at morning twilight and sunrise to really make this image sing.

This boat is a great subject, the colors are strong, and I think you might be able to make it work, with some editing.:26_7_2:

 

[Photog]

Superu,
You definitely have an eye for the dramatic images. Night in the city, day in the mountains (Snowy Mtns?), great use of B&W, and I like the composition with the Superu with the old shingle barn.

The only image I could offer a corrective critique on is the shot in the mountains. If you could have used a split-neutral-density filter, to bring down the brightness of the clouds, and a polarizer to cut some of the haze, it would be an even more powerful image.

Nice work.:clapsmile

 

[Superu]

Thanks

The feedback is very much appreciated!

Original resolution looks much better than these reduced images.

 

[7wt]

Thanks Brian, I knew the lighting was too bright but took the shot anyway. I am planning to get back in the evening with a setting sun and again in the fall with the red and oranges in the trees. Besides, I had to get back home to get a shot of this...

I was a little bummed that the Fury was parked next to the rather plain hangar. I tried to get a shot that was interesting that didn't have the hangar in it and this was what I came up with.