Photo Critiqing Thread

[Photog]

Hey Brian, whatever works for you.

For me, I would like the critique on the palm tree one.

Thanks!!!!

Thanks Mike

I like the simplicity of this image, and the moon sneaking into the frame. It is sharp and the main light is coming from camera right. The main subject (tree tops) are not in the center. The palm tops are angled. There is a nice base to the frame. All these things are good.

The long stretch in the middle, seems empty; but it does tell the story of these tall trees.

Something about this image feels wrong. All the technical stuff is good. Hmmm. Three trees and no moon, maybe. A polarizer to deepen the color in the sky, maybe.

There is no connection between the moon and the trees. The moon is so cool, it is distracting from the trees. Three trees would be an easier composition to view. Another option would be to move away from the trees, and use a telephoto lens, to increase the size of the moon. Make the moon the main subject and the palm trees a supporting subject.

Working with this image, I would try cropping off the bottom, and keep the upper portion, with the tree tops and moon. Try a 4x5 horizontal crop. You could even try special effects (B&W, vignette, color shifting....).

The palm trees in Death Valley are very interesting, but are not easy to work with. You did a good job with time of day, and other technical details, on this tough subject.

 

[ExpoMike]

Thank for the compliment. I agree, it's nice but seems to be lacking something. Maybe this is really the better shot that I took.

 

[Photog]

Johnson,
Thanks for picking one out.

This image has a lot going for it: great color, sharpness and composition. God provided the color, and you controlled the sharpness and composition.

I suspect you saw this color happening in the sky, so you stopped and composed this shot. Kudos; many folks would have enjoyed the color, and just kept driving.

This is not a sunset photo. This is a Jeep photo, during sunset or sunrise. That being the case, the Jeep is too dark. The viewer's eye keeps jumping back to the color in the sky.

This image can be improved in Photoshop, and should be. In the field, there are a number of ways to add light to the vehicle or subtract light from the sky. To add light to the vehicle, use a few flashes (spread out), or use a large reflector to bounce some of the evening light back to the Jeep, for the camera's position.

To remove light from the sky, you can use a split ND filter (hard or soft edge). Place the split-edge along the skyline, darkening the sky, but not the Jeep & trees. Now bring the exposure up, to show off the jeep, and keep the great colors in the sky.

Or, using Photoshop or an HDR program, you could use multiple exposures to create the proper mix of light & dark & color.

A small detail: the single tree top, sticking out of the Jeep roof, is distracting. Climb that tree and cut it off, or reposition the camera, or Photochop it out.

Again: Kudos on composition and willingness to jump out and shoot it.:wings:

 

[CoastalDefender]

Guess I'll toss mine in the mix...

Don't be kind, I want to learn what I screwed up badly, and what I did well on accident.

 

[Sexy6Chick]

I am no professional by any means so I am not the best person for critiquing but my .02..there's nothing wrong I can see with the first one. I mean it's got a Frontier in it so it's already a win I love the reflection on the side of the truck and I can't think of better scenery. Remove the shovel and to me it's a perfect shot.

The 2nd one is cool and makes me want some hot chocolate:coffeedrink:, but there's nothing about it that really pops to me. I do like how the background is blurred though, always a fan of that.

The 3rd one..not real sure what I'm supposed to be focusing on here. The scenery is nice but the 18 wheeler kind of kills it for me.

 

[CoastalDefender]

I am no professional by any means so I am not the best person for critiquing but my .02..there's nothing wrong I can see with the first one. I mean it's got a Frontier in it so it's already a win I love the reflection on the side of the truck and I can't think of better scenery. Remove the shovel and to me it's a perfect shot.

The 2nd one is cool and makes me want some hot chocolate:coffeedrink:, but there's nothing about it that really pops to me. I do like how the background is blurred though, always a fan of that.

The 3rd one..not real sure what I'm supposed to be focusing on here. The scenery is nice but the 18 wheeler kind of kills it for me.

No problem. I should have given a bit of background for "why" with the shots.

1- Last night of good clam digging (before the cold season).
2- First frost of the year, and I just loved the way the ice crystalized on my beetle.
3- Calendar photo (hopefully) for one of the companies we operate.

 

[brad m]

Hey guys, new here on EP but I've been lurking for a couple months (first post!). I bought my wife a Canon T1i for her birthday in Sept and she's been having a blast getting into photography. She used to be the office manager for a studio in her hometown a few years back, so she's been around it. But this has been her first chance to go out with a decent camera and do things on her own.

Anyways, we'd love some input on some shots from you guys. Are they good shots, what would you change/recommend, generally critiquing, etc. She has 2 kit lenses that came with her Rebel; the 18-55 with image stabilization, and the 75-300mm without it. All we have for editing software right now is i-Photo, but hopefully down the road we'll be able to get something a little more sophisticated.

My daughter loves snow

 

[brad m]

Three more...

There is a ton of talent and amazing photography here so we really respect what you have to say. Thanks for your input!

 

[brad m]

Sorry, one more. This is one of her very favorites...

 

[nwoods]

She's got the eye for sure. That first shot of your daughter is terrific. I'm really impressed with what she accomplished with the plastic lenses. Well done!

 

[Photog]

OK Sami, I will pick one, from your post.

They all had things to work on. The cabin interior told the most story (my favorite).

Here goes.

This photo has a lot to offer, if you are willing to work on it. There is a good image (smaller) image, within this (larger) image.

The vignette in the corners needs to be dealt with. Judging by the limited size of the vignette, it looks to be to many filters or the wrong sun shade. If it is a sun shade, don't use it when the sun isn't trying to shine on the lens.

Crop the top off, to eliminate the vignette and some of the empty sky. This will move the main subject out of the center of the image. Crop the bottom to remove the vignetting.

I like the vehicle hiding in the bushes. I think it tells a bit of a story (Safety from the overnight snow).

The exposure is low, and needs to be improved, along with a bit of contrast.

posted by Sami

There are a lot of fine details I would do to this image. Here is how I would touch it up. There are other options, but I tend toward a minimalist approach.
1) Crop as described above to 8X10 format.
2) Increase exposure, contrast and saturation.
3) Dodge and burn to draw a little attention to the vehicle and the mountain peak.
4) Add a very soft vignette around the entire image, to keep attention on the subjects.

See if these adjustments make sense to you.

 

[Photog]

Coastal Defender,
3 completely different photos. Nice. And none of them are snapshots.

Photo of commercial truck:
To use this in a calendar for that trucking company, they will want to see their truck a little better, maybe even a company logo. The coast line is cool, but if the subject is the truck, it needs to be a bit more prominent. For a photo-journalistic type of image, this image works just fine. For fine art, it is difficult to tell what the subject is: ocean, coast line, truck, or wind blown tree.

Frosty bug: Brings back memories of my old baja bug, and frost mornings in the mountains of Arizona. OK, enough of that. The main subject is the frost. You found a good batch of it on the driving light on your bug. OK. The subject is dead center. Better if it were along the left 1/3 of the image. Crop the left side, until the light is on that line. The blue color give a very cold feeling - excellent. The sun is shining on objects in the background. These bright spots draw the viewer's attention away from the subject. You can't control the sun, but you could take the photo 15 minutes earlier. It will frost up again this year (tomorrow morning). Go out before the sun peaks over the horizon, and recreate this shot. Plan the shot. park the bug, so that the background in your shot does not include a hot pink kayak and a soccor goal.

The beach shot: I really like this shot, except for the clamming shovel. it is fine for your personal memory of the day; but it is not telling a story that the casual viewer understands. Move the truck to a spot on the beach with no (fewer) footprints, no shovel, and shoot it again. It is a great shot of the beach, truck and sunset. :wings:

 

[Tucson T4R]

Night Xmas Lights Suggestions?

Here are couple shots I took last night. I like the angle and framing of the first shot but with the F8 30 sec exposure the clouds are a little fuzzed out from movement.

The second shot I opened up to F5 and dropped the exposure to about 13 seconds. I like the the clouds better but the angle of the shot is not as good IMO.

Any other suggestions on how I could improve a shot like this?

 

[sami]

There are a lot of fine details I would do to this image. Here is how I would touch it up. There are other options, but I tend toward a minimalist approach.
1) Crop as described above to 8X10 format.
2) Increase exposure, contrast and saturation.
3) Dodge and burn to draw a little attention to the vehicle and the mountain peak.
4) Add a very soft vignette around the entire image, to keep attention on the subjects.

Awesome, thanks for the feedback! My one question is the 'dodge and burn'. Can you explain what that is, and how ot accomplish it? I use Photoshop 7.0 IIRC..

 

[Ursidae69]

Awesome, thanks for the feedback! My one question is the 'dodge and burn'. Can you explain what that is, and how ot accomplish it? I use Photoshop 7.0 IIRC..

Dodge and burn is when you darken or lighten areas of the image. You should try to do it non-destructively by working off a layer if you can. Here is an example of non-destructive dodge and burn: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/dodge-burn/