Please post no more than five images a day and respond to as many images as you post. Critics, please be constructive, specific, and nice! Moderated by gahspidy and mtbbrian.
By posting on the Photo Critique forum you agree to post only your own photos, be respectful, and give back as much as you receive. This is a moderated forum and anything abusive or
off-topic will be removed.
All tho I like the tones and overall look, I think that there is not much going on in the photo to capture my attention. The angle of the boy is a little weird...I would like to see some eye contact on this type of shot. Also, the tidy cats box is very distracting, it doesnt seem to fit the image.
A good shot, just not that compelling.
I'm always mentally photographing everything as practice.
Minor White
^^^ I second the eye contact remark. I would have liked to see a little more environment in the image and a straight ahead shot of the subject. I lean more towards straight ahead shots of people since one of my main inspirations is Richard Avedon's work. I believe the communication with a subject is at its utmost with a full on shot. I really like the shot though.
Canon Rebel XT with grip
Kit lens
Contax 159MM with grip
Highlights blown out, loss of detail in the dark areas, too much contrast, and too busy.
No indication either of the reason for the presence of the boy in the scene. There must be some reason for the boy being in the scene and that must be communicated to the viewer through your photo.
Ok, first I want to mention that I'm attaching my feeble attempt at taking out the tidy cats in the picture and also another shot that was taken. I tried cropping the initial image, but nothing really satisfied me except how I have it now (Lava, feel free to mess around with the photo and show me a crop that might work). I don't take a lot of full-on shots because I don't normally like them as much. I thought It was clear who the subject of the photo was, but I guess not...I'll have to keep that in the back of my mind for future reference.
Who we are inspired by is most definitely a personal choice and no, I am not inspired by Richard Avedon. But, that doesn't mean I don't think he's a good photographer (not that it matters, it's not like I'M a famous photographer, but hey...)
Ronnoco - "Highlights blown out, loss of detail in the dark areas, too much contrast" is a bit redundant. While I agree it's got a high level of contrast, the tones still work for me.
I post images in critique that I think need work. Generally, I already have things picked out that I feel are wrong or should be changed with the photograph, I just like to see if that's corroborated, or, if maybe someone sees something I'm missing. If I like something in the picture and you don't, chances are high I'm not going to change it. I hope that doesn't seem pissy, because that's certainly not the mood I'm trying to project. I enjoy the fact that people express their opinions honestly (at least I think they do) on here, and I think a lot of photographs have been improved because of that.
Here's what I was thinking. You have nice light, a nice expression, a handsome young man, and an interesting background. Ye, puzzingly, it dopesn't come together as well as we'd like. Maybe you could blur and burn and adjust the levels a little, so that the bright or other distracting elements (Tidy Cat, the white bag (?) in front of him on the shelf, the water bottle don't compete with the nice light on his face. This reminds me of that scene in ET, where the boy goes into the shed -- the oight is kind alike this.
Oooh, Lava, I really enjoy that. I'm definitely interested in using the technique you employed, although maybe not as dark in certain areas. I've always liked that blurry look, i don't know why i've never thought about using it. Thanks!
Tuna - I agree with the comment on light. The sun was very bright coming into the barn and even with my own eyes I don't think I saw every detail in the bright patches. I like the second one better as well and in fact, I have no issues with that one. While I don't think it's the best photo I've ever taken, I do think it works better than the previous one. I just wanted to post a comparison to see if anyone shared my perspective on that.
I like your first shot best, anyone who hangs around horse barns knows about Tidy Cats, tools etc.. The tone is fine, though I might suggest burning in the hot spots a little and taking out the hay in the lower right corner.
Oooh, Lava, I really enjoy that. I'm definitely interested in using the technique you employed, although maybe not as dark in certain areas. I've always liked that blurry look, i don't know why i've never thought about using it. Thanks!
Tuna - I agree with the comment on light. The sun was very bright coming into the barn and even with my own eyes I don't think I saw every detail in the bright patches. I like the second one better as well and in fact, I have no issues with that one. While I don't think it's the best photo I've ever taken, I do think it works better than the previous one. I just wanted to post a comparison to see if anyone shared my perspective on that.
I think the original shot looked like one from a Holga, like Brian posts from time to time -- a little bit of blur here and there, some random light, etc. -- so I thought it might be made even mroe Holga like. I woudn't neccessarily suggst it with a crisp colro shot, but what you have lends itself to it, I think. I have Photoshop Elements and just cropped and used the blur tool (look like a water drop) and the burn tool (which looks like a hand) and just went around hitting the outer edges more heavily.
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by molaselake
) 
