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.
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I agree with Phil, this is a really nice candid portrait, but I'd crop out everything below her elbow and starting at his glasses going toward the right, leaving just her and the dog.
This is a very nice image. I have to say that I like it just the way it is, with your bro included. He and the new wife making eye contact and her smiling at him brings a very heart warming mood here as the dog rests its head on her shoulder and peers at the camera. I think your framing and positioning of the subjects is very effective and well balanced.
I find that if I crop him out, I do not like her looking out of the frame while the dog looks to the camera. There is something important missing there, which is the husband.
I like the sepia-like toned treatment. Great sharpness just where it should be and good dof.
Very well done!
Last edited by gahspidy; 09-15-2009 at 11:30 PM.
Reason: Sticking as Featured photo. September 14th, 2009
Cropping would result in a different image, perhaps just as good in its own way (though perhaps not), but I like the image exactly as is. Your bro provides a frame which, I think, really adds to the whole thing. I might even mimick a shallower dof and carefully blur him out, T-S style. But that's negotiable. My only real criticism is that select areas of the shot - parts of her sweater, the outline around his face, etc. - betray over-sharpening... or use of high pass or something. Halos are clearly visible. Other than that, great catch indeed. And congrats on the Sticky.
I see the halos Dray is pointing out. Most visible for me on the edge of that dark pillow? by his wifes arm. Dray's advice is good on the sharpening and perhaps blurring out bro a bit.
when sharpening especially for web sized images its best to use very low radius amounts such as .5 or .6
I would not dream of removing any part of this image either; it has a lovely happy family feel to it and it oozes cozyness and fun.
His raised right arm looks a bit weird and uncomfortable but there was probably little you could do about that but in a way it matches her raised arm. Doggie's head on the shoulder is just perfect. Dray was very sharp on noticing the halos.
But all in all this is great
I have a total lack of respect for anything connected with society, except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper, and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer. Brendan Behan
I hope you don't mind my trying something with this. I usually wouldn't bother unless I thought the image was fundamentally a strong one:
I didn't do much at all. Just brought out hers and the dog's faces, put in a vignette, and put some lens blur in places. Couldn't get rid of the halos and didn't do any additional sharpening. I don't know if it works any better at all, but thought I'd pass along the results:
Dray; I am not too sure about your edit but it is interesting.. Your adjustments bring more emphasis on the lady and dog but I think there was adequate attention there anyway. But more so you have removed it from husband where I feel it is also needed as he is an "almost" equal part of the composition.
Just my twopence halfpenny.
I have a total lack of respect for anything connected with society, except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper, and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer. Brendan Behan
I think the added blur is a bit much but lightening wife and dog is a drastic improvement
I don't consider the head to be "chopped" in half.
Do you mind the whole head not being seen? I don't. There is plenty there to convey the togetherness and communication between man woman and animal and enough to hold it all together.
We all see things differently at times
I have a total lack of respect for anything connected with society, except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper, and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer. Brendan Behan
I have a total lack of respect for anything connected with society, except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper, and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer. Brendan Behan
I also like the lightening of the dog and wifes face but I'm feeling perhaps somewhere in between the original and your edit, Dray.
btw, very appropriate use of the adjective "Kanye West" I agree with Obama's feeling about him, although I always felt that way long before this latest episode. . .
Caleb, the husbands head being "chopped in half" does not diminish his importance in the photograph. If his entire head were included I think it would not be good as we then would be looking down at the back of his head. The way it is here he is framing the scene as well as being relevant to the moment.
WOW! Just checking back into this thread after a week. AMAZED and honored to be the featured photo. LOVE the feedback. Don't mind the edits and critiques one bit, feel free to leave them all in!
I don't know how I missed this - excellent photo and I would keep it as is, It would not make sense without the included subjects as gary explained.
What I like is the interaction of all three in the photo and the triangle formed by the his eyes, her and the dods eyes and her knees which make for a very intimate photo.
Great portrait of the three.
Hope they liked it.
Roger R.
"I hope we will never see the day when photo shops sell little schema grills to clamp onto our viewfinders; and the Golden Rule will never be found etched on our ground glass."from The mind's eye by Henri Cartier-Bresson
My Web Site: www.readingr.com DSLR
Canon 5D; EF100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS USM; EF24-70 F2.8L USM 50mm F1.8 II; EF 100 F2.8 Macro Digital
Canon Powershot Pro 1; Canon Ixus 100
I like the idea of cropping it, although I don't think it's necessary. If I did crop, it would be from the bottom and I would not crop out your brother. He's an integral part of the composition and the story.
I skimmed through the comments and I didn't see anyone mention the exposure. In my opinion the biggest issue with this image is that it's way, way too dark and contrasty. I don't know how it was shot but it looks like you might be able to use some exposure help. If you start out with a bad exposure it's going to be difficult or impossible to make it really look good.
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Originally Posted by caleb
