Home Forums Am I a Fauxtog? Be nice!

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  • #18137
    lsegway
    Participant

    I only started about 3 years ago. I took advanced photography in High School, and competed in a few contests. I know that I have tons to learn, but I don’t think i’m terrible. Here are some of my photos. The newer ones are at the end. I only used a  few. 🙂 thank you

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/122445543@N02/

    #18139
    Bill
    Participant

    Your not terrible but you have a few things that jump out at me that you need to work on.

    Before I say anything, always keep an open mind and never take criticism personally. It’s cool that you want to get good feedback and are opening yourself up and showing us your work, but what ever I or anyone else says, it is for your benefit to progress.
    Okay, that is out of the way.

    Photo #1 – You have to prep your subjects and your props and watch your editing. The violin is dirty, I see white dust below the strings. The dust is distracting since the violin is subject front and your model is subject back. There is also some strange edit marks around the edges of the violin.
    As for your model, his complexion is typical of teenagers but since he is out of the DOF he could benefit with some skin softening, since his details are pushed into the background. I see what you were going for but a little prep or editing would make this better IMO.

    Photo’s #2-#5 – nothing really here grabs me. Nothing really bad, but look like snapshots. The poses are kind of generic, okay but nothing really pops, sorry.

    Photo #6 – These are nice photos to get before the ceremony, but this is not a preferred pose. Reason being, your shooting into the crotch of the groom. Most times you get these shots with their hands up near the head or shoulders. The focus is soft, not sure if that is what you were going for. The pose does not do it for me.

    Photo’s #8-#10 – Out of these, I like the dramatic lighting of the flowers, the other 2 are just too plain. #10 again, you need to dust the table before taking photos of anything on it or edit the dust out.

    Photo’s 11-15 – You need to work on your DOF and focus points. I see you were using f/2.2 for most of the shots with the girl. You have to remember that f/2.2 is a very shallow DOF, so full body shots don’t really work to well when trying to encompass all the details of her [holding the violin] even with some distance added. I am guessing that you were about 10′ from her, that gives the DOF range of about 1′ from you focal point so the details start blurring at that point.
    Usually shallow DOF are used for close in portraits or to make the subject “pop” from the background. It’s not to say you can’t use it for anything else, but this is where they excel in performance.

    I know others will probably point out some other things and that is fine.
    Your not terrible, but use this and anything that others may say and keep shooting.

    #18141
    Worst Case Scenario
    Participant

    Yep, Bills summed it up well. 3 of your shots really jumped out at me, but not for good reasons. The “I do” shoes need twisting so that you can see the writing better. You shouldn’t have taken the shot when a 1 second improvement was all that’s needed. The black and white shot is way to soft (lacking contrast) and really looks bad next to the punchy colour shots. And the ring shot is just sooooo boring.

    Now bare in mind, all you need to do is  ditch those pics and you have made a huge improvement to your portfolio. The rest of your shots look technically okay, colour,exposure and focus are not to bad. What you need to work on now is you posing and people skills. The last shots are definite improvement.

    Keep shooting and you’ll soon get the hang of posing.

    #18179
    fautox1977
    Participant

    Basically I can see 9 photos in your portfolio. Most of them follow the rules of composition, which means that you do have knowledge of the subject. What you need to improve IMHO is the way you see the light. Shadows are not your enemy. They will give depth and drama to your photos, like the bouquet photo and the one with the girl on the bridge. The rest although good photos lack that extra impact.

    From what I see, I would not classify you as a Fautox! (Look up: “Monte Zuckers Portrait Photography Handbook“. He was one the best and an inspiration to many of us)

    Hope this helps.

    #18201
    Peterography
    Participant

    Not a Fauxtog

    I am also fairly new to photography, I have only been shooting for just over 2 years with no photography classes at all 🙂 So I wish I could offer you some constructive criticisms.

    I would recommend warming up the images with the girl with the little guitar. I like the images of her laughing and sitting on the bridge but the others where she is staring into the camera don’t offer any insight into her personality.

    All in all your images aren’t fauxy at all.

     

    #18234
    IHF
    Participant

    I don’t have much to add, but YAY for Monte Zucker!!!  I always get excited when he’s mentioned.  It doesn’t happen often enough

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