Critiques?

[Squeezle]

Hi guys, I was wondering if anyone could tell me if I’m a fauxtog or not? I shoot with a Nikon D3100 with a 35mm f/1.8 and a Sigma Macro 50mm f/2.8 if anyone would like to know.  Here’s a link to some pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/94248503@N04/   Thanks!

[cameraclicker]

Both “Depth” and “Om nom?” might have benefited from slightly more depth of field, but they are impressive as is.  “Self portrait” is striking.  I wonder if shooting with the camera level would have been an improvement or it is better as is.  Again, a minor thing, and individual taste.  “Conflict” is an interesting abstract.

Candice Lee, in the black, green and purple outfit looks over processed.  She is a bit too pink and there is too much smoothing of her skin, but the angle of her body might be better than in the photo in the burgundy dress.  Photographing square on gives people a wide look.  Photographing at a 45 degree angle tends to be more slimming and enhances the chest.  Photographing too much to the side starts to highlight the belly, which might be appropriate for a maternity photo but most other women, or women at other times, don’t want that area highlighted.

To qualify as a fauxtog, you have to be charging (or trying to charge) for work and you have to be presenting work that is considered sub-standard by a vast majority of reasonable people.  Sub-standard work may be due to a lack of a basic understanding/execution of photography, very poor posing direction, or terrible post processing.    Are you a fauxtog?  Not based on the few photos shown.

 

 

 

[dont.care]

+1 ^ i dont think such a small amount of photos is a basis for a conducive conclusion either but cc is right on the $

[FauxFighters]

Yea even a blind monkey finds a banana now and then.  You are only showing us a very small selection of shots.  The current shots you have shown us however are good stuff.  I agree on the second shot of Candice having a weird color mix, but you seem to have a good grasp of photography, at least by these photos.  By this selection alone I would say you are a good photographer, though obviously this is quite a small portfolio.  If you are just starting off and haven’t built a large one yet, then I would say you are on a good path, but strive to improve and don’t settle for your photography being “good enough”.

The real question comes in with, do you charge, what are the majority of your shots like that you post, are you representing this as your work, are you attempting to use other people’s shots as your own, etc.  Its not just about the photography (though obviously that is a big part) but the marketing and professionalism you use.  That is probably just as big a part of being a “fauxtog” as the actual photography.  We all take bad shots.  Pros take multiple shots to get it right, trash the ones that are bad, and certainly don’t post them online and brag about how great they are.

[dont.care]

yea, i personally take a magnitude of CF cards and set continuous shooting to = on. I start shooting as soon as the subject starts moving.. I’ll tell ’em I’m just setting up the camera and i’m deleting the photos, which is true, I will delete the ones I don’t like 😛 I always get to know my clients tho.. I’ll spend time with ’em buy ’em lunch.. In reality, a 2-3 hundred dollar meal a bottle of wine and a night out to get to know people that are going to pay you 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 how ever many thousands of dollars, isn’t a bad trade.. it’s nice because they become comfortable with you.. Posed photography sucks, it always has and it always will.. If your people you’re working with aren’t professional models and don’t know how to pose themselves, they will look rigid and bored and utterly uninteresting.

but, for every 50 I take, I’ll probably get to use 25-30 or less.. Some will be redundant, some will be blurry, some will have weird faces that people make, but some will look great =D.

Not sure why fauxtogs think they need to contort people to look like pretzels or use funky angles. Let them be who they are and fire away.. That’s probably the biggest advantage in digital photography.. Of course you definitely need to workout motion blur and can’t really use a tripod unless framing doesn’t matter.. easy button..

 

[fstopper89]

It is a pretty small selection but the photos you have are mostly good. I agree that the skin on Candice is over-processed. It almost looks plastic. It’s best to remove blemishes and smooth slightly but try to retain the natural texture of a person’s skin. If her skin was red and blotchy, which is another common problem, you can create a new layer and lower the red or magenta saturation, and then use a layer mask to mask out the rest of the image.

One pet peeve I have is those silly frames or borders around images. Distracting. Just skip them altogether. Putting a slight vignette on a photo is much better, just don’t make your vignettes so intense they’re noticeable.

[Squeezle]

Thanks for all the advice! I usually only shoot my friends right now for portraits, and they usually just take me out to dinner or something instead of paying me. Can anyone recommend a good website to help with portraits/posing? I never know how to tell someone to pose.

[cameraclicker]

Google is your friend.

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/05/02/54-portrait-ideas-free-downloadable-posing-guide/

Posing Guide: 21 Sample Poses to Get You Started with Glamour Photography

Here is a “What not to do!” one:  http://dam-aged-goods.com/why-camera-angles-are-critical-761/  — Start here if you need a laugh!  I found it here: http://www.facebook.com/posingapp

http://www.swanky.ca/SocraticAdventures/wedding%20posing%20guide/wedding%20posing%20guide.pdf

It’s a start.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

[cameraclicker]

This video has a slightly hyper guy with an assistant behind the camera.  Lots of information in 15 minutes for the wedding folks.  He is using models for the video.

[Author]

Posts