Looking for some Critique

[BLAM]

I’ve been doing photography for quite a few years now, just as a hobby.  After some deep thought, I have decided to get a portfolio together and possibly start a business.  I’m looking for critique.  I’ve been taking some lighting and editing courses at a local community college and think I am doing well.  But I am always open for some honest opinion and pointers on how I can improve my work.  Don’t be shy, constructive criticism always makes be work harder 🙂  I just opened a Flickr page to use for this kind of stuff.  Below is the link.  Thanks in advance!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/101913243@N02/

 

[Worst Case Scenario]

 I’ve been taking some lighting and editing courses at a local community college

As far as lighting and editing goes……. you might want to ask for some money back.

Your first pic is blue, the second is better but needs better lighting to bring out the face, the third pic is the same girl as the first, but now she has bright yellow hair, the fourth pic,the girl needs fill flash to bring out the eyes. And she looks like she’s in front of a burnt out reflector. The fifth is almost burnt out on one side but so dark on the other that you can’t see the blue helmet. The sixth is cold (blue) again but with the bright yellow hair, and the seventh is a terrible cut out and the guy seems to have a crack in his head. I could keep going but I think you have got the idea.

Sorry but it seems like you worst problems are lighting and editing!

The BW pic of the dog has the best lighting.

I’m afraid you are no where near the standard you’ll need to start a business yet. Sorry.

[BLAM]

Thank you WCS.  I was also looking for pointers along with the critique.  I’m sure you have some since you’ve apparently been in this business for so long.  I will also bring up to my instructor your critiques since some of the pictures you mentioned I got good scores on.   I may need a little more in depth instruction or mentoring in those areas.

[Worst Case Scenario]

Well you seem to have deleted all the pics I mentioned, which is a shame as other people may well have had more to say about them.

So lets take a look at what’s left. At the start of the second row you have two pics which I assume are of the same little girl. One is taken outside and has natural skin tones ( albeit a bit over saturated) the next shot has been taken in side and is a completely different colour. The whole thing has blue cast. I’m guessing she has a white top (which is blue) and the background is grey? (that’s blue as well) Obviously her skin has picked up the blue as well and it’s making her look  like a corpse.

The problem here is that your LIGHTING has the wrong colour temperature. Have you learned anything about that? It looks like you’ve used tungsten lighting and then over corrected it which made it blue. Or you had the white balance on your camera set for tungsten lights but actually took the shot in daylight. It’s easy to fix in EDITING, in fact I’d say it’s day one of any editing course.

[JustAndy]

Ok, it’s been broached; the WB/Color Balance.  This isn’t a huge obstacle, a cheap fix at this time may be using a whibal card/grey card at the beginning of your shoot.  As long as you don’t adjust the set up a model shot with the card will allow you to correct the color temperature in post.  Here is a quick link to the basic ideas of using one;

http://wordsandphotos.org/Commentary/HowToGetGreatDigitalColorInAnyLight.htm

Overall I think your shots are pretty standard and should be acceptable to clients.  While there is a lack of originality/creativity, remember that this is not always a bad thing.  Consistency is good.  Nothing is worse for a client than a photographer that delivers brilliantly once, but then falls apart on other shots.

Maybe a rim light added to the shots with pure black backgrounds to provide some separation; the dark hair melts into the black and you may find people don’t like this… Ok, about all I got at this time…

 

[JustAndy]

Ok, lack of creativity was a shade harsh, I don’t know how to say what I mean; these are solid and represent a great start, which is where you should be… I’m really happy to see you aren’t going overboard and producing complete piles of shit under the guise of being “creative”… know what I mean???

 

[BLAM]

WCS, I did remove some after reviewing them from your comments.  My instructor and I will be going over these together to work on what I need to improve with these.  We haven’t gone into Color balance yet, however, I have been using the White Balance settings on my camera and I rarely use the tungsten setting.  I see what you are saying with those 2 pictures though.   I will need to work on my color balance and the type of light I use.

JustAndy, thanks for the tips and I will definitely try that out.  Hopefully with that it will help me to eye these things better in the future.  I know that these aren’t very creative, but I am just starting with portraits.  I’ve always done just inanimate, nature, and some animal.  Learning a new thing is always hardest at the beginning, but I am determined to do good and be good.  I am always open for tips to improve.

Thanks again to both of you.

 

[ebi]

I actually find these images, what are left, to be quite interesting. Far more interesting than what I see on here typically. So many kids shooters yet every shot looks the same. Not the case so much with this poster. I’d like OP to put the images back up for a bit so I can take a look at more. The color balance issues may be jut a small issue if the photos are beautiful shots. Not minding the cool/green thing at all.

Keep in mind that WCS is just one opinion…as am I.

[BLAM]

ebi,

Thanks for your interest and opinion.  I did place all but one back up on my flickr page.  The one I didn’t place back up there definitely has some issues with the editing that I need to repair before placing it back up (little embarrassed after reviewing that one again).  I value all opinions that help me to improve.  Thanks.

 

[ebi]

The first three shots of Lia jane are gorgeous.I think Don’t like the color on the 4th. Love Blue eyes as well. Don’t really care for the football shots. although the girl would be more interesting if it were more apparent she was a girl – helmet off, pulled back. Don’t be afraid to get wider shots. The close ups can be nice but you need more atmosphere. Like princess Mary Kate Olsen could be more interesting as a wider shot. But it’s kind of messy as a tight shot. Reber would be ok if it weren’t for whatever the white circular thing is behind her.

Classy and relaxed are kind of too tight too but they are very cute. Keep it up!

[cameraclicker]

Reber appears to be sitting in front of the scrim that’s the middle of a 5-in-1 reflector kit, and the cover reflectors seem to be scrunched up at bottom-left.  It would make a good wrinkle free white background if it filled the frame but as is, it just looks sloppy.

Halo must be watching for cats!  The flank is bordering on burned out.  Good looking dog, though.

Princess’ light makes an 8 year old look 80!  There’s a hair in the middle of her right eye, her left hand is cut as is her right shoulder.  She looks like she held a smile so long it hurts.

Butterfly might work as a the first few frames of a movie but as a photo it’s just a lump.

The football shot would benefit from rim light.

The first Lia Jane’s background looks wrinkled.  Is it supposed to be pale green, or white?  I wonder if it would be an improvement if she turned just her eyes toward the camera.  It is a good photo of her.  The fourth is not as good as her others.

None are terrible but none make me say “Wow!” either.  Pay attention to detail.  Keep shooting.

 

 

[BLAM]

Thanks ebi and Camaraclicker for critiquing in detail.  It helps me to view my shots in a different way so that I am able to see what my flaws are and what I need to really work on.  I have a rim light but wasn’t sure how to utilize it and will need to work on that.  Coloring seems to be a big thing with me and I’m not sure if it’s me or the monitor I’m using but will strive to get it right.  I’m getting a grey card like JustAndy suggested to help me along with that, and I also did a one on one with my instructor on how to use a grey card to get my shots where they need to be.

ebi,

I love closeups, however, I will work on moving out of my comfort zone to try new things.

Camaraclicker,

Detail will be my new word of the year and I am going to make sure that I pay very close attention to it.  LOL.

Thanks again guys and I appreciate all that you’ve helped me to see with my work.  I will keep shooting and improving!

[ebi]

The great thing about digital cameras these days is they give us a ton of pixels so cropping isn’t that big of a deal. You cannot un-crop a tight image. shooting close up is a problem I tend to have too.

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