[Bill]

Hello Anjanette, love the concept.  The model looks great, the woods are fine.

With option 1 – I agree with Cameraclicker with her fingers being cut off.  The only other thing that I find annoying with the image is the tree behind the model.  It makes it appear as if she were bound to the tree or the tree is somehow propping her up.  I think, and this is just my opinion, if she were re=positioned either to the left or slightly to the right, so that the tree were not directly behind her, it would make the image much better.

With the flash, I see one minor thing, the harsh shadow on the models right side, especially under her armpit and above her breasts.  Don’t know the location where you were shooting and the equipment that you have at your disposal, but if I were to do this over, I would use another flash positioned high to the models right side shooting down slightly to counter the shadow or a reflector, preferably gold, since the model looks fair-skinned.  SInce I don’t know the particulars of the location and the nature of the shoot, that is just my opinion based on what I see.

Option 2 – I would not use at all due to the big lens flare dead center.  Not sure if was intentional or not, but it seems very distracting and it just robs the color from that area.

Not sure if I get the Steampunk vibe from this scene and dress, more on the side of fashion meets nature but definitely not Steampunk, but hey that wasn’t your call from your story.

I hope that you take this criticism well, as it is definitely not meant to be cruel or mean in any way.   Looking at your flickr stream, you got a good eye and seem to execute well.

 

[Bill]

Maryah, your friend [ZMP] needs to do everyone, including himself, a favor.  Learn to edit some photos or put the camera down.

It’s fine if you are not good at editing or cannot do it well, there are 3rd party vendors that will do the post for you [for a fee of course], but you have t give them something to work with.

This one I saw, among many others, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=475755059145064&set=a.475754825811754.1073741834.394103650643539&type=3&theater

The noise is way off the chart for being acceptable, it really does a disservice to the model.  At first, it looked as if she had facial hair with all that noise, ugh!!!

The others I saw of the model Arthur, he really needs to learn proper posing techniques and above all use a flash for fill.

Any idiot can use downloaded actions in PS or the RAW presets in LR, but you have to realize that applying the action or preset to the entire image really does not make the image better.

 

We all make mistakes and do dumb things, but I would not post all my “Bad” pictures unless it was for a training class of what not to do.

Your friend is, sadly a fauxtog, and he will probably be a fauxtog until he can learn to listen and open himself up for criticism.

[Bill]

Hello Olivia, the new FB link works just fine.

I have to agree with the others about the color balance issue, some are a little blueish and have a slight green tint to them.  To the average non-photographer, it may go un-noticed, but you asked for criticism here.  I have t agree with ebi on this one.  A style is one thing but failing to acknowledge an apparent flaw that can be easily “fixed” is another.

We criticize, one because you asked, and two because that is how we learn and progress our skills as artists [photographers].

There was one thing that I saw that no one I saw picked up on, most others were spot on with this and that.  The one location I saw for your seniors leaning against the red bricked wall, I have a slight issue with but it is an easy fix.

The wall is fine and the pose is fine, but what bugs me is the perspective with the street sign in the background.  I know this will sound like nick-picking but I have to say it.  The background makes it seem as these seniors are hustling on the street corner.  I would simply just tighten up the shot and it would be perfect.  Like I say, I like the red bricked wall, it looks nice, it’s just the street corner aspect of it.

 

Keep up the good work and use this and the other criticism well and above all, DO NOT take it personally.

 

[Author]

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