[fstopper89]

I loved the split prism of my old Pentax camera. I had bought it for my first college photography course where we had to shoot film and develop ourselves. It’s fun to revisit that camera. Reminds me, I have a roll of film in there I need to have scanned/developed. (I now take film to a camera shop that does negative scanning, I’m guessing all film processing is done that way now since there aren’t many darkrooms around right?) The split prism was a great way to focus.

Does anyone who wears contact lenses have problems with manual focusing? I haven’t noticed myself to, though I usually use autofocus set on one of the focus points. I have heard that even with vision correction it can still be “off.” My vision isn’t terrible but I have to wear contacts (never wear glasses, I hate them). Is this true?

[fstopper89]

I don’t see a lot of these having more success, some of them were begging people via their FB page to do photo shoots. Puzzle Piece does have some very good work, but some really shoddy mixed in, maybe it’s earlier stuff, I don’t know.

Personally, I feel I can give a lot of good advice. I’m not the perfect photographer but I did take 3 college courses in photography so I started with the basics and have built my knowledge on that. I’ve worked for a pro also who was a great mentor. I’m always learning more, I do not carry the attitude that I’m so good I don’t need to improve. I’ve taken a lot of the advice from here into consideration as well. In the past several years I’ve taught a beginner photography workshop for a 4-H event, and this year plan to do so again, and also do an intermediate course for people who own a DSLR but haven’t yet learned how to shoot in manual.

[fstopper89]

…. This photographer has over 2,000 likes on her page… she has a few good images, but most are pretty bad. And what’s with this anyway? https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=289248111194246&set=a.289248001194257.68293.250977805021277&type=3&theater

[fstopper89]

Lol I commented on Ashley Adey’s page (under her post where she was complaining that ‘people have nothing better to do’ than criticize her work). I offered to help her with tips and that it’s not that people have nothing better to do, there’s a reason for it, that she needs to invest in a real camera and lenses and software. I was trying to be nice but to the point… well, she deleted her whole post. Both these fauxtogs will never get better if they refuse to take advice!

[fstopper89]

I lied. This is the worst maternity shoot I’ve ever seen. You have to click through all of them. She’s got floating heads in the background, kids have food on their faces, and the dad needs to seriously rethink where he gets his tattoos done. Trashiest photo ever- https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=378750658834271&set=a.378676132175057.87071.174738102568862&type=3&theater

[fstopper89]

This is probably the worst maternity photo I’ve ever seen. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=483663361668360&set=pb.471447366223293.-2207520000.1353919989&type=3&theater

I went through a lot of Markaela’s photos and several people have left comments telling her the contrast and colors are pushed too high and someone even asked if she used Instagram to edit. She said “No?” and her camera is a mid-grade point and shoot!

[fstopper89]

Oh. My. God. Both of these fauxtogs are to gag on! I haven’t seen much worse than them. Ashley Adey not only can’t take a picture, but posts everything in “text speak.” How unprofessional. And she charges extra for shooting in cold weather? Why, because it’s more inconvenient for her? I’ll guess that she’ll have worse camera shake from shivering.The iPhone screenshots for pricing are way amateur.

And Markaela. Holy on-camera flash. And she uses Lightroom- showed the before and afters, I don’t know how it’s possible to make all her blah photos look even worse in her “after” images, but she did it. Crazy saturation/contrast. And this is super professional also… https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=479906298710733&set=pb.471447366223293.-2207520000.1353920181&type=3&theater

I’m seriously tempted to comment mean criticism on photos like this, but so far have bitten my keyboard tongue just so I may remain on the higher road, but it’s so hard to not say something.

[fstopper89]

You got what $150 for a wedding was worth, sorry to say. The photos aren’t good but I have seen worse. I agree, none of the questions can really be answered in full without a contract to refer to. I would not and have not done any portraits without being paid in full up front (prints or disk later, if not included in the session fee) sinc this fee covers my time, talent, and the post processing. It the client suddenly decides, after all the work is done, they can’t afford prints or don’t want them, then I would have done all the work for nothing. You have to pay what was agreed upon. Both myself and the client keep signed copies of the contract, should any legal issue ever arise, either one of us can prove services were rendered or not. But bad thinking on not having a contract… Or asking moe questions beforehand.

[fstopper89]

Your work demonstrates good technical knowledge of your camera and editing software. They’re sharp, in focus, skin tones look mostly accurate, and they’re not by any means over-edited. Nice clean edits. A few look a bit overexposed in the highlights, but it’s something that can usually be adjusted slightly in Lightroom. However I agree on the too frequent use of tilt. I’m guilty of tilting a lot too, but if I were to compare, yours are a bit too-tilted. A lot of horizons are at harsh 45-degree angles. It’s not terrible, but I think a lot of those images could have stood no tilt or just a slight tilt, and the tilting is to the point of being distracting. I know where you’re coming from though, a lot of pros I know use the tilt for a dynamic effect, and some critique of my use of tilt has made me think twice of where I should and should not use it. I’m not going to stop tilting either, I’m just going to be more picky about when I use it, and I think your situation is similar.

Here’s my photostream. http://www.flickr.com/photos/roxanne_elise_photography/

[fstopper89]

@Glowatski, cameraclicker is right, there is absolutely no permission required from either you or your photographer to post a link to that image to any website. A real professional has a contract; in their contract there should be a point pertaining to the photographer’s right, as the artist and copyright owner of the images, to post and do whatever they please with the images. The photographer posted the image on her public photography page on Facebook, and a link to that as well as any commentary associated with it has not violated any rights. You can request your photographer remove the images from her FB page. She legally does not have to, but if it’s a friend, may side with you. If this photographer didn’t have any contract for you to sign, well number one, that’s just plain stupid, number two, it’s kind of “anything goes” since no terms were put forth. By default the ownership and copyright of any photograph belongs to the photographer. You/your family, by allowing said photographer to take your picture, ultimately agreed to the “risk” of the image being posted and critiqued.

[fstopper89]

I can say though I’ve never taken an image this terrible… lol. Way to ruin your special day by hiring someone who does this.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=538479497225&set=a.538475994245.2030483.161400836&type=3&theater

Oh, by the way, I met this fauxtog at a “gallery showing” (which closed, not surprisingly, since they let anyone and everyone enter their crap that was not good) and I asked her what camera she used, and she said “Oh, it’s a Powershot, it’s here in my purse actually.”

[fstopper89]

I think it’s very creative and fun. I commented on the one post and I’m sure it’s a composite of at least a few images (background is one, sheet clipped to a clothesline is two, and kid could be a few depending on how the husband was holding him).

It’s not meant to be natural. It’s meant to push the envelope a bit with what you can do with digital software and some cool ideas.

[fstopper89]

Yuck… I like someone’s suggestion of telling the client that it’s a fad that will pass and you’d prefer not to do it. If she really insists, and it’s not something horribly ridiculous, I would go ahead to make her satisfied. Customer service side of things. But don’t post online yourself. If she wants something completely cheesy selective-colored (like a lime green rocker belt in someone’s senior pictures, yes I’ve seen this one…) I would maybe refuse though, tell her that it is just not your style and takes away from your professionalism.

I did senior pictures for a boy in August. After I got their pictures back the mom said she was hoping for more in his suit and tie (of course, they didn’t specify this earlier) but I told her I had that Saturday morning off and if they were willing I could shoot a few in his suit and so we did. It was nearing the deadline for his yearbook submission so I made it a point to edit and present a few online for her to quickly choose and I could email to his yearbook staff. Going out of my way a lot, might I add. One of the poses he was leaning on a railing of a tan-colored abandoned building and she asked me if I could change the color of the wall to blue or green and show her. I was so embarrassed to even post them. I did the best I could to make it look not cheesy but naturally, it did. I kept asking her which photo she wanted for the yearbook, the day before it was due, and she just never got back to me. I did my best I guess. Then I deleted the stupid blue and green background photos. The kid looked much more natural in regular clothes than he did in a suit anyway so I hope they just chose one of his other ones!

[fstopper89]

I see a lot of technical errors in  your shooting and some weird editing. You have some creative angles and viewpoints, and some of the subject matter is very interesting, but you need to start with a STRONG image and go from there. What camera do you shoot with? Is it a DSLR or a point and shoot? Not much you can change if it’s a point and shoot, but if it’s a DSLR and you’re set on Auto, read up on the basic features of shooting in Manual and how to change the settings, and then experiment. It’s all about getting correct exposure, white balance, and a crisp image. And if you’re editing on a free web editing service, just don’t do it! I see nothing good come from those, unless you want a goofy picture of your friends in a hot pink frame to post as your FB profile picture.

[fstopper89]

I think Cameraclicker was doing it more as a joke.

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