photo critiques *guaranteed*... all u need is a thick skin!

[rebbot]

thanks for all critiques on the dog-on-top of trash picture earlier...really made me re-think about some factors that I would never have thought of

I took the pic a year ago in Lantau Island, Hong Kong. What prompted me to take the picture was that the dog seemed overly protective of something on the pile of rubbish and somehow he seemed to be in a nice position for a candid~

I should have PS-ed his bulge away :bsmilie: as he just finished making out with another dog wanted to take a candid as well but he finished it before I could whip out my cam :bigeyes:

 

[student]

Anyone want to take a swing at this

http://forum.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=139720

it seems like nobody wants to comment, I wonder why? :think:
Let me know good or bad and why.

thanks

Not meant to be negative. Sometimes, I do not know what to say because I just do not have any feelings for the images, like this one as well as the one of the swan. They are OK, But...... neither here nor there. The one with the swan is OK, competently taken, but so boring because I have seen tons of them. This one is OK..., but then so uninteresting.

When an image is bad,or there are ideas that I can give (whether good or nonsense) I can write. When an image is wonderful because it showed something different or aroused an emotion, I can respond. But when I have no feelings... then it is really hard to write something

 

[zaren]

Have a go at this one.

Taken at a tranquil lake in Zurich

i get the feeling that swans are really not easy to photograph. in this pic, the swan's body is in sharp focus, while the head and neck is not. the colours are just too cool and bland for my taste. i suspect this was shot wide open because of the low light levels, which resulted in the shallow DOF. i think you would have gotten much better results if you had shot in the golden hours (to get warmer tones) with the lens stopped down sufficiently to get the whole swan in focus. also try shooting from a lower angle, and not putting the swan right smack in the middle of the photo. the swan's shadow can also be included fully in the pic, which will then allow you to place the swan at the upper third of the pic and give it some space to move into.

 

[student]

Have a go at this one.

Taken at a tranquil lake in Zurich

Another boring image of a swan.

Yes the exposure is right. But the dead centre flat lighting just do not do anything. Such images are seen thousands of times, so there is a "scenic fatigue".

When one sees a photo like this, there is a big "yawn" and would not bother to linger and look a second time.


Unfortunately

 

[Kei]

hi kei... these are photos that have previously been posted in the galleries but which have received none or few comments. they have been re-posted here for the purpose of practising photo critique.

No problems to have a few examples to start with in this thread but if everyone post images in here then will become quite messy.

Anyway the suggestion has been brought to the admins' attention.

 

[data1ore]

this defintely works for me...the swirling smoke lead my eyes to the old man's weary expression. I like the ambient light used here (enhances the mood)~just sufficient to show enough details

However, somehow I DO NOT agree cropping off the top of his hat~

I beg to differ. The cropping of the hat is perfect, because this cropping leads my eye naturally to his eyes. If the photographer had included the entire hat in, it'll either be 1) more zoomed out, or 2) the eyes would be lower, as well as sacrificing some detail on the bottom part of the photo.

It's the same as fashion photography, sometimes you crop off part of the head, just to bring focus more to the eyes.

 

[Adam Goi]

Hi.

It's pointless to bring this old issue up over and over again and coming to the same conclusions yet again ... those of us who have spoken up and are sincere about it, let your actions lead the way!

Don't we always say actions are louder than mere words?

 

[barracuda]

My humble photo for your critique... posted a b/w version before but nobody even bothered to say a word


Shadow.Faith

 

[zaren]

let your actions lead the way!

Don't we always say actions are louder than mere words?

that's EXACTLY why this thread was started. so that we can actually DO something about it (photo critiques). pls feel free to join in!

 

[ykia]

Glad that this thread exists! As a learner seeking improvement, please comment on this shot.

This was taken at the Singapore Zoo, indoors at the reptiles area. The child was looking into the snake's enclosure and I wanted to capture his look of cautious fascination. No flash. I wanted the reflection to complete his face.

Thanks!

 

[Rev]

the moderators can encourage the community to critique & post in detail... but that wont last long, its up the community, the CSers here. But even that's hard, eventually, this thread is gonna grow so big that people will forget abt it and things go back to as they were before. There's so many posts too that people selectively pick threads based on interesting title or if the post is made by friends (mutual patting) or by a celebrity (willyfoo). But a kickstart is always good like zaren who started the thread and those people that posted here could start giving invaluable critique, compliments with reason...

I suggest zaren and whoever's (myself included) enthusiastic abt critique form a critique focus group or the moderators allow a thread where people just post a link to their pic for review in the gallery and this critique focus group all go there to fire away...

I sincerely doubt a professional can always give good input. they can give good technical advice, but composition is in the eye of the beholder...

Can I get a Sir Yes Sir frm U guys??

 

[zaren]

the moderators can encourage the community to critique & post in detail... but that wont last long, its up the community, the CSers here. But even that's hard, eventually, this thread is gonna grow so big that people will forget abt it and things go back to as they were before. There's so many posts too that people selectively pick threads based on interesting title or if the post is made by friends (mutual patting) or by a celebrity (willyfoo). But a kickstart is always good like zaren who started the thread and those people that posted here could start giving invaluable critique, compliments with reason...

I suggest zaren and whoever's (myself included) enthusiastic abt critique form a critique focus group or the moderators allow a thread where people just post a link to their pic for review in the gallery and this critique focus group all go there to fire away...

I sincerely doubt a professional can always give good input. they can give good technical advice, but composition is in the eye of the beholder...

Can I get a Sir Yes Sir frm U guys??

sounds good to me!

 

[rahul]

Here's mine

-

Pretty good. I am sure you had a good reason for removing the color, but I would like to look at the original. I have a feeling that colour would have made this shot more lively. If a rose is not red, then it is dead
Perhaps thats what you wanted to portray..

 

[Rev]

sounds good to me!

So that's 2 of us? Anymore?

Zaren
Rev
...

 

[eikin]

So that's 2 of us? Anymore?

Zaren
Rev
...

anytime ... but i'm not a good crit ... but i can get nasty when it comes to architecture :devil:

 

[zaren]

My humble photo for your critique... posted a b/w version before but nobody even bothered to say a word


Shadow.Faith

the statue itself is interesting, so is the shadow, but the photo as a whole is not. somehow it just lacks impact. perhaps you can try going really close and do some macro shots of the detail of the statue, or experiment with different lighting. show us the statue from a really unusual angle and perspective, perhaps with the infusion of a human element as well.

 

[ortega]

Glad that this thread exists! As a learner seeking improvement, please comment on this shot.

This was taken at the Singapore Zoo, indoors at the reptiles area. The child was looking into the snake's enclosure and I wanted to capture his look of cautious fascination. No flash. I wanted the reflection to complete his face.

Thanks!

nice expression and light, but composition wise... It does not work for me
maybe it would work if you focused your composition (landscape) around the face and the reflection, it would be stronger.

 

[eikin]

My humble photo for your critique... posted a b/w version before but nobody even bothered to say a word


Shadow.Faith

somehow i'll like to know what you think of this shot yourself before commenting on it, you seem to have something interesting in your mind, perhaps you'll like to share it?

 

[rahul]

What about this one??

Not sharp enough for a subject like this. I like the colour and contrast on the biscuit.Bokeh isnt too flattering. Perhaps you should have changed your angle a bit and shot the monkey from front getting a more uncluttered (bottle less) background.

 

[zaren]

Glad that this thread exists! As a learner seeking improvement, please comment on this shot.

This was taken at the Singapore Zoo, indoors at the reptiles area. The child was looking into the snake's enclosure and I wanted to capture his look of cautious fascination. No flash. I wanted the reflection to complete his face.

Thanks!

your focusing and exposure is spot on, with plenty of detail shown and nice sharpness. since the most interesting part of the photo is the boy's face, i would opt for a really tight crop of the top part of the photo just showing his face and its reflection. that will focus the viewer's attention firmly on his sense of fascination and wonderment.