*****
Last edited:
Looking for photo critiques
-
D
- Thread starter Kriserra
- Start date
Recent Classifieds
-
For Sale Lenses and helicoids for Bronica S2 and related series
- Started by hsandler
-
For Sale PENTAX SPOTMATIC SPII
- Started by Peter Schrager
-
For Trade For Trade, Nikon D750 DSLR for Leica lllf
- Started by dankapsner
Forum statistics
- Status
I suck at critiquing photos, so I will advise you differently.
Every photographer will advise you from his point of view, in the end you will have more confusion.
I think it is better that you post a photo with the style you want to achieve, even if it is not yours and that can be compared with your photos, this way you will have more concrete advice on what to modify.
Carlos
Every photographer will advise you from his point of view, in the end you will have more confusion.
I think it is better that you post a photo with the style you want to achieve, even if it is not yours and that can be compared with your photos, this way you will have more concrete advice on what to modify.
Carlos
Can you be more specific about what it is you don't like about your photos? Colors? Contrast? Cropping?
Except for the last one of the child (which looks a little bit too cool/blue to me) I don't see much to comment on, but then I am not a "people" photographer, so I am probably not the best one to comment.
Since your question seems to be mostly about editing, it is probably worth mentioning what editing software you are using. For example, I wonder if your software allows you to make "local" edits? That is, can you apply adjustments to a slected part of the frame?
Except for the last one of the child (which looks a little bit too cool/blue to me) I don't see much to comment on, but then I am not a "people" photographer, so I am probably not the best one to comment.
Since your question seems to be mostly about editing, it is probably worth mentioning what editing software you are using. For example, I wonder if your software allows you to make "local" edits? That is, can you apply adjustments to a slected part of the frame?
Critique begins with self-critique. Why aren't you happy with the way your photos are turning out?
I don't think it's your basic settings or processing. Most of these seem to have fine exposure. (The exception is #2, but hard sunlight at the beach is difficult to get right.) The color is decent — if anything, a little too 'real'; maybe try to move a little out of your comfort zone in terms of color, saturation, etc. Play with some of the filters/presets in your editing app, not as a crutch but just a way to stretch your creative mind to ideas you're not considering.
Rather, I think it's your composition. Most of the images could be a little closer in, or a little farther out. Start looking at the edges of your frames, not the middle. For example, #4 (the motorcycle) chops off part of the Harley logo. It feels to me that either you want that in there, maybe as a more graphic element, or you don't — right now, it's kind of half-in, half-out. Similarly, the kid's arms on #6 are oddly cut off. Closer might be good, farther might be good — but now it's uncomfortable middle.
As an experiment, try shooting the same scene from different distances (I mean you literally moving yourself, not just zooming), and from different angles. Walk around the scene and take a dozen pictures of the same thing, not just one. Also, shoot from a relatively far distance, then judiciously crop in editing. How far can you go? What does one crop 'feel' like vs. another?
Finally, I have a little mantra I say to myself: 'Don't take a picture of what it is — take a picture of what it is about.' That is, how does this photo tell the story of the person?
Hope this helps!
Rather, I think it's your composition. Most of the images could be a little closer in, or a little farther out. Start looking at the edges of your frames, not the middle. For example, #4 (the motorcycle) chops off part of the Harley logo. It feels to me that either you want that in there, maybe as a more graphic element, or you don't — right now, it's kind of half-in, half-out. Similarly, the kid's arms on #6 are oddly cut off. Closer might be good, farther might be good — but now it's uncomfortable middle.
As an experiment, try shooting the same scene from different distances (I mean you literally moving yourself, not just zooming), and from different angles. Walk around the scene and take a dozen pictures of the same thing, not just one. Also, shoot from a relatively far distance, then judiciously crop in editing. How far can you go? What does one crop 'feel' like vs. another?
Finally, I have a little mantra I say to myself: 'Don't take a picture of what it is — take a picture of what it is about.' That is, how does this photo tell the story of the person?
Hope this helps!
I will add that the last three photos appear to have been massaged in a photo editing software package (such as Lightroom, etc.) for both sharpness and for color pallet.
Saturation is selectively boosted, contrast slightly enhanced, some sharpening applied and it's possible a custom LUT (look up table) is being applied.
Find a good book on editing images with RBG curves in your preferred photo editing software and start there. If you learn how to edit images using the RGB curves function, you can make subtle but really effective changes to your images.
Saturation is selectively boosted, contrast slightly enhanced, some sharpening applied and it's possible a custom LUT (look up table) is being applied.
Find a good book on editing images with RBG curves in your preferred photo editing software and start there. If you learn how to edit images using the RGB curves function, you can make subtle but really effective changes to your images.
The last three have a warmer tone with more contrast and saturation. Some of that looks to be the time of day and some the processing of the images. It also looks like they are using a light source such as a fill flash or gold reflector to add some light to the subjects since they are backlight by the sun but still have light on the side we're seeing.
Based on just what you've shown here my advice is to pay attention to the light color, angle, and whether some fill from a flash or reflector would help.
Also I like to shoot raw images and process them in a tool like Lightroom or Capture One rather than apply a lot of settings when shooting to get a decent out of camera file. Learning how to process images in those tools to achieve the look you want isn't hard, but it does take some experience to see what you need to change.
A simple editing change that will bring your photos closer to the examples you included is adding a simple S curve which increase the midtone contrast. Add in a bit more warmth and you might be happy.
Based on just what you've shown here my advice is to pay attention to the light color, angle, and whether some fill from a flash or reflector would help.
Also I like to shoot raw images and process them in a tool like Lightroom or Capture One rather than apply a lot of settings when shooting to get a decent out of camera file. Learning how to process images in those tools to achieve the look you want isn't hard, but it does take some experience to see what you need to change.
A simple editing change that will bring your photos closer to the examples you included is adding a simple S curve which increase the midtone contrast. Add in a bit more warmth and you might be happy.
- Status
| Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here. |
PHOTRIO PARTNERS EQUALLY FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY:  |