Critique of the Week May 10-16: Post any Photo for C&C

Designer Dale said:

Messin' with my macro.



Dale

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Very nicely done. Good placement of the flower in the frame and nice textures visible on the petals. My only criticism would be that the bug is getting lost in the shadow on the petal; I didn't even notice the bug at first. Perhaps a bit of fill flash or a touch of light from a reflector would have improved those dark shadows on the petals.

This was my first serious long exposure. January this year, Fort Lauderdale, FL.

My first post to MR

hi everyone,

I've been following the forum for a few months now. Here's a photo that I liked very much when I was testing my new L lens! 70-200 F4. Thanks!

Hisdem said:

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Looks pretty good to me; maybe play with the WB... to tone down the orange 'cast' on the boat?

But the pic exhibits the typical qualities of a night shot taken when there's little or no light left in the sky: very contrasty, with dense, black shadows and pinpricks of (burnt-out) white lights. If you took the same shot during the hour (or so) after sunset, you'd still have the atmosphere of a night shot, but with a whole load of extra ingredients to play with. There wouldn't be that stark contrast between shadow and light; there would be so many many shades in between. Colour in the sky would reflect on the water, infiltrating - and opening up - the shadows. The orange cast wouldn't dominate; the 'warmth' would be more natural, not man-made (ie from sources of artificial light), the colours deeper, richer. The balance would change, minute by minute, between the natural, ambient light and the artificial light. The scene would really start to 'sing', become less static, more dynamic... and all this would show in the pic.

A great exercise would be to set your camera up a few minutes after sunset, and, monitoring the way post-sunset light keeps changing, shoot pix every five minutes for the next hour. You'll find, later on, that one or two pix will have captured that balance between light sources. It can be a magic moment, at the time of shooting, and another magic moment when you review the pictures, back home on your computer...

Designer Dale said:

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Designer Dale said:

Thanks for the observations. I didn't notice the bug until I got it into post. If I had, I would have shooed it away. Bug on flower is a cliche. Personally, I don't like the leaf intruding from the left over the flower petals. Thanks for reminding me that the white balance target I carry in my bag is a reflector, too. One of the things I like about exchanges like this is that they really do make me think more about my photography.

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'Bug on flower' a cliché? Tell that to the bug; it may be his finest hour...

Since everyone has a camera these days (plus a few more... in their phones, iPods, hairbrush), most subjects are photographed again and again and again. A cat, a flower, a sunset. I don't know if that makes them a cliché; the clichéd aspect may have more to do with shooting the same shot that's been taken so many times before, in the same old way... rather than looking with 'fresh eyes'.

There are lots of flower pix on PotD. Most of them make me glaze over a bit... and then one will appear that really makes me go "wow!" And it won't have been taken with special gear... just a special eye, looking at something that everyone photographs every day (yawn...) and yet sees something entirely fresh and new. This shot's OK, for me, but it doesn't give me that feeling that I'm seeing something for the first time.

This is one of my favorite pics. I'd be interested to hear C&C from folks on the board. I've never opened myself up for criticism yet!

Doylem said:

Looks pretty good to me; maybe play with the WB... to tone down the orange 'cast' on the boat?

But the pic exhibits the typical qualities of a night shot taken when there's little or no light left in the sky: very contrasty, with dense, black shadows and pinpricks of (burnt-out) white lights. If you took the same shot during the hour (or so) after sunset, you'd still have the atmosphere of a night shot, but with a whole load of extra ingredients to play with. There wouldn't be that stark contrast between shadow and light; there would be so many many shades in between. Colour in the sky would reflect on the water, infiltrating - and opening up - the shadows. The orange cast wouldn't dominate; the 'warmth' would be more natural, not man-made (ie from sources of artificial light), the colours deeper, richer. The balance would change, minute by minute, between the natural, ambient light and the artificial light. The scene would really start to 'sing', become less static, more dynamic... and all this would show in the pic.

A great exercise would be to set your camera up a few minutes after sunset, and, monitoring the way post-sunset light keeps changing, shoot pix every five minutes for the next hour. You'll find, later on, that one or two pix will have captured that balance between light sources. It can be a magic moment, at the time of shooting, and another magic moment when you review the pictures, back home on your computer...

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In addition to what Doylem said, I have found that overcast nights work well too. The clouds act light a big reflector, bouncing the city light back onto itself. In this case, the lower the clouds the better as you get more light and it is softer.

UltimaMC said:

This is one of my favorite pics. I'd be interested to hear C&C from folks on the board. I've never opened myself up for criticism yet!

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Gives off a very pensive vibe. An two different colored eyes! I would have liked the exposure a wee brighter, but that's just me.
Here's mine:

LumbermanSVO said:

In addition to what Doylem said, I have found that overcast nights work well too. The clouds act light a big reflector, bouncing the city light back onto itself. In this case, the lower the clouds the better as you get more light and it is softer.

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Doylem said:

Looks pretty good to me; maybe play with the WB... to tone down the orange 'cast' on the boat?

But the pic exhibits the typical qualities of a night shot taken when there's little or no light left in the sky: very contrasty, with dense, black shadows and pinpricks of (burnt-out) white lights. If you took the same shot during the hour (or so) after sunset, you'd still have the atmosphere of a night shot, but with a whole load of extra ingredients to play with. There wouldn't be that stark contrast between shadow and light; there would be so many many shades in between. Colour in the sky would reflect on the water, infiltrating - and opening up - the shadows. The orange cast wouldn't dominate; the 'warmth' would be more natural, not man-made (ie from sources of artificial light), the colours deeper, richer. The balance would change, minute by minute, between the natural, ambient light and the artificial light. The scene would really start to 'sing', become less static, more dynamic... and all this would show in the pic.

A great exercise would be to set your camera up a few minutes after sunset, and, monitoring the way post-sunset light keeps changing, shoot pix every five minutes for the next hour. You'll find, later on, that one or two pix will have captured that balance between light sources. It can be a magic moment, at the time of shooting, and another magic moment when you review the pictures, back home on your computer...

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Wow, thank you for your in depth analysis, Doylem! I hadn't thought of balancing the lights to a more natural color. And I will definitely be trying out setting up before sunset. Once again, thank you very much for this insight!

fcortese said:

Gives off a very pensive vibe. An two different colored eyes! I would have liked the exposure a wee brighter, but that's just me.
Here's mine:

Image

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It's probably just me, but I think the subject is under analyzed here. I have no idea if it would matter at all, but perhaps shooting the bench from a less "head on" angle would do better, especially if showing the full shadow behind the object.

It's probably just me, but I think the subject is under analyzed here. I have no idea if it would matter at all, but perhaps shooting the bench from a less "head on" angle would do better, especially if showing the full shadow behind the object.

Hisdem, I was more interested in trying to angle the camera to capture the distant mountain peak between the arm rest and the seat portion of the bench. I shot horizontal and vertical and moved to several positions and thought this one was what I was trying to achieve. I'll go back to the others that I took and I will probably return there today so I may make a second attempt. Thanks for the input. I is a reminder to look at the whole image in camera before pressing the shutter button AFTER you've decided what you are trying to tell in your picture.

UltimaMC said:

This is one of my favorite pics. I'd be interested to hear C&C from folks on the board. I've never opened myself up for criticism yet!

Image

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Try this:
- Go to Curves adjustment and hit Auto. (That'll clean up the colour imbalance and probably lighten it)
- Darken the image using curves and mask out just the face. (That'll create better focus on the dogs face.)
- Create a new curves adjustment this time lighten the image. Invert your mask. Then unmask the eyes. (This will make them stand out.)
- Apply some quick sharpening to the dogs face.

It'll take 2 minutes and make it look perfect Hope it helps

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Here's mine:

Image[/QUOTE]

I recon people would like this a lot more if it was printed 6ft tall in a room with lots of space so you can stand back and appreciate whats going on. On screen it looks to busy but it just needs more space than my laptop can give it. Then, its probably genius

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snyder7 said:

hi everyone,

I've been following the forum for a few months now. Here's a photo that I liked very much when I was testing my new L lens! 70-200 F4. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Try just cropping the head with the head over to the right hand side of the frame. You'll see more into its eyes which makes you look deep into the cat and wonder about its thoughts. More thought provoking for someone who doesn't know your cat.

Sometimes I look at this and like it. Sometimes I look at this and hate it. I'm interested to hear what you all have to say.


IMG_1192 by ToddSD, on Flickr

Hello everyone,

I just purchased Lightroom 4 via the Mac App Store as my new method for photo editing and organization (I have previously been using a combo of iPhoto and Elements 8). If anyone has any Lightroom 4 advice, especially in regards to sharpening, it would be greatly appreciated...

Here is a shot from last evening. The lighting was great, and I was close enough with my 70-300 VR to get some decent detail. I haven't cropped the photo, and have just used the "basic" and "detail" panels in Lr4. I think I am doing something wrong with sharpening though...

[/IMG]

Gaze by JonathanVirgiePhotography, on Flickr