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kallisti

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 22, 2003
1,751
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Welcome to Critique/Advice of the Month. This is a recent thread idea aimed at offering a place for members to post pics asking for input from other members.

There are threads in this forum like the POTD thread for showcasing your best work. There is a weekly photo contest thread for showcasing your best work related to a specific theme.

This thread is a place to share a pic for which you are seeking feedback from other forum members. What could I have done to shoot it better at the time of capture? What could I do with it in post to make it better?

This thread is intended for photographers of all skill levels and the expectation is that all replies will be helpful for the poster and not inflammatory. *Not* helpful to say this pic sucks or why did you even bother taking it? *Not* helpful to say your gear sucks and you need to upgrade to "better" gear if you want to take better pics. Instead offering advice/critique based on the poster's current gear and experience level (to the degree possible). Okay to offer gear advice if it is relevant to the poster's stated photographic goals.

Policies

*One Photo per calendar week - so a maximum of 4 photos per month. This may be subject to change in the future depending on how this thread plays out.

*Multi-Quote - To comment on several photos, click the "+ (Multi-Quote) button. This puts all your comments in one post. Multi-Quoting is required on all of the MacRumors forums.

*SFW (Safe for Work) only - This is a site - wide rule. If you wouldn't show it in a public place, then it's NSFW (not safe for work). Think before you post.

*Describe your photo - Tell what it is and where you took it. If you know the EXIF data of a photo, include it. The following EXIF fields are recommended: Camera, ISO, Focal Length, Shutter/Aperture and Lens.

*Try to explain what you like and don't like about your pic. The more information you provide, the easier it is for members to offer advice/critique that will actually be helpful to you.

*It is fine to include multiple versions of your pic in your post. Color, B&W, various edits you've done. Most helpful to explain each of these versions/edits and why you made them. What you like or don't like about various versions. Again, the more information you provide will result in the most helpful comments from forum members.


Note: Anyone may start the Critique/Advice of the Month thread on the first of the month GMT. Please copy a quote of this post to maintain all the formatting.




This thread seemed to go over well in April. Starting a new thread for May.

Most of what I've been shooting lately are pics of my son. Hesitant to share them here (or anywhere online). Having said that, I'll make an exception.

Took this pic of my son doing his homework. Sony A1 and Sony 20/1.8 G. 20mm is a focal length that I personally love. I like the composition I was able to obtain with this pic. There is perspective distortion related to the focal length which I think strengthens this composition (as compared to say a 50mm lens).

Sony A1 and Sony 20/1.8 G @ f/1.8, 1/125th sec, ISO 320.

_DSC0773-2.jpg

Unedited RAW file out of the camera

_DSC0773.jpg

Edited color version

_DSC0773-Edit-2.jpg

Edited B&W version

The things I like about this image relate to the composition with the 20mm lens. The perspective distortion (near elements being larger than life) work for me with the subject being in the background. This isn't how I normally shoot a 20mm lens (where the foreground is often the subject with an expanded background).

I'm open to any feedback on any level. Ideas on how it might be better still using the 20mm lens, but with a different composition. Thoughts on how it might be better with a different lens. Ideas on better ways to process it in post.

I'm hoping members of all skill levels will be comfortable posting in this thread--both with their photos and with their feedback on images posted here.

This thread is open to anyone. Please share your pics if you would like feedback from forum members. Don’t worry that your pics won’t be “good enough”. The point is to help anyone of any skill level to become a better photographer :).
 
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Nice shot! I allowed myself to remove the smudge from the wall, toned down the colours, lightened the face and applied tonal contrast and a vignette.

BB373888-C6A7-4719-8AC6-C4B17C169BDF.jpeg

B91A6BF0-A85F-4E6A-ADD5-1C24B0CA4E23.jpeg

EDIT: just for fun I created the corresponding Quick Looks for Google’s Snapseed:

JPEG image 2.jpegJPEG image.jpeg
 
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Thanks for the helpful replies!

The smudge needed to be cloned out.

I did some local adjustments to his head area--lightening it up slightly and lowering the saturation. More pleasing result:

_DSC0773.jpg
 
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I did some local adjustments to his head area--lightening it up slightly and lowering the saturation.
Now his hands are a bit too saturated. ;)

Speaking of hands... When you use a wide angle lens you have to be careful with placement. The lens distortion make his hands look oversized. It isn't horribly so but it is something to keep in mind when posing somebody with a wide lens.
 
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@Laird Knox, helpful observations/advise on both counts. Thanks.

Desaturated his hands a bit to make his skin more uniform across the frame. Annoyed with myself that I didn't catch that and fix it. Rookie mistake.

The distortion can be both a bug and a feature. When I'm using a 20mm lens, it's a feature as I'm specifically trying to make use of it. I wasn't a fan of ultra-wides until I saw Bill Brandt's work. He has a series of photos taken with a unique camera (which I think had a focal length of around 15mm in 35mm film terms) that completely turned me onto shooting with very wide angle lenses. Getting a successful composition with ultra-wide lenses can be quite challenging, but they can be very interesting if done well.

On my photo bucket list is to recreate similar compositions to Bill Brandt's work with my son as the subject. Something similar to his pics of a face (or ear or foot) filling the foreground with an expansive and sharp background in the distance. Visually playing with size relationships that ultra-wide lenses are so good at capturing.

This pic is kind of the opposite to how I would normally compose with a 20mm lens, which might be one of the reasons I like it.


_DSC0773.jpg
 
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This thread doesn’t seem to be inviting submissions so far this month. Still early, so will wait and see. Getting the feeling that this wasn’t something members are interested in. Which is totally fine. Ran it up the flagpole…
 
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