I don't mind it in moderation, once in a while it spices up a shot but to see every picture over done like that just doesn't do it for me. HDR should be used once in a while to really make a great photo better not everyday use.
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- Thread starter AlphaDogg
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I don't like the height you've shot at. You seem to be standing up whilst the girl is sat down. This gives it a slightly stalker-ish/voyeuristic feel. Like you've stumbled upon her and snapped off a shot. Get down to her level and shoot over her shoulder. Get her to turn her face into the shot a little: 3/4 on or so. It'll feel more like the viewer is in the picture with her rather than looking at her.
I have some more that I forgot to post. They are all pictures of Jerusalem. Critiques and opinions are welcome.
Oh and here's one that my friend took of the cliffs in Sde Boker.
Oh and here's one that my friend took of the cliffs in Sde Boker.
I live it. The only thing that I think I could do without is the sharpening.
LOVE IT!! Thanks!! I would've done the same, but my MacBooks are at home and I only have access to XP machines here. I don't like them, but they get the job done. I grew up on XP, so even though all of the menus are in Hebrew (I know some Hebrew but I am not fluent in it), I still know what to do.
Heres the city view. First added a lot of noise reduction. Then boosted the blues in the sky and focused on saturating the area where the sky meets the city. The colors really popped here more than expected from the original image. Added a brightness mask to the city area to bring it up a bit then played with sharpening the structures.
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Beautiful!!!!! May I ask what you are using to produce these effects? Photoshop CS#? My teacher who is into photography (amazing work btw... Flickr user craighalp) and he uses Lightroom CS3.
Thanks a bunch! I primarily use Aperture 3. I will occasionally bounce to Photoshop but that is extremely rare now a days. I have found that the more i become proficient in aperture the less i need to jump to any adobe product. I feel that Photoshop is like using a bazooka to kill a fly. All my composition work flows through it but i don't believe it is necessary for most photography work.
I do use a few plugins to help with noise reduction and sharpening as i think this is apertures weakest spots.
One of my favorite pictures I've taken was in Israel. Wish I had an SLR back then - so many beautiful things (and people) to observe.
So with a POS point-and-shoot, and zero camera knowledge - I grabbed this in Tel Aviv late at night, while having a cappuccino. Set it on the table and held my breath until the shot was done. Didn't look at it until I was back in the US...
I'm aware it's probably a lousy photo, but brings back nice memories to me.
Edit: If you're still out there, or visiting again - in the colder months, you should try and find some hot Salep or Malabae. It's awesome.
So with a POS point-and-shoot, and zero camera knowledge - I grabbed this in Tel Aviv late at night, while having a cappuccino. Set it on the table and held my breath until the shot was done. Didn't look at it until I was back in the US...
I'm aware it's probably a lousy photo, but brings back nice memories to me.
Edit: If you're still out there, or visiting again - in the colder months, you should try and find some hot Salep or Malabae. It's awesome.
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If you're going to be shooting lots of landscapes then you should in a set of grad filters so you can darken the sky and get a more balanced exposure. Start with a Cokin ND grad set.
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Jaffa is awesome, I think the picture I posted was taken around Jaffa if memory serves. At the Aladeen restaurant.
Making me want to go back there! Lucky.
Making me want to go back there! Lucky.
I'm a little late into this one... but comparing post no.1 vs no.12, I think the body position of the girl is more interesting in no.1. She has her knee up, with her arms around it, in that way that girls do when they are sitting for a long time. This gives a different feel to no.12, when she looks quite artificial in her body position like she's been told to 'just sit there'.
so the bosy position in no.1 is much more consistent with dreaming/contemplating theme if that's what you're after.
hope this helps.
so the bosy position in no.1 is much more consistent with dreaming/contemplating theme if that's what you're after.
hope this helps.
Hey, with you on the always hazy, I'm across the river in Jordan. Try getting out, if you can early early morning or in the 30-40 minutes before the sun goes down, seeing it's winter that's pretty early. That way you can get some nice colour in the sky maybe.
As far as composition goes I would try to show a little more of your subjects face, obviously it's not going to be a lot but something is better then just the back of the head.
Someone also mentioned B&W, I would give that a look too.
I'm already back in Denver, CO. I was just looking through my pictures and posted that one. It's not as if I took it and immediately posted it.
Since you ask, you need to get the subject posed better. They are hunched forward, make sure they sit up straight with the head and center of the body in line. You should be able to see the subjects hands. In this shot I would have got her to put her left hand on the rock behind her so she has to straighten up and open her body a little towards the camera. Tell her she looks nice, she does, complements go a long way when photographing people. The minute you tell the person that they look really great when you're taking a photo they relax and feel more confident and you get a better photo.
Posing people feels weird at first, an easy way to approch it is to take a photo show them the photo and tell them what to do to make it better. In this situation you would show her this photo then tell her she's leaning forwards and ask her to sit so she's straight, take another photo show her that one and ask her to move her hands etc. Work with the subject to get a better photo, if they can see what you're doing makes the photo better they're happy for you to keep taking more photos
Don't shoot from above the subject, always shoot from around their waist line height or lower. In this shot if you'd layed on the ground you'd have got a much better shot. You want to avoid having the horizon line running through their head. If you'd shot from the ground then the building would be lower in the shot and her head would be nice and clear with just some trees behind it.
Have fun, if you want to practice just go out and take photos of strangers. Just pick random people, tell them you're a photography student and you're taking photos of people for a school project, give them a compliment on something, nice clothes, great haircut etc etc anything really and ask them if it's alright if you take take their photo. Do the take photo show them and get them to stand differently thing. You'll become a much better photographer really fast doing this and it's super fun. People love having their photo taken if you make them feel special.
The subject is my friend, and I'm not shooting for a portfolio or anything. I am just shooting for fun and to have some nice pictures that I can be proud of. Plus, since I am no longer on the trip, I will not be able to take any more pictures of her for a while. Maybe I'll get a few shots of her around the Colorado snow!
