An Old Man's Portrait - need a professional answer

carish1 · Nov 7, 2005

Hi everyone,

I tried something here and I need a porofessional critique to tell me:
a. are the photos good,
b. which one has the best editing

Thank you,

Moshe

Alexandra · Nov 7, 2005

:thumbup:
Neat pics, definitly. the editing is very well done on all of them, but i'm really into the last one.

Hertz van Rental · Nov 7, 2005

Are the photos 'good'?
Please define 'good'. Or at least give us some hint as to what the image is going to be used for. Until we know this we can't answer you.

Tally Ho · Nov 7, 2005

Well Moshe, I opened my professional photography studio in 1982. I'm not bragging, just being informative since you asked for a 'professional' critique, and I take that to mean you want a working professional photographer to critique your image.

First of all the exposure is good, and I prefer the color image over the others.

The image has no impact. It is just a nice snapshot of a dog looking off to the side. It doesn't appear to me that there was any forethought was put into this image, or at the very least there was but a few seconds. The crop is not good IMHO. I prefer to see all of the dog, or just his face but not 2/3rds of his body with no legs like you have here. The background is VERY busy with bright areas and a large and distracting red area. NEVER have red in the background as it attracts attention away from the subject. The eyes of the dog have no catchlights in them so they appear dark and lifeless. The dog tag is distracting, I would clone it out. Whenever the subject in any photograph is looking out of the frame of the image, or there is apparant movement in one direction, there should be a receiving area, meaning an area of 'dead' space for the subject to look or move in to.

When I photograph dogs, I like the dog to have his ears perked up, looking at the viewer and no tongue sticking out. I have discovered the larger the dog, the less you can show and 'get away' with it. Meaning if it is a St. Bernard a head shot will look good, but if it is a miniature Italian Greyhound a full length pose will most likely work best.

I know this critique sounds rather harsh, and no one like to be treated harshly. I'm not trying to be mean nor am I 'cutting down' your image down, I'm only doing what you asked and offering my professional opinion of your image. I have had hundreds of my images judged by master photographers and at first I would get mad, then it dawned on me that they were only doing their job as objectively as possible.

Tally Ho, Da Ho, Don Ho, Heidi Ho, Gung Ho, Rake 'n Ho, Heave Ho or Cheng Ho.

carish1 · Nov 7, 2005

Thanks to everyone above, and especially to you.
No harsh words, it's exactly what I asked for.
Thanks, I will definitely use those comments in my next session with Blitzman...

Tally Ho said:
Well Moshe, I opened my professional photography studio in 1982. I'm not bragging, just being informative since you asked for a 'professional' critique, and I take that to mean you want a working professional photographer to critique your image.

First of all the exposure is good, and I prefer the color image over the others.

The image has no impact. It is just a nice snapshot of a dog looking off to the side. It doesn't appear to me that there was any forethought was put into this image, or at the very least there was but a few seconds. The crop is not good IMHO. I prefer to see all of the dog, or just his face but not 2/3rds of his body with no legs like you have here. The background is VERY busy with bright areas and a large and distracting red area. NEVER have red in the background as it attracts attention away from the subject. The eyes of the dog have no catchlights in them so they appear dark and lifeless. The dog tag is distracting, I would clone it out. Whenever the subject in any photograph is looking out of the frame of the image, or there is apparant movement in one direction, there should be a receiving area, meaning an area of 'dead' space for the subject to look or move in to.

When I photograph dogs, I like the dog to have his ears perked up, looking at the viewer and no tongue sticking out. I have discovered the larger the dog, the less you can show and 'get away' with it. Meaning if it is a St. Bernard a head shot will look good, but if it is a miniature Italian Greyhound a full length pose will most likely work best.

I know this critique sounds rather harsh, and no one like to be treated harshly. I'm not trying to be mean nor am I 'cutting down' your image down, I'm only doing what you asked and offering my professional opinion of your image. I have had hundreds of my images judged by master photographers and at first I would get mad, then it dawned on me that they were only doing their job as objectively as possible.

Tally Ho, Da Ho, Don Ho, Heidi Ho, Gung Ho, Rake 'n Ho, Heave Ho or Cheng Ho.

Hertz van Rental · Nov 7, 2005

Tally Ho said:
I'm only doing what you asked and offering my professional opinion of your image

Actually, what you are doing is offering your opinion as a professional.
It's only a professional opinion if you are being employed in that capacity

elsaspet · Nov 7, 2005

Hmmm. I do this all day long. For money. Mostly I just eat bonbons and shop and take a few jobs each week. Does that make me a pro? Not really. It just makes photography my job.
I say......:thumbup: .
First of all, what I would say to you is that YOU are the artist. YOU decide what is good and what isn't. You're a consumer, right? What is it that YOU like in a photo? What is it that YOU would want if you were buying the photo?
One of the biggest lessons I learned around here (mostly from Hertz and JM and Terri) was that there was never an artist who didn't do his/her own thing.
If you ask, "what makes a photo great" you are going to hear ten thousand answers....all of them different. The very WORST thing you can do is ask exclusively what "pros" think is good. You'll get another ten thousand definitions of the word "pro" too.
Do what it is YOU love, and then get techinical help on that.
:mrgreen:
Cindy

carish1 · Nov 7, 2005

Thanks for the reply.
First of all, I am a photographer for a living also.
I am very confident in my skills and work and the reason I addressed the request in that form is because I am also a member of another forum in which I posted that photo too. The opinions I got there were very unprofessional and I started to think that I may be the only one who sees that photo in that way.
Anyway, I am more confident now that the photo is good, thank you guys.
As for the purpose of the photo... just for a family album.
That dog is like a son to my uncle...

Moshe

elsaspet said:
Hmmm. I do this all day long. For money. Mostly I just eat bonbons and shop and take a few jobs each week. Does that make me a pro? Not really. It just makes photography my job.
I say......:thumbup: .
First of all, what I would say to you is that YOU are the artist. YOU decide what is good and what isn't. You're a consumer, right? What is it that YOU like in a photo? What is it that YOU would want if you were buying the photo?
One of the biggest lessons I learned around here (mostly from Hertz and JM and Terri) was that there was never an artist who didn't do his/her own thing.
If you ask, "what makes a photo great" you are going to hear ten thousand answers....all of them different. The very WORST thing you can do is ask exclusively what "pros" think is good. You'll get another ten thousand definitions of the word "pro" too.
Do what it is YOU love, and then get techinical help on that.
:mrgreen:
Cindy

elsaspet · Nov 7, 2005

Nice to meet you Moshe! I like the photo very much as well as the conversions. Each of the conversions have a "feel" to them. Which one do you like the best? I think I like the last one best. I get a real feeling of the density of fur in that one. It makes you wanna pet it. Also, to me, after hearing how much the dog means to your family, the last one has an emotional feel to it. The treatment of the photo shows something treasured and beloved, almost romantic, although that isn't the right word. Dreamlike or idealistic is a better word perhaps, and that is what the last one conveys to me as a viewer.
Great Job!

carish1 · Nov 7, 2005

Hi again,

My favorite is the 4th. almost a glamour shot...
That dog is like a freind to those people.

I hope to take more and better shots of him soon.

Moshe

elsaspet said:
Nice to meet you Moshe! I like the photo very much as well as the conversions. Each of the conversions have a "feel" to them. Which one do you like the best? I think I like the last one best. I get a real feeling of the density of fur in that one. It makes you wanna pet it. Also, to me, after hearing how much the dog means to your family, the last one has an emotional feel to it. The treatment of the photo shows something treasured and beloved, almost romantic, although that isn't the right word. Dreamlike or idealistic is a better word perhaps, and that is what the last one conveys to me as a viewer.
Great Job!

elsaspet · Nov 7, 2005

See? You didn't need a "professional" judgement. You knew the answer already. Moreso, you knew the reasons behind the photo that would make it special to the people most close to him.
Yes, it is like a glamour shot!