Brand New to Photography and in Need of Constructive Criticism

[JackRabbit]

Ok, I have only been into photography for about 3 weeks now, and I can already tell I am in love. But regardless, I have recently been taking more and more pictures and am in desperate need of constructive criticism. You can only get so much of that from friends on MySpace haha. So anyways, did a quick google search, and found somewhere where the people know what they are talking about and would be glad to help me. So with all this said, PLEASE give me some tips and things to work on for my work up to this point; which, by the way, is about 10 photos ahaha.

Also, add me as a contact on Flickr. I'd love to be able to see some of you guys's work.

My Flickr

 

[IgsEMT]

#1. skin tones appear to warm and face is a bit bright. If you used a flash, and it seems that you did, drop the power a bit or shoot at higher shutterspeed. Being that he's looking at side of the camera, it doesn't do anything for me, thus I'd either add a soft focus filter on it (back in the day used to lube the lenses ) or BW. You shot at low level - something that many people don't do for full length - GOOD FOR YOU - not everyone understands lens distortion but too low for image like that. Composition ok, since you UNLIKELY posed him - no comment there. But again, in color, this image doesn't do anything for me.

#2 Better in terms of composition and mood of the image. You did cut his right pinky though and left elbow. I have mixed feeling about cutting body parts but that's me.

#3 pretty good job. I'd sugest use a flash to fill in the shadows.

#4 all of the room above the head is disturbing. Face is a bit washed.

#5 no comment

#6 - same idea as #1 for looking away. crop it a bit tighter, i feel that the tree occupies to much of the frame and takes away from the subject.

#7 - too soft/out of focus. i like the catch lights though.

#8 - poor attempt at fisheye

#9 - the girl in the back is distracting. and subject is similar to #8

#10 I like the profile view. would have been kool though if light was coming from HER RIGHT to give you silhouette or at her face to illuminate her left side.


OVERALL, Not bad.
Fill the Frame - In some you cropped to tight and if you intend on leaving images on comp - no problem. You will hit the wall though if decide to print in anything other then format you shot it in, i.e. if you shot them in 4x6, printing 4x5 on some of them might be difficult, etc.
Colors - Seem fine.
Composition and Mood. Personally and this is the way I was taught, if subject is looking away from the camera, it's probably a dreamy image thus it should be reflected as such, that is why I suggested adding filters on those two images. However, it isn't always true.
Good luck and keep on improving.

 

[JackRabbit]

#1. skin tones appear to warm and face is a bit bright. If you used a flash, and it seems that you did, drop the power a bit or shoot at higher shutterspeed. Being that he's looking at side of the camera, it doesn't do anything for me, thus I'd either add a soft focus filter on it (back in the day used to lube the lenses ) or BW. You shot at low level - something that many people don't do for full length - GOOD FOR YOU - not everyone understands lens distortion but too low for image like that. Composition ok, since you UNLIKELY posed him - no comment there. But again, in color, this image doesn't do anything for me.

#2 Better in terms of composition and mood of the image. You did cut his right pinky though and left elbow. I have mixed feeling about cutting body parts but that's me.

#3 pretty good job. I'd sugest use a flash to fill in the shadows.

#4 all of the room above the head is disturbing. Face is a bit washed.

#5 no comment

#6 - same idea as #1 for looking away. crop it a bit tighter, i feel that the tree occupies to much of the frame and takes away from the subject.

#7 - too soft/out of focus. i like the catch lights though.

#8 - poor attempt at fisheye

#9 - the girl in the back is distracting. and subject is similar to #8

#10 I like the profile view. would have been kool though if light was coming from HER RIGHT to give you silhouette or at her face to illuminate her left side.


OVERALL, Not bad.
Fill the Frame - In some you cropped to tight and if you intend on leaving images on comp - no problem. You will hit the wall though if decide to print in anything other then format you shot it in, i.e. if you shot them in 4x6, printing 4x5 on some of them might be difficult, etc.
Colors - Seem fine.
Composition and Mood. Personally and this is the way I was taught, if subject is looking away from the camera, it's probably a dreamy image thus it should be reflected as such, that is why I suggested adding filters on those two images. However, it isn't always true.
Good luck and keep on improving.

1.) I have absolutely no idea what you meant by "low level", "full length", and the part about "not everyone understands lens distortion but too low for image like that". And yeah that is me. I just put on the self timer ahaha I was very bored. But yeah I'm also interested in maybe doing some modeling so can you tell me what you have to say about the composition?

2.) This one wasn't cropped at all. I should have used my 18-55mm but I used my 55-250mm telephoto instead.

3.) I wish I had a flash ahah. No money though /:

4.) What do you mean by the face being "washed"

5.) Is it that bad? ):

6.) Yeah I just posted this one just to see what people had to say about it. I don't really like it that much either.

7.) What do you mean by "catch lights"?

8.) This was taken with my 18-55mm lens ahaha. his face is just oddly shaped i guess? ahahah

9.) Once again, no fisheye.

Sorry for all the questions. I am very new to photography and am a complete noob. I'll catch on eventually ahah.

 

[IgsEMT]

Sorry for all the questions. I am very new to photography and am a complete noob. I'll catch on eventually ahah.

don't be sorry - that is why you're here.

1.) I have absolutely no idea what you meant by "low level", "full length", and the part about "not everyone understands lens distortion but too low for image like that". And yeah that is me. I just put on the self timer ahaha I was very bored. But yeah I'm also interested in maybe doing some modeling so can you tell me what you have to say about the composition?

Levels - image face (high), torso (mid), legs (low).
Full lengths: head to toe, 3/4: head to knees, 1/2: head to torso, head&shoulders (like shampoo), head/neck - tight close ups, etc.
Distortion: for argument sake, let's 4get about 35mm, medium and large formats. The so called 'normal' lens is considered to be 50mm b/c generally what you see through nifty fifty is what you see with your eye. Although it varies a bit based on crop you're camera has 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, etc but generally it holds true. Thus if you zoom out 'image fish eye' you'll get distortion. By coming CLOSE to subject's face (high level) you'll get him/her in the view BUT you'll get distortion - funky looking body composition.
Generally, so called bread&butter portraits that are full length done at waste level THUS b/c you'll be wider then 50mm and lens distortion will occur it'll be minimized on the actual image (unless you'll fix it in PP later).
I am being very general here b/c there are no MUST BEs in photography since it is very subjecting art form but for basic, classical stuff there are so-called guidelines.

2.) This one wasn't cropped at all. I should have used my 18-55mm but I used my 55-250mm telephoto instead.

I should have rephrased it. I meant filling the frame of view (what you see in the view finder). Fact that you used 55-250, I think is better. Longer lenses are traditionally better for portraits rather then wider. They allow you to fill the frame with your subject, eliminate distracting back/foreground and save time in PP cropping.

3.) I wish I had a flash ahah. No money though /:

I'm assuming (big mistake, I know) that you're camera has a built-in flash. It isn't the best thing out there but it is better then nothing.

4.) What do you mean by the face being "washed"

Overexposed.

5.) Is it that bad? ):

No. seems like stones. I'm not much into landscapes anymore so my feedback won't be useful. But general framing rules apply here as well.

6.) Yeah I just posted this one just to see what people had to say about it. I don't really like it that much either.

My way of doing is, if I don't like an image, unless it can be fixed, it gets deleted.

7.) What do you mean by "catch lights"?

Wiki to the rescue yet again Catch light - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

8.) This was taken with my 18-55mm lens ahaha. his face is just oddly shaped i guess? ahahah

9.) Once again, no fisheye.

That odd shape is a wide angle effect. It is one of the reasons why wide angle lenses aren't used to portraits, unless that is the effect you're going for.






EDIT
At another thread http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...09-negligible-focal-lengths-prime-lenses.html, user name Derrel posted this link http://rabinergroup.com/pdfs/LensangleofviewtableLong.pdf, from there you can see that based on your focal length of the lens, is what you'll see in your view finder. If I'm abot 10 feet from my subject and want a head/shoulders shot, I'm NOT going to be doing it at 18mm, maybe 80mm on 1.5 croped dSLR which will be about 160 on FF.

 

[bigtwinky]

For starters, you should number each picture when posting, makes it easier to give feedback.
The unwritten rule on the forums is that the less pictures you post, the more feedback you get. Keeping it to 3 or so photos posted will ensure better feedback than if you post up 10.

I'll just give some general feedback on the photos, not on specific items as I feel that IgsEMT hit the nail on the head for most of them.

Keeping things positionned in the middle of the frame is not the most appealing thing to the eye. Look into the Rule of Thirds and how to better position people in images.
This ties in to cropping too tight or not tight enough. I find your first few people images had some empty space around the subject, some on top, some on the sides, that wasn't adding anything to the image.
In the last few people images, you were really close in which was too tight in terms of composition.

The last image, with the girl looking out the window, is probably the strongest one you posted, but still suffers from some basics that were missed. For examples, the focus seems a bit off and her eyes are blurry. The composition is nice and the lighting is good, although the outside is a tad too bright.

I really don't get the two stones and branch. One thing to look for in images is leading lines that will lead the viewers eye to somewhere. If that was your intent with these, you should of been much lower down and titled the camera up slightly...and you should need more than 2 stones to lead the eye.

Now, as for being new photography, there are a bunch of basics you need to read up on. Once you understand these basics, then its OK to break the "rules". But until then, stick with the basics until you master them.

Google on portrait and photo composition. Terms to look for are leading lines, symetry, rule of thirds, S lines, golden triangles.

If you are shooting in automatic and no idea how to shoot on manual, then pick up the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. A really good read, well written, and aimed at new photographers.

 

[Pugs]

IgsEMT and bigtwinky have this well covered... I've got nothing to add.

 

[bigtwinky]

IgsEMT and bigtwinky have this well covered... I've got nothing to add.

Then why post?

 

[Pugs]

Uh... 'cause I can?

Mostly, to throw support and the full credence of my approval behind your posts... 'Cause you know that my approval is the be-all and end-all in the photographic world...

 

[IgsEMT]

On another thread here are some examples of what seems like a wide angle lens used for portraits.
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/people-photography/186584-nudity-warning-nsfw-cowgirl-kate.html
Image #1 - the head/body are relatively proportional to true size while legs thin out. It isn't noticeable a LOT at first glance but you do notice something different about it. It's a nice effect for some images but if you can improvise, have to learn the basics
good luck

 

[bigtwinky]

Uh... 'cause I can?

Mostly, to throw support and the full credence of my approval behind your posts... 'Cause you know that my approval is the be-all and end-all in the photographic world...

:lmao: :thumbup:

I was just jabbing ya hehe

 

[IgsEMT]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pugs
Uh... 'cause I can?

Mostly, to throw support and the full credence of my approval behind your posts... 'Cause you know that my approval is the be-all and end-all in the photographic world...


:lmao: :thumbup:

I was just jabbing ya hehe
__________________

LOL :lmao:

 

[Pugs]

:lmao: :thumbup:

I was just jabbing ya hehe

Never thought anything different... I just hope you realize how blessed you and IgsEMT are for having me validate your posts as I did...

 

[iBats]

hipster friends that is all that needs to be said

 

[JackRabbit]

What does that mean iBat? ahaha are you calling my friends hipsters?

 

[bigtwinky]

hipster friends that is all that needs to be said

I would think that one a photography forum, people should concentrate on comments about the actual photography and not about the models in the photos.

The only time i would see comments on the models would if they are specifically requested.