Can I get some critique please (3 imgs)

[ChefDude]

Do they communicate anything to you? is the B&W conversion effective?

I'm not getting any comment either way on these, so am wondering if i'm on the right track?

Thanks in advance
Mike

[edit: worked it out! Just add /original.jpg to the end of the pbase link ]

 

[loser101]

cant see the pictures.....

 

[ChefDude]

damn pbase :|

 

[mysteryscribe]

ah well i'll be happy to check back later.

 

[burtharrris]

In all of them the B&W conversion is fine. What are you using for it? The first has a pleasing composition. I like the street scene. I really like the second. The almost silhouetted figures are so anonymous, maybe it reminds me of walking on my college campus in a lonely mood. And the third is nice, but since the girl in the back is rendered so out of focus, I only wish the girl in the foreground had her entire head in the frame.

 

[ChefDude]

Thanks for the feedback - I would have had to rise from my chair to get My friend's head in shot as well as the oof friend.

I quite like my style at the moment ( as a basis for improvement ), but that's irrelevant if no one agrees with you lol.

Thanks again.

I'm still not properly sure how to post consistent links from pbase

Anyway, the B&W conversion:

I tend to desaturate the reds down 50-60%, saturate the blues up by maybe 10%
then take the LAB lightness layer and copy it over the (back to RGB mode) red, then green and blue channels .

then I add a color burn layer (5-20% opacity) and a soft light layer (5-25%)

resize for net.

USM (50-100, 0.8, 4) and if necessary a local contrast USM (5-10, 40-45,0)

 

[mysteryscribe]

Still all I see is red xs

 

[Alex_B]

cannot see any images yet ... sorry mate, i know how frustrating this can be .. happens often when i post as well ...

 

[mysteryscribe]

Now I see the images...
One and two I find unremarkable but not offensive either. The last one I don't care for too much empty space on the left. Of course some folks like that I just don't happen to be one of them. I would have shot it verticle and just the one face. Probably not the current craze though.

 

[ChefDude]

glad i got the link thing working

okay mysteryscribe, that might explain the lack of comments hehe - I'll freely admit I do have to work up to unremarkable on the landscape shots, but I'm keen!

Portrait and candid is my passion and I am looking to get better. I only shoot available light and I do think I need to learn a lot more about it.

What about this one ?