First few pictures C&C

[mikedadude]

Hey guys, I know these are far far from perfect...None of these photos have been cropped or edited yet... I'm hoping with some post-edit they will look ok.

I figured I'd mix things up a little and post a picture, followed by my critique. Let's see if you guys agree or not...


#1

Comments: Not in focus, white-balance mode makes things look yellow, lack of any real compisition? I don't really think any of those, besides the composition, are an issue personally. I like blurry/yellow effect it has. But.. alas, no real composition imo.

#2

Comments: I personally think the trees in the foreground are bit distracting, I think it kinda ruins the shot.

#3

Comments: Toooo much noise. Bad use of iso setting. I think this may look pretty decent with some post-editing though...

#4

Comments: Composition is poor/non-existent? And again.. the noise, bad iso setting

#5

Comments: I guess this is kinda boring, I just felt kinda obliged to post it for whatever reason.

I had a cliche full moon between clouds pic, but I felt weary enough posting these pics up let alone that one!

So ya, feel free to rip me apart. I've already helped you guys out

 

[HikinMike]

Yep, I agree with you.

 

[Rekd]

1 is just bad.

2 and 3 could be good if they were lightened up a bit.

4 doesn't do much for me.

5 could be good cropped a bit and leveled.

HTH.

 

[AfroKen]

I would also agree with Rekd's comments. #5 is the best one, and if you cropped the candle closer, it'd be more effective. #1 looks like a mistake to me, quite honestly. #3 could be cool if it's lightened a lot, but as it stands now, it's obviously underexposed. Good luck with the photography and everything.

 

[jbylake]

Considering there is no post edit, I think 2 and 3 are pretty good!. Just keep on keeping on..you'll get better and better if you really work at it. Keep in mind that some of these folks have been at this for many many years. Just keep posting, someone will surely jump in and help you improve!

j.:thumbup:

 

[Rekd]

someone will surely jump in and help you improve!

Wow.

I thought I gave a fair assessment of what I thought was right and wrong with those photos and how to make them better.

Am I wrong? Did I not offer suggestions on how he could make 3 them better? How he could "improve"? :twak:

 

[Willl]

Mostly they're just underexposed.

#5 couldbe a lot better with a better background and higher exposure.

 

[jbylake]

someone will surely jump in and help you improve!

Wow.

I thought I gave a fair assessment of what I thought was right and wrong with those photos and how to make them better.

Am I wrong? Did I not offer suggestions on how he could make 3 them better? How he could "improve"? :twak:

Chill, dude. I was talking future posts. Read T F Post, I told him to keep on keeping on, and people will jump in and help. I saw your post. Thought it was very helpful. I was trying to encourage him to keep on posting, and people will keep on helping. Don't take yourself so seriously.

J.

 

[Rekd]

Just keep posting, someone will surely jump in and help you improve!

You're right. That didn't sound a bit like nobody had helped him yet. My bad.

 

[MrRamonG]

If you think pic 1 is not a mistake, you should hand your camera over to the authorities. Just kidding.... sort of. If you had a tripod for the first pic it might have come out a lot better.

 

[Rekd]

MrRamonG, aside from the initial LOL of your comment, I think it goes beyond that. The motion blur really destroys the shot, but even so, having the snow falling with nothing in the shot to exemplify the falling snow (like a person walking hunched over or a car driving by in such horrid conditions) kind of kills the shot.

IMO it would be much better with no motion blur and something in the frame to make the fact that it's a blizzard stand out more.

 

[DogGoneGood]

Hey Mike, I really like 2, 3 and 5. I think with some post-editing, they could be pretty good. #3 is just a bit too dark, lightening it up some would be good.

#5 isn't that bad at all to me, it's just tilted and the background needs to be blurred some, as it's too distracting. I also think cropping the photo, to center it up just a little bit, would be good as well.

Your photo's say they're okay to edit, and I'm not the best at Photoshop by any means, but I took a small crack at it, hope you don't mind!

I basically did everything I mentioned above -- I cropped it to center it just a little more, adjusted the brightness and contrast, straightened it out and blurred the background a little to bring the object more into focus.

 

[mikedadude]

Hey, ya feel free to edit away! How did you straighten it out? By rotating the picture a few degrees? Also.. did you just use the blur tool to increase the background blur?

I had a quick go at editing #3.

I made it brighter by using the copied layer technique, then auto-toned and blurred some of the red noise on the bottom part. Alas, not sure I can save that photo due to using iso 1600...

 

[DogGoneGood]

Hey, ya feel free to edit away! How did you straighten it out? By rotating the picture a few degrees? Also.. did you just use the blur tool to increase the background blur?

Yep and yep. I rotated it 2 degree's to the left before cropping it, and used the blur tool at 60% to blur the background.

And I agree with you about the ISO in #3, the noise is, unfortunately, way more evident since it was lightened.