Hello :) C&C please on 4 new photos

[louisa86]

Hello ,

i would like some critique please on my latest 4 photos, i haven't been practising photography very long, probably for 7 months so i am very new! i have been told lately that my work is going down hill . I tried really hard on my latest 4 photos so that they where more creative, i really do want to get better so any advice you have is much appreciated .

I am having a problem uploading them on here, i tried using photobucket but the photos still wasnt showing up so i apologise for using a link

www.flickr.com/photos/merikas its my latest 4 which are all on one page thank you for taking the time to look, much appreciated!

Regards xx

 

[puyjapin]

they look pretty good, id say the one with the trees behind would probably have been better without the trees there.
4 is my favorite, and i noticed you took the advice of removing skies from portraits on most of them. id say the 1st one gains no benefit from having the bushes in the background and some of the foreground could also be cropped out. they are pretty well exposed, seeing as you have snow in the scene which is quite hard to photograph, normally comes out grey or in this case a little overexposed. have you tried out your elements 7 yet?

 

[puyjapin]

also are you using raw?

 

[myvinyl333]

To upload go to Flickr, "all sizes" on the picture you want and grab the URL like this: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2685/4376594453_79695f5748_b.jpg and place it in the "insert image" found on the right hand side of the toolbar. Your picture will appear.

I am new and only offer my CC from a non tech perspective. All of the photos seem too soft or white. The one that has been altered looks the best soft. Keep going and thanks for the post.
jorge

 

[puyjapin]

its all a question of personal taste isnt it? too soft, too contrasty, depends what you like
how about something like this, just my personal preference..

 

[louisa86]

Thank you for the replies

Puyjapin- yes well remembered i took your advice on board regarding the sky! thank you!! I actually installed photoshop CS4 it was my first try with it on these photos! It was very hard to photograph in the snow, my friend was a little trooper! it was sleeting to and i was desperately trying not to get my lens wet! haha and no im not using Raw to be honest i have no idea what it is!! i have enrolled for a night course at college which starts in April which will be very helpful!! oo that photo you posted didnt come up very well on here! the quality looks terrible compared to the one on flickr, I think you could be right about cutting out the bushes, it diverts the focus slightly from her. I was weary about the self portrait as i dont have any lighting so had to make do with natural light, im glad you like it thanks!!

myvinyl333- Thanks for replying, i find it very hard to critique my own work so thanks for your imput, if you had any suggestions i would be happy to hear them? i really do want to get better.

 

[puyjapin]

have a look into raw, if ur using PS there is little point using jpegs. what camera are u using? dslr? also should definately consider a photo club, probably more sound advice than evening class and cheaper id think

 

[louisa86]

A few people have told me to use Raw i shall google it! what is the difference? I am using a canon 450D not had it very long, i looked into a photo club and i know this sounds horrible i dont intend it to be, but all the members where in there 60's and mainly did landscape photography, i think they would find me a bit ridiculous! i suppose i am being a little presumptuous, but as i am in my early 20's it seemed like a club for the more mature person! i suppose there is only one way to find out and to just go along!

I have enrolled already at college but im sure i will find it helpful

Thanks again! x

 

[puyjapin]

all camera clubs seem like that im 34 and probably one of the youngest there, mostly retired people with plenty of spare time and a bit of spare money. lots of them have plenty of experience though, suppose it depends on the club. oddly most clubs seem to attract male members, no idea why this is though