2 Fun ones for C&C

cailinp · May 18, 2010

Just playing around with some pp and photo taking. What do you think of technique, pp and so on.

shmne · May 18, 2010

A bit over done for most people's taste. Personally I draw the line at pixel deterioration, see how in image 2 there is little gradation of color? Also note that the grass is "ghosting" where there is no real solid definition in it anymore. Looking at both again this only applies to image 2.

The first one isn't too heavy handed in my opinion, again for most it probably is. I think at this point the PP is an artistic controlled decision and doesn't really bother me at all.

It looks like you want more contrast in your photos, in the first one anything outside of the mirror is very dark while the mirror itself is overexposed and dramatic. In the second one the saturation is punched a lot, as well as the contrast.

I digressed a bit, so back to the critique:
The photography in both of these is a bit lacking, interesting find in #2 and I can see what you found appealing in #1. The car shot has been done to death, though the way you did it hasn't really done it much justice. Number 2 is just a barrel in a grass field.

Overall, the processing doesn't really do much. It isn't really as much processing as it is just crunching the contrast, adding vignettes, crushing shadows, and blowing highlights.

If you really like the heightened contrast (as I am assuming that is what you're finding appealing) then I must say try doing smaller steps with it. You'd be surprised how powerful a small adjustment can be! Also play with using multiple layers and masking in / out highlights to really push the boundaries. I think you may also enjoy using a more subtle hdr-mimicking effect where you use multiple layers in screen and multiply mode to really enhance the shadows and highlights.

With all that said, I know you said these are for fun but I generally try to still give the same critique I give to every other person

I hope you understand ^_-