3 for CC Let me know what you think!

[8ball]

Hey guys let me know what you think
1.

2.

3. Now I know a good portion of you may not like the PP on it

 

[bigtwinky]

Time for honesty... I don't like any of them. Save #2 which has some potential.

1- Are you going for a moody shot? It looks like an under exposed black and white image. If you are going for a dark kind of thing, that is usually done when processing, not by getting a lower exposure. Images need to be properly exposed.
The fingers are key in this image, they are what my eye looks at. But they are out of focus. So my eyes wander and kind of end up in the dead space between the arms and the crotch. Seems to be a bit too much up top in the image. I like the placement of the arms, they do make nice diagonal lines, but I'd prefer a close zoom into the actual hands and trying to eliminate the piece of chair that draws my eye, and less crotch is always good.

2- Composition wise, I really like this shot. Placement of the subject is good. Lighting again seems a bit dark. The hands seem a little lost, not sure what they are doing. To make an image like this a bit more powerful, let the viewer see some of the eyes. Either looking at right (or think looking through) the lens, or just off the lens.
-The image does not look sharp at the eyes, it looks sharp at the left hand nuckles/watch. Where you shooting in a wide aperture?
-If you want people to focus on the subject (the person), you must be looking for distracting things in the shot...one thing that seriously distracts from this shot is the watch. Might be because it is more in focus. I'd lose the watch unless it is an integral part of the image/person
-When shooting black clothes on a black background, things tend to kind of blend. You need seperation. Setting a light somewhat in back of the subject to kind of make a light seperation is key

3- You are right, I dont like the PP. It is a pastel kind of look to the image. Again, the eyes are key... Love to have them looking at the lens here, makes more of a connection between the viewer and the subject. The pose is alright, I'd maybe have the chin up a bit and a tighter crop on the face. Looks like you shot from a higher angle, and it seems to give the subject's body a bit of lenght, which makes the head a bit smallish. Also, if you are including fingers in the shot, don't cut them off. In some cases it is ok to, but generally it is not. Specially when you have room over the head.

Hope this helps.

 

[8ball]

Bigtwink Thank you very much everything you said make perfect sense I am almost wondering though if my laptop LCD is not set correctly because on my work computer here they are very dark compared to my laptop at home
As far as the aperture question i was shooting a low one, and now that I think about it makes perfect sense

 

[hrry]

Number 2 = awesome love the nixon watch too.

 

[8ball]

Thanks HRRY

 

[bigtwinky]

I am almost wondering though if my laptop LCD is not set correctly because on my work computer here they are very dark compared to my laptop at home

Honestly, they are all probably off.

One of the key things to working with images is having a calibrated monitor using external stuff like a Spyder or the Xrite line. My work computer is horrible compared to my home calibrated monitor. Laptops are especially annoying as they usually allow the user very limited access to changing settings for the monitor.

My Spyder sits on my screen. It then cycles through colours and analyzes them. I then get a chart with where the colours (Red Green Blue) are compared to where they should be. I then adjust them and rerun the software to check to see how close I am. Rinse, repeat until I'm in an acceptable area. It also has a sensor on it that adjusts for the ambiant light.

You also have to watch out for the paint and such in your room. If you have a wall painted red, well the light will reflect off that wall colour and potentially affect how things look on the monitor. Some people go as far as doing all their editing in the dark, save a nightlight on behind the computer.

 

[8ball]

That's some pretty great info right there!