5 HDRs from Guatemala for Constructive Criticism

[Invictus]

These were all taken in guatemala, in Antigua and Guatemala City. The photo of my cousin was not bracketed. Using an Olympus E-510

Please offer your thoughts and criticism, it is greatly appreciated.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

 

[Polyphony]

I thought "Stop" was "Pare" in spanish?

 

[Airborne_Guy]

Great pics. My fav #3 and #4
Stop=Alto Para=Stand

 

[Polyphony]

Great pics. My fav #3 and #4
Stop=Alto Para=Stand

I'm fairly certain that "Pare" means stop also. It's probably both.

 

[Invictus]

This is what a stop sign in Guatemala looks like. Can we get over that and back to the photographs?

 

[Polyphony]

Sure. The HDR is way overdone. 1 has nice lines but the picture is boring. HDR does not make it more interesting. Quite the opposite in my opinion. 2 is a "stop sign in Guatemala". Not much more too it. Again, HDR does not make it more interesting. 3 has a centered subject who looks like he wants to kill you. The HDR does nothing here except make the subject look like he's covered in dirt. (Maybe he was, it looks like he was swimming, maybe the water was dirty I don't know.) Pick a different angle. 4 is not level nor centered. The HDR in this one is the best out of the 5. Kind of boring though, a better angle of the building would have been more interesting. 5 is not centered, is flat, and crooked. Boring subject. Again, pick a different angle.

Rule of thirds is your friend, HDR is not.

 

[Invictus]

Thanks. So basically the five of these are garbage. Check. A little backstory on photo 3. A volcano had erupted and covered everything in sand and soot. It started raining heavily, and my cousin thought he would take a shower underneath one of the downspouts. As it turns out, it was just sandy water washing out from the gutter and covered him in dirt/sand.

 

[Taylor510ce]

This is what a stop sign in Guatemala looks like. Can we get over that and back to the photographs?

ouch...I thought canadians were supposed to be nice and polite....eh?

I think they all look a bit off. Try bracketing differently next time. Maybe more shots with smaller spacing of exposures.#1 is the best in terms of the HDR I think. I could be alittle off. Using a phone right now.

Edit: #4 looks pretty decent too.

 

[Invictus]

Sorry, I wasn't trying to offend anyone or anything, my apologies to Polyphony. I just didn't want the thread hijacked into a spanish lesson. I understand that although the harsh post, everyone's got their opinions.

 

[Polyphony]

In my opinion, it's the HDR and composition that really kills these. If you had not done HDR and just shot from a few different angles, these shots would be much better.

 

[mrmacedonian]

Hmm I haven't explored HDR so unfortunately I can't give advice on improving the technique seen here. What I will say that I enjoy 1-4.

#1 I think its great getting a shot like this where the road isn't packed, so just that is an accomplishment in my book.

#2 is just a stop sign but thats not so much what I like about the photo as much as the texture on the stop sign. It adds a dimension to an otherwise photograph of a stop sign.

#3&4 interesting subjects and nice capture of emotion in 3

 

[Invictus]

Thanks. The subject in 3 was furious that he had sand in his hair.

 

[mrmacedonian]

:lmao: that's rather hilarious! even better capture then, as I thought it was staged with a talented actor

 

[AgentDrex]

LOVE #3, creepy serial killer on-the-loose look...

 

[StormyLord]

I think that HDR only really works for the first one. I love the way the sky looks. Number 4 is really nice as well, the other 3 aren't that great.