Anyone up for critiquing?

[Reflections77]

Photography is a hobby and I would love to hear feedback on how I can improve... Thanks! :0)

 

[nola.ron]

1) soft focus and looks like a snapshot

2) hair in face and mouth kills it for me personally

3) snap shot and limbs/fingers cut off. Also what happened in the top right? Is that a shadow cast from your hood or processing?

4) not bad. I enjoyed it. I think I would have cropped a little further down from the top and not used the blue tint but still not bad.

Keep on shooting

 

[Reflections77]

Thanks for the tips!! #3 shadow is actually vignette.. I now know this is better used subtly. Although with this particular photo it probably would have been better left out all together. :blushing: One question, what makes a photo look like snapshots? What could I have I done to make it better.

 

[nola.ron]

Ahh... didn't think it was vignette because it was just in that corner, rather than all edges of the photo.

A snapshot looks like a photo that was just taken at random with no thought to composition, lighting, etc. Look on facebook and most all children's photos uploaded by their parents - those are snapshots.

Look at the differences here between these 4 photos. 1 and 4 do not look like snapshots (I just saw that I originally said #1 looks like a snapshot but that was incorrectly typed). In both 1 and 4 you have the subject posing and it seems as if you had a vision for what you wanted and how the frame should be composed. #3 is a pretty good example of what you should do in certain situations that COULD look like snapshots if you do not isolate the subject in a proper frame composition. There was probably madness going on around the subject, distracting background or whatnot.. you zoomed in tight and isolated the face of the subject. Well done on that part.

If I am outside with my dog and she just looks up at me and I snap a quick picture without regard to frame composition, background, lighting, etc - that's a snapshot. However, if I put her in a specific spot and make her sit or lie down and look cute, whatever.. that's a photo. I am NOT saying that you capturing a random moment is always a snapshot.. that's certainly not the case. As you learn and you grow you'll be able to turn those "snapshot moments" into beautiful pictures by knowing how to compose the frame in that moment. Sometimes there's just no photo to be had. Other times you just haven't seized the moment to compose the frame creatively.

Pick up a copy of "Learning to See Creatively" (latest edition). This will help you see ways that you can compose your frame and it will help train your eye to...well... see creatively. It helped me immensely when I started out and I still go back and review that book from time to time. You'll also learn to see things in your frame that you may not be seeing right now. Such as in #3 you have that cute subject with a tree growing out of her head. That's another thing you should avoid in portraits - distracting backgrounds and anything coming out of someone's head. Trust me when I say that it will be frustrating as hell trying to keep all of this in mind when you're shooting but it WILL become natural with practice and study.

A few things to look out for when composing your shots:
- Distracting, overpowering backgrounds. Remember, your SUBJECT should be the main focus - not what is going on around or behind the subject. Creative situations are exempt of course.
- Hands in pockets
- Sunglasses (the eyes are almost ALWAYS the main focus in a portrait - some creative conditions do not apply this rule though, such as a subject looking down at a grave, looking up at someone else, etc).
- Subject's feet - socks and shoes or nothing at all. It's kind of like doing the deed with just your socks on.. lol
- Dirty fingernails and/or hands
- Items in pant's pockets (cell phones, cigarette packs, etc). These items draw too much attention in a portrait when they are bulging out of pockets.
- Clipping fingers/toes and limbs. Your subject will literally look like an amputee in some situations like this.

Those are just a few things to look out for when composing your shots. Keep in mind that no rule in photography is 100% applicable for every shot. As you grow and learn you will know when you can get away with bending or ignoring a rule completely and still produce a quality shot.

You're in the right place. TFP is an amazing resource for learning so stick around and keep on shooting

 

[Trblmkr]

Well I think they are all cute.
1. You got down to the kids level instead of doing as most do, and just standing up and shooting down at them. So Kudos for that!!
2. I love the fact that the smiles are genuine and not one of those "smile for daddy" and you get a fake grin with teeth clenched.
3. I agree, not big on the overdone vignette.

 

[ronlane]

On #1, I like the composition and the angle that you have him situated in the frame. But be careful of the highlights on the face, I think they are blown out. A diffuser would help in this situation to take some of that light off of his face.

 

[sashbar]

No 4 is the strongest here, I think. Needs a bit of cropping though. The easiest way to improve from where you are is to watch the light, where it comes from, how much of it and how it falls on your subjects. It will make or break your shots. Your images, especially 1 and 3 suffer from unfortunate positioning re light. Just make it a habit: camera=light.




Secondly, do not concentrate entirely on your main subject - it is only a part of the image. This is not a very good example but even here you should be aware of the details that will either improve your image or make it worse. I circled in red what i think are distractions or unnesessary details for an image and showed in green where lines underline the perspective and help to put your subject on a forefront. Small details, but it separates a good image fron a so-so one.

 

[Reflections77]

Thank you everyone for your feed back and helpful tips!!