Bubbles, Elevators, and Cute Dogs

Foxx · May 23, 2012

Got a whole plethora of shots for your guys, its been awhile since I posted. Looking for general critique as well as specific questions for shots(see below!)

#1 - Light arching on the polished metal in an elevator. I liked the curves formed here.

#2 - More of a snapshot, but I thought composition/coloring came out nicely in this one. I haven't done many of these "close-up" style shot before -- actually haven't done many people pictures in general -- is this an acceptable style of portraiture or am I messing up by not capturing her whole face/head? What should I be doing different here?

#3 - Took a TON of bubble pictures but only had a few come out well. How's the coloring on this one? How could I improve the composition of this type of shot? Anyone shoot bubbles before?

#4 - A friend's dog, she's a cutie. Any tips for "positioning" when shooting dogs? How do I make them look CUTER?

#5 - self-portrait. Not great, but reminded me of a kaleidoscope and it makes my lens look way bigger than it is 8)

Thanks for looking! Any C&C is GREATLY appreciated!

Addendum: The monitor I'm posting these shots from makes them look undersaturated/darker than they look on my monitor at home. How do they look for everyone else? How can I make sure my monitor is calibrated correctly when I'm in PP to ensure I'm looking at accurate coloring?

Foxx · May 24, 2012

Come on guys, I don't bite. I just want some feedback here.

Do I have to throw you a bone?

#6

GeorgieGirl · May 24, 2012

Well, I am glad you out up #6, I like that one best. WOOF!!!

Buckster · May 24, 2012

Your file sizes are crazy huge. These few images added up to nearly a 24 MB download just to view the page. Probably a lot of people saw how long it was taking, and just clicked to go elsewhere. I nearly did, but got curious about what was taking so long.

My monitor only displays at a max of 1920 x 1080, and I don't run my browser anywhere near the entire screen size. Throwing up photos larger than that is a waste of both our time and resources.

I typically resize my photos to 900 pixels on the longest side, and JPG compress them to not reach 400 kb each. It'd be great if you could make an effort to get a bit of a handle on that as well.

yerlem · May 24, 2012

I LOVE that last one!

And for the dog picture, I'd get him/her on the grass and take the picture vertically with a wide angle ...that's what I used to do with my dog

Foxx · May 24, 2012

Buckster said:
Your file sizes are crazy huge. These few images added up to nearly a 24 MB download just to view the page. Probably a lot of people saw how long it was taking, and just clicked to go elsewhere. I nearly did, but got curious about what was taking so long.

My monitor only displays at a max of 1920 x 1080, and I don't run my browser anywhere near the entire screen size. Throwing up photos larger than that is a waste of both our time and resources.

I typically resize my photos to 900 pixels on the longest side, and JPG compress them to not reach 400 kb each. It'd be great if you could make an effort to get a bit of a handle on that as well.

I was under the impression that TPF resizes all pictures when displaying them in a post? I'll use smaller resolutions versions from now on.

@GeorgieGirl - Thanks

@yerlem - Thank you! I'll try that next time, though she's very camera shy

GeorgieGirl · May 24, 2012

Hmmmm mine all came up in a jiffy on my computer. Even again here on my iPhone.

yerlem · May 24, 2012

Use food! I used to use food to take pictures of street dogs here (it sounds cruel, but I promise street dogs here are well fed...a little too well fed). No dog would not give food its full attention

And the pictures loaded immediatly on my computer as well, for what its worth

Buckster · May 24, 2012

yerlem said:
And the pictures loaded immediatly on my computer as well, for what its worth

Odd... The first time the page loaded for me, it was crazy slow watching the images slowly come in. When I right clicked on each one, they were full-size images like would come straight out of the camera, and the file sizes were as high as 3.8 MB each.

Now, they're all nice and small and fast loading.

I don't get it...

EDIT: Never mind - I wasn't paying attention... LOL! OP edited and changed the links to smaller file sizes.

Last edited by Foxx; Today at 09:45 AM. Reason: replaced links with lower resolutions links

Foxx · May 24, 2012

yerlem said:
Use food! I used to use food to take pictures of street dogs here (it sounds cruel, but I promise street dogs here are well fed...a little too well fed). No dog would not give food its full attention

And the pictures loaded immediatly on my computer as well, for what its worth

I used animals crackers with her but she wasn't too interested, I'll have to try something more tasty

and yes they should be loading faster now, I went back and replaced the links with lower res versions

PixelRabbit · May 24, 2012

When shooting animals get down to their level. We almost always look down on them so that view is mundane and uninteresting for the viewer most times unless there is something really strong about the composition.
Getting down on the ground with them opens up a whole new puppy view on the world

elizabethysmom · May 24, 2012

Loooove number 3!!!!!

Jaemie · May 24, 2012

#6: Nice. Is it posed or candid? I want to think it's candid, that she's waiting for a bus or something. I love the color and texture. The exposure of her black clothing, hair and shadows, is the only kink worth mentioning, imo.

Haya.H · May 24, 2012

My faves areeeeeee number 3 and 6! there really good! i think for number 2 you can play with the saturation & the contrast a little. Calm it down a bit i think it might turn out better.

i did an example in a hurry (photoshop)