Critique Me!

yv0nne · Aug 7, 2012

Okay. Here goes nothing ..I'm not sure where I fall as far as my photo taking skills go. Please keep in mind that I have only been shooting for about a year with my dSLR. These photos are mostly all taken with my Rebel XS (just fgot my big girl camera a week ago!)& either 50mm or 24- 70mm. So, feel free to be truthful but try not to be painfully harsh! Thanks

-Oh, also all these are linked from Facebook because I don't know how to work my Flickr account. Also, they are watermarked because I had a painful experience where someone stole my photos& won contests with them. I'm now burned aha

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*Please ignore the dirt on my dog's face. I am too lazy to find the version where it's photoshopped off!

pgriz · Aug 7, 2012

#1: Nice. I like the boy's expression and the light, although it does appear to be a little flat (as in a little TOO even).
#2: Powerful image of the horse, with the curve of the neck, and outline of the hairs on his(her?) nose. But the dangling reins kinda kill the mood. DOF is good, placement in the frame is good.
#3: Good, sharp eyes. I personally don't like the toning. I find the image a little tight and would explore having a bit less on the right and a bit more on the left.

If you've been shooting for only a year, then you're doing well. For improvement, get yourself some of the books discussed in another thread (http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/photography-beginners-forum/294401-top-3-books.html) and join a photo club if you have one accessible to you. And we'd (OK, I'd love) to see more - but in small dozes).

laurenvictoria · Aug 7, 2012

Something is off with the picture of the boy, cant really put my finger on it. Something to do with the shirt getting lost with the background sort of? I think. Anyway the horse photo is incredible and I LOVE the dog photo Seriously so cute

charlie76 · Aug 7, 2012

Cute kid...quite a smirk he has there...saying..."mom are we done yet?" First....that HUGE watermark has to go...I have to cover it up to see the rest of the image. I like the horse posture...I see what you were going after...pretty cool. But when you cover up the watermark, you see the placement of the horse is kinda awkward...IMO. The dog is cute. Good job!

WesternGuy · Aug 8, 2012

First thing - welcome to the Forum - it is always nice to have new folks here. You will find that comments and critiques can be a little too honest sometimes, but that is how this forum is - most folks can be brutally honest, but please don't take it personally - we are all trying to help you become a better photographer.

First impressions: (it would help us reviewers if you would number your images in future postings - makes them easier to refer to - thanks)

First one: not bad, but the boy's shirt blends in with the background to some extent and there is too much background for the entire image - I am not sure that the head tilt adds to the image either, but that is just my opinion.

Second one: again a nice shot of a nice looking horse, but you cropped off the reins at the bottom - I know that is a bit of a nit-pick, but you asked for critique :mrgreen: As well, the horse is right in the middle of the image, looking to the right side of the image. A better composition might be to have a slightly wider image and have the horse more on the left side looking right - check out the "rule of thirds" on the web.

Third one: dog in a bubble bath? -- I am afraid that this one doesn't do anything for me - it is just a snapshot.

As far as the watermark is concerned, it will not prevent "theft" of an image regardless of the size of the watermark. Anyone who has the know-how, and it doesn't take much, will have that off your picture in less than five minutes. If you do want to use a watermark, make it very unobtrusive, small and put it in one of the lower corners so that it is not too noticeable. To give you an example, in your first picture of the young boy, all someone would have to do is grab your image and crop off the right side of the picture and - voila - your watermark is gone. Basically, it comes down to - if you don't want your image stolen, don't post it on the Internet.

As you have indicated that you are new to this stuff, I think that you might benefit from doing some reading on compostion and I would encourage you to surf the web, but you could start with - Advanced Composition -- Part I - there are two following web sites with the links at the end of the site. As well, have a look at this one - PhotographyComposition Articles Library as there are a number of links to sites on composition. If you are going to photograph kids, then there are lots of sites with tips on"how-tos" such as this one - The Complete Guide to Children Photography - Part I |DIYPhotography.net -the link to Part 2 is at the bottom. There are a number of books that have been written on composition - you might want to look at one by Bryan Peterson called Learning to See Creatively - Amazon.com: Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color& Composition in Photography (Updated Edition) (9780817441814): BryanPeterson: Books. There are lots of others. HTH

WesternGuy

Frequency · Aug 8, 2012

i really liked all the three images in different ways....

yv0nne · Aug 8, 2012

Hey, thanks for your feedback guys. I know you're right about the watermark ..I've been working on making it smaller. I'm just really offended because it was a good friend who stole my photos& used them.
WesternGuy- thanks for the links! I'll be checking them out shortly.

There is a big name photographer around here (he wins everything here& in the States apparently) who ALWAYS makes his clients wear white to a photo shoot. It has ruined people wearing color, despite my best efforts to encourage them that color is better. I'm trying aha also, most of these shots are from about 6 months ago. I guess I should have posted some more recent work. What is the etiquette around here ..do I make a new thread or attach my images to this one?

jwbryson1 · Aug 8, 2012

Try to figure out Flickr because (1) it's easy and (2) the images will be much more clear linking from Flickr than from FB. :mrgreen:

jwbryson1 · Aug 8, 2012

I think the WB is off a bit on these. The boy's skin is yellowish and his shirt is grey. The snow is grey in 2 and 3 which generally means a bit underexposed.

I like #2 the best.

WesternGuy · Aug 9, 2012

yv0nne said:
Hey, thanks for your feedback guys. I know you're right about the watermark ..I've been working on making it smaller. I'm just really offended because it was a good friend who stole my photos& used them.
WesternGuy- thanks for the links! I'll be checking them out shortly.

There is a big name photographer around here (he wins everything here& in the States apparently) who ALWAYS makes his clients wear white to a photo shoot. It has ruined people wearing color, despite my best efforts to encourage them that color is better. I'm trying aha also, most of these shots are from about 6 months ago. I guess I should have posted some more recent work. What is the etiquette around here ..do I make a new thread or attach my images to this one?

Best bet is to start a new thread, but find the right, or appropriate, forum first. Not that this one isn't appropriate for this post, but if there is one that is more applicable, then use it.

WesternGuy