Critique please!

[SNBniko]

An intro first though... my name is Jess, I'm new to this game. I ride horses. In the horse world, when someone buys a horse that's a bit much for their skill, we say they're 'outhorsed'... well, I'm 'outcamera-d', but I'm trying to learn as fast as I can.

These pictures were taken with a Canon 7D (first DSLR, probably a bad idea, oh well... I got it because of the fps, and my desire to ultimately shoot action) with the kit lens (booo, haha).

I have thick skin, don't worry about offending me. =) Rip em up! OH! One more thing. If you have any photoshop suggestions that go beyond the basics of cropping and saturating, please give a general 'how' to do what you're suggesting. I'm photoshop retarded, but really great with google, so I can probably find a tutorial if you give me a hint. Thanks!! =D

#1, my very ugly, but magically photogenic dog Olivia:

#2, the hills of the Old Spiral Highway in Idaho

#3, my money drain and source of my screen name, Niko tied to the 'patience pole'

 

[KenC]

#1 is a pretty good dog portrait - you're right, she is photogenic! The light was very contrasty, so part of her face is too dark, and the background is a little light. Both of these possibly could be improved to some extent in PS (Curves, also look up Adjustment Layers), depending on how much detail is in the dark area in the original file, but fill flash or a reflector would have been easier. Also not crazy about the background color, but that's more a matter of opinion.

#2 is an interesting composition, but it doesn't look that sharp - hand held? For landscapes, you need good sharpness and depth of field, which adds up to using a tripod. I think I prefer it without the grass and post in the foreground, but that's pretty subjective also.

#3 is a good shot, but don't like the out-of-focus shoulder (or whatever that's called on a horse) and would like to see more of the face.

Keep shooting - looks like you have a good eye!

 

[SNBniko]

#1 The background is my couch, haha. I've heard from people who photograph dogs that a black dog is like a black hole... that it's difficult to get a correct exposure to capture the details. I'll try to play with that one in photoshop later today. =)

#2 Handheld, correct. I had my tripod with me, but whipping it out when the cars can't see you until it's too late... well, I wanted to be able to move fast and save my camera too. =P I don't really like the grass and stuff in the bottom either, now that you say that... I like the scattering of rocks though. Does it still 'capture' that with the grass/post cropped off?

#3, oh lord, I wish that was his shoulder. It's his fat stomach. I could cock him a little to the right of the post, but then the profile of his face wouldn't be from the same perspective. Darn, Niko, looks like it's time to shed the weight, haha.

Thanks for the critique!

 

[rambler]

Wow. I cannot tell why exactly, but I really like #3. I did not even see that stomach blur until mentioned, I think it would be hard to crop it out, and it did not distract me. That is a very imaginative angle to have taken a photo, and I like the post. It is not too prominent, but we can see how it ties in to the composition. (excuse the pun, not intentional) I have become a big fan of "small segment scenes".

#1 Great. It is a wonderful expression. (Do not let that dog hear you call him ugly.) I like that you are right down to dog-eye level.

#2 Something is missing. I think you need to have those lines disappear a little further into the distance. Maybe raise your camera a bit upwards, so your photo goes right back to the horizon or sky. The foreground is not that special, so I would not miss it. I would like to see the zigs and zags fade off and away, if possible. I am a little confused as to what the subject is. What exactly were you trying to capture?

 

[SNBniko]

See? That's what I'm talking about. The dog is a female, but (in that lady from SNL's voice) she looka-lika-man. =) She doesn't mind, she's the best dog ever, despite her looks.

The fact that if you screw up, you die on the spiral highway. No guardrails, hairpin turns, etc. This one was kind of an accident, but I do like how the hills fold into each other over and over. Tilting the camera back would have worked, I'm not sure why I didn't do that. Doh! (Side note, there are tons of videos of people going up and down the Spiral Highway on youtube, if you'd like to see just how scary it is, haha) So. I suppose my answer to the question with this picture is 'absoluuuutely NOTHING.' *hangs photo over garbage can* Should I trash it?

 

[bazooka]

I wouldn't trash it, it's an interesting composition. At the very least, you can look at it again in a year and see how far you've come.

I also have a black dog and they are black holes. The trick is to use a large diffused light source. If you don't have a flash, use a wall or a posterboard to reflect the light onto him.

 

[thebutler4]

I am such a sucker for dogs .. lol .. I love #1 ..

I don't think there is ever a bad Dog shot .. lol (I know I am pushing it) ..

 

[Monteaux Photography]

My favorite is the rolling hills image. It needs some photoshop corrections to darken edges, and increase contrast. That should improve the overall image.

 

[mommyphotog]

LOVE shot 3! I'm new too but really enjoy images 1 and 3. #2 just didn't do it for me though. Sorry. Keep shooting and keep sharing! Great job!

 

[SNBniko]

Okay, so here is my attempt at the PP on these two. I used history -> screen to lighten the side of the dog's face, and the clone tool to make the background pure white in the horse photo (the clone tool is FUN! I spent way too much time trying to make the horse into a multiple eyed monster though...) How'd I do?

I can't figure out how to darken the edges on the hills photo though... I tried history -> darken, but it wasn't doing anything. The contrast and crop I know how to do though. =) Thanks!!