Feedback Needed - Please?

mkaguiar · Sep 1, 2007

Hi all. If you wouldn't mind I would appreciate some constructive criticism on this shot. I'm a novice with an extreme desire to learn how to take great shots if only to make my husband's gift not go to waste. :wink:

So any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks! Does the tire "ruin" the pic?

pink_panther · Sep 1, 2007

mkaguiar said:
Hi all. If you wouldn't mind I would appreciate some constructive criticism on this shot. I'm a novice with an extreme desire to learn how to take great shots if only to make my husband's gift not go to waste. So any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks! Does the tire "ruin" the pic?

I wouldnt say it "ruins" it - It looks a little misplaced though. What would have contrasted well would have been a nice green field in the background. This would have made your "pooch" stand out a little better. Only my opinion though.

Lovely dog by the way.

mkaguiar · Sep 1, 2007

Thanks PP, I agree that a green field would have been nice. Unfortunately we live in the desert and green anything is hard to find

Is it difficult to photoshop one in once I have one?

Kyuss · Sep 1, 2007

Just a quick edit.

mkaguiar · Sep 1, 2007

Thanks Kyuss. Did you just do a little brightening and some contrasting? I'm always afraid to do that. Does it reduce the quality of the print at all?

Kyuss · Sep 1, 2007

No it shouldn't reduce quality at all.

I make all my adjustments using Photoshop and then usually just save it in jpeg format using the highest save quality. It goes from 1-12, 12 being the highest quality jpeg file.

I adjusted the levels, brightness/contrast, made the reflections in his eyes a little brighter and burned in the white part of the wheel in the background. I also sharpened the photo.

pink_panther · Sep 2, 2007

mkaguiar said:
Thanks PP, I agree that a green field would have been nice. Unfortunately we live in the desert and green anything is hard to find Is it difficult to photoshop one in once I have one?

Hmmmm

Not sure about adding a field in after. Im sure there are some really hot Photoshop guru's on here who could offer better advice. PS is not one of my strongest subjects :mrgreen: Im sure it wouldnt be "to difficult" to clip the dog out and put it on a different background, but then that kind of takes the moment out of the picture in the first place dont you agree?

Alex_B · Sep 2, 2007

So here comes a totally personal opinion which might not be worth anything ... but I think the tyre does add context to the image. The dog is well separated from the background since the depth of field is rather shallow, so the background is not really distracting.

If this was a set up scene and meant as a portrait, you could have "placed" your model in front of a different background of course.

what bothers me in this one is the lack of contrast though, and white balance seems a bit off. Kyuss's edit goes in the right direction I think, but it is maybe slightly overdone in terms of contrast, and the colour/white balance is still the same.

Regarding composition I think it is framed rather tightly on the left hand side so it is a bit out of balance. Having some more empty space on the left would help, especially since this is the direction the dog looks into.

Nice dog by the way

mkaguiar · Sep 3, 2007

pink_panther said:
Hmmmm Not sure about adding a field in after. Im sure there are some really hot Photoshop guru's on here who could offer better advice. PS is not one of my strongest subjects :mrgreen: Im sure it wouldnt be "to difficult" to clip the dog out and put it on a different background, but then that kind of takes the moment out of the picture in the first place dont you agree?

Yes, I absolutely agree. I got into photography with the intention of taking great photos without much post-processing. I soon learned that many great photos are altered in some way or another... But, yes, in this case the moment would have been lost.

mkaguiar · Sep 3, 2007

Alex_B said:
So here comes a totally personal opinion which might not be worth anything ... but I think the tyre does add context to the image. The dog is well separated from the background since the depth of field is rather shallow, so the background is not really distracting.

If this was a set up scene and meant as a portrait, you could have "placed" your model in front of a different background of course.

what bothers me in this one is the lack of contrast though, and white balance seems a bit off. Kyuss's edit goes in the right direction I think, but it is maybe slightly overdone in terms of contrast, and the colour/white balance is still the same.

Regarding composition I think it is framed rather tightly on the left hand side so it is a bit out of balance. Having some more empty space on the left would help, especially since this is the direction the dog looks into.

Nice dog by the way

Thanks Alex, and any feedback is worth saying IMO. It helps me learn to be better and what to look for. I'm actually going to test my white balance this weekend (sometime) because there are times I think it is a bit off too.

TCimages · Sep 3, 2007

I find the wheel distracting. My eyes seem to be drawn to it. One of the biggest lessons I have tried to learn is always look at the background first. In fact, I wont even pull up my camera until I've atleast made an effort to find the best background. Even for snapshots, the slightest re-frame can make a huge difference.

Here is my quick edit just to show how much more pleasing (IMO) the image is. I think its a great picture.