I need a harsh critique..

DEANO914 · Jan 10, 2008

Rachel,
Not sure what you mean by "good enough" but I really like them.:thumbup: She is quite the cutie, love those big eyes.

RowmyF · Jan 10, 2008

Hey Deano- thank you. Re-reading my post I see what the question is.

I guess I mean good enough to be considered high quality professional photography...I am building my portfolio !

Sweetsomedays · Jan 10, 2008

Her eyes don't appear to be in focus in 2. Where is your focus point? It works best to aim right between the eyes

bellavita64 · Jan 10, 2008

I'm not crazy about the angle of the shot in #1. Too much of her face is hidden. Maybe crop in much closer and highlight those LONG lashes on her cheek? I agree with the PP on #2. The focus fell on the tip of her nose, you can tell because her eyelashes aren't quite in focus. Also, in #2 she is dead-center in the frame. For portfolio pics, you definitely want to focus on composition that has some visual tension. You want to really draw your viewer into the shot. Sorry, hope this isn't too harsh. BTW, she is a cutie!

RowmyF · Jan 10, 2008

Bellavita- not too harsh at all..this is what I need to hear.

I'm still new with photography and I'm having an issue understand how to really use my focus points on the D50...I understand the 1/2 & 2/3 the way in concept but still have trouble choosing the focus point.

Thanks again..

nicfargo · Jan 10, 2008

There is a lot of noise in picture 1. If this intentional then great, if not I'd get a noise reduction plugin or something to get rid of it. Dark areas in low light will produce a lot of noise.

bellavita64 · Jan 10, 2008

I have the D80, so I'm not sure if there is a difference in focal points. I started out focusing manually 100% of the time. Am now learning how to work with AF, and not really loving it. I just use the center focus point and recompose. I know a PP said to put the focal point between the eyes. Actually, I put it at the inside corner of the farthest eye. I find that the skin between the eyes does not have enough contrast to make a good focal point, and unless you are shooting wide open with a really fast lens, chances are if the farthest eye is in focus, then the closer eye will be too. Hope this helps.

heartstrings · Jan 10, 2008

What a cutie pie! I'm a newbie here but thought I'd go ahead and jump with my own 2 cents...

#1 is a good capture; however, I'd crop in a little closer to put more emphasis on her lashes.

#2 I'm not sure I care for her expression. The focus seems a little soft and you can tell that you used your flash. Note the pin lights in her eyes. The lighting is uneven on her face as well. To camera left you see the natural light source, then camera right, you see what could be tungsten light--it looks orange to me-- and then you have the light from the flash on the front of the baby's face. I would recommend that you turn the baby to face that natural light source to prvide more flattering and even lighting.

It would also help if you posted your technical settings so we know what you are shooting. (i.e. ISO, shutter speed, aperture)

Hope this helps!

kundalini · Jan 10, 2008

heartstrings said:
What a cutie pie! I'm a newbie here but thought I'd go ahead and jump with my own 2 cents...

#1 is a good capture; however, I'd crop in a little closer to put more emphasis on her lashes.

#2 I'm not sure I care for her expression. The focus seems a little soft and you can tell that you used your flash. Note the pin lights in her eyes. The lighting is uneven on her face as well. To camera left you see the natural light source, then camera right, you see what could be tungsten light--it looks orange to me-- and then you have the light from the flash on the front of the baby's face. I would recommend that you turn the baby to face that natural light source to prvide more flattering and even lighting.

It would also help if you posted your technical settings so we know what you are shooting. (i.e. ISO, shutter speed, aperture)

Hope this helps!

Jump in with both feet why dontcha.... :lol:

.....but you are correct.

unnecessary · Jan 11, 2008

nicfargo said:
There is a lot of noise in picture 1. If this intentional then great, if not I'd get a noise reduction plugin or something to get rid of it. Dark areas in low light will produce a lot of noise.

i love the noise in #1

emogirl · Jan 11, 2008

are they good enough? no, sorry, but, its just 2 shots and your subject isnt going anywhere!!
#1.i love the angle....perhaps a slightly bit more of her face would be better. It is really noisy, high iso i assume....trying running it thru neat image or noise ninja....but really, its only going to get less detailed then

#2 the focus is just a bit off - it looks more like her nose is in focus and not her eyes. are you using your autofocus on selective or multipoint? you want to use selective autofocus

btw, these arent terrible by any means, but not good enough yet! keep shooting

elsaspet · Jan 11, 2008

I'm a noise fan, so I don't have any problem with that being in the first. I'd probably even bump the noise so that it's obvious that it's intentional. I do have a problem with the angle. I'd like to see more face. And I'm not keen on so much blanket in the bottom of the frame, mostly because it's covering so much face.

The second is cute. I like the comp and expression alot. I think the focus is fine, but it's really really shallow, so you start to lose the eyes at the edges of the face. The face also needs some fill, preferably from the camera left side.

Are these professional level? I would say that the first one is not, but the second is very very close.
What you will learn about your portfolio, is that it is constantly improving. The stuff I used in my portfolio three years ago, would be unusable in my portfolio today. We all start somewhere, and for most of us, it's not at the top.

You seem to have a really contemporary eye for composition, and that is great. You need to work a bit with focus, but mostly with light.
However, I think you are well on your way.

Good luck in your endevor!
Hugs,
Cindy

RowmyF · Jan 11, 2008

Thank you all for the support & feedback.

Elsapet- your critique is very good. I do have much stronger photos in my portfolio (you can view it at rachelfellig.blogspot.com) but I think my eye gets distorted, so to say, when I'm taking pictures of family.
The baby in the pictures is my niece.

I'm definitely learning as I go and I'm a beginning, but like you said, we all start somewhere. THANK YOU.

Emogirl- thanks for the feedback. I'm going to try a recrop.