I will c&c your work for you, beginners welcomed.

[Dwayne Oakes]

Thank you Dwayne.
You saw a couple of things I missed.

No problem Dave, I am glad I could help.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

How about this:

good

-great side lighting
-good off center comp
-good DOF
-good detail

nit

-photo is overexposed (clipping)
-crack in the pavement is a bit of a distraction
-good comp but the ball is to close to the edge of the photo on the left
-photo is a tad flat (contrast)
-photo is a tad soft

tweak

-darkened (burn) around the BG of the ball to create more light drama
and to improve overall exposure

-lightened (dodge) the lit side of the ball to create more light drama

-added a tad of global contrast boost
-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to just the ball

-healed out the crack in the pavement

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Murphy O'Hoolihan]

Thanks for taking a look

 

[Sirene]

This thread is so much fun, thanks so much Dwayne, I will see what I want to post

 

[Sirene]

Don't know what to do with this one, especially with the background.

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Thanks for taking a look

good

-great off center comp and sky to 1/3 rule
-great light
-exposure is good
-nice waves
-good DOF

nit

-WB (white balance) is a tad on the cool side (blue color cast) personal
choice
-photo is flat (lacks contrast)
-photo is soft
-dark band in the upper right corner is a bit of a distraction

tweak

-set the WB (white balance) to a warmer setting to remove the
blue color cast (personal choice)

-moved the blackpoint slider and midtone slider in (levels) to the right a tad
to darken the photo, this will give the photo a little dynamic range boost

-darkened (burn) the sky on the right to create more drama

-lightened (dodge) the water spray coming off the waves under the pier
-lightened (dodge) the one pier light that is lit
-lightened (dodge) the some of the water in the FG

-added a tad of global contrast boost
-added a tad of global color saturation
-added a tad of global USM (sharpening)

-healed out the dark ban in the top right corner

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[southfreo]

Wow, this thread is inspirational, learning the craft and would appreciate your critique

 

[Yemme]

SouthFreo... that's hot!

 

[Dominantly]

A friend and I enjoying a hike yesterday.

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Don't know what to do with this one, especially with the background.

good

-beautiful capture
-great pose
-great highlight control (no clipping)
-exposure is right on
-good DOF
-great colors and contrast

nit

-to much clutter
-photo has a tilt to the left when placed on a grid
-photo is a tad noisy at 100% crop (walls)

tweak

-straightened the photo
-cropped the photo tighter to get rid of the clutter

-used gaussian blur (soft-focus) tool around the edges of the photo
-put the photo through NR software

-healed out the shirt of the chair on the left
-healed out the door knob and string on the right
-healed out the door hinge on the right
-healed out the blue object on the top self in the center

-put a frame around the photo from a plug-in from Ulead PhotoImpact 12
software.

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[eric-holmes]

Great thread. I downloaded Photoshop and found it to be completely overwhelming. Here is what I consider to be my best photo so far.

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Wow, this thread is inspirational, learning the craft and would appreciate your critique

Thank you very much for the comments !

good

-cool 8mm angle
-great color and contrast
-very good detail
-exposure is right on
-good DOF
-low noise

nit

-street light on the left is a bit of a distraction
-dark spot in the bottom left corner could be cropped out
-photo has a slight tilt to the left
-unqual space on the sides (comp)

tweak

-straightened the photo

-cropped the photo so there is equal space on both sides of the photo this
will also got rid of the dark spot in the bottom left corner

-added a tad of selective color saturation to the teal color light in one of the
arches on the right

-added tad of global contrast boost
-added a tad of global USM (sharpening)

-healed out the street lamp on the left

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[southfreo]

Thanks Dwayne, great comments and advice.

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

A friend and I enjoying a hike yesterday.

good

-great place
-very good comp
-no sensor dust (sky)
-great DOF

nit

-exposure is about right but some clipping in the FG
-colors and contrast are a tad flat (typical due to the harsh light)

tweak

-cropped out the black border not because it does not look
nice but because it will get in the way of the healing out FG step

-darkened (burn) the sky a tad to improve its color saturation

-added a tad of selective contrast boost to just the green mountain range
in the MG to cut through some of the haze

-added selective color saturation to just the orange color in the two
mountain peaks on the right

-added a tad of selective color saturation to the red stripe on the shoe

-healed out the hotspots (clipped) areas in the FG
-darkened (burn) the FG to tone it down a tad

-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to just the mountain range

-healed out the white spot on the mountain range on the right

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dominantly]

THANK YOU.... Those mountains are full of Iron, so hence that color, and you helped really bring it out. Those selective enhancements really come out nice.

Initially I had trouble with the shot because the foreground is actually a glacier.. a bit dirty, but still had clean parts that REALLY shine in the bright sun. I like the way you made it even and not eye intrusive.

Thanks again!