Interesting or trash?

[WimFoto]

Oh yeah, how is the face now? Is it still too dark?

i think your dodged face is better than the one i worked on, mine is one dodge too many
the cloning looks good, that is i can't tell you did it, and that's good.

keep in mind when photographing a statue that all you are doing is making art from someone else's art

true, but as an photographic exercise it will do.

 

[El Fotografo]

I like the original. I like that the face is somewhat obscured in darkness and I don't find the other objects in the picture all that distracting; I get too lost in the woman's face. But I'm the kind of person who likes to take pictures of things the way they are and not alter them post production in a way that might make it more aesthetically pleasing. Any chance I could get this photo in 1280+ pixels wide so I can make it my wallpaper?

 

[manaheim]

keep in mind when photographing a statue that all you are doing is making art from someone else's art

true, but as an photographic exercise it will do.

Don't misunderstand me... I wasn't passing judgment on it, just making the point as something to keep in mind. I won't reiterate the entire point, but there's more to it than that.

 

[thebeatles]

I'm finding myself oddly informed in the taking of pictures of statues, so I'll toss in some comments.

First off, keep in mind when photographing a statue that all you are doing is making art from someone else's art. This practice can very easily result in an 'inventory shot', where really all you've done is capture an image of the art, but done no art yourself. I don't think you've quite done that here, but you've not added much to this. When shooting statues and stuff,

I like to pull out the specific details that make that particular piece special or interesting... or I try zoom in on the face to really bring out the emotion, or I try to use environmental elements to amplify emotions that are there... or sometimes even deliberately choose elements that confuse the emotion of the piece.

To some degree, I think you have the trappings of some of that here... moody sky, morose-looking statue, etc. However, I think there is too much of the piece in the shot and it confuses the issue a bit. (personal opinion, mind you)

Also... some statues just don't make the best shots IMO. The statues that are super smooth and lack any real flaws can sometimes be pretty dull. Not always, but sometimes.

Finally, in this case you just didn't expose her properly... some folks did salvage some detail for you (way more than I would have expected they could have, as someone else commented on), but you still would be wanting for more. Keep in mind, too that a nice off-camera fill flash would do wonders here as it would brighten up the subject and deepen the sky.

I have some examples on my website if you're interested (under the other category). Oh and the VERY first one on my site has a sky similar to the one you had, to give you an example. I'd post 'em here but I don't want to hijack your thread.

Good luck with this. It's been my new fascination lately.

Thanks for the advice! I will have to check your statue photos out :thumbup:

 

[thebeatles]

I like the original. I like that the face is somewhat obscured in darkness and I don't find the other objects in the picture all that distracting; I get too lost in the woman's face. But I'm the kind of person who likes to take pictures of things the way they are and not alter them post production in a way that might make it more aesthetically pleasing. Any chance I could get this photo in 1280+ pixels wide so I can make it my wallpaper?

Sure, I can do that. I'm glad you like it. How exactly do I send you a photo anyways? :blushing: