My own two boys...

[BJPhotography]

Im going to look at some of those flash guns. They seem very cool and something I'd use. Thanks for the tips!

 

[rlemert]

I dont mind the c&c at all. Like I said in my earlier post, I am no professional. Im just saying that I like it. Am I allowed to like it even though others may not?

You are allowed to like it even if other people don't but from the other post it seemed like you asked for C+C, got it and defended everything that had been mentioned as it being the way you liked it so you weren't going to change it.
It's difficult to offer C+C with the end result being that it will be taken as an attack on your photo rather than helpful hints and tips to improve.


In regards to this picture I'll say that I like the colour cast but that the kids are out of focus (more so the one on the left). Also the white shirt from the boy on the right is blown out and overexposed in places.
If you made a selection of the shirt and the quilt (I assume) at the bottom of the photo you could change the exposure selectively on those bits.

I participate in another forum where we give a lot of career and job-hunting advice. I regularly tell people there that they are free to accept or reject my advice as they see fit since on many topics there are no "right" or "wrong" answers. The only thing I ask is that they make an effort to understand the reasoning behind my suggestion - i.e. know the rules first so you know how to break them. I think a similar attitude would work well here.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

Happy medium! Try selective editing instead of global.

I know this is the beginer forum. I have seen this situation repeatedly. Advice is given and not even taken into account.
Personally I am all for creative editing and experimentation, but not when it is detrimental to the image, or is not needed in an image. Post processing should ADD to the image, not destroy it.
I am just passing on what I have learned here. Use your layers and masks and apply things selectively rather than globally.

You have been a great example of many in the past, who get good advice and then ignore it with the next set of pictures posted, with the disclaimer "well, I like it". If you don't even try to take the advice onboard, YOU gain nothing.

Yes, you are free to like unseccessful images. But we are free to ask what you have to gain here?

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

Another thing to take into account aside from the C+C being to help you, is the fact that it does not matter if it is a candid or a posed shot. A photo is a photo. We don't look at it differently, just like we don't look at pictures of someones baby or child and gush over the cuteness of it because we do not have the same emotional impact as the person who took it. We typically critique the technical aspect with maybe a few opinionated pieces of advice. Also, there may be some "Candid" shots you take that aren't of really any merit. You may love them, and by all means keep them and cherish them as memories, but don't expect great critiques on them from a photographic stand point. In terms of the post processing, we have ALL been in your shoes. It takes time for your eye to adjust to be able to see what people are saying, soon you will look at people doing pictures like yours and go "Man I remember when I used to do that stuff ". Spend more time focusing on learning to take good photos with good lighting and less time using the excessive effects. They do not take away from the fact that a photo just isn't up to snuff. I like the saying "you can't polish a turd." Thats not to say that your photos are turds, just a good mantra to keep in the back of your mind when editing

 

[OrionsByte]

I like the saying "you can't polish a turd."

MythBusters busted that one. You CAN polish a turd. Probably not with Photoshop though.

Seriously though, there are shots I took years ago, before I had a DSLR even, that I was insanely proud of at the time that I look at now and think, wow, there's a lot wrong with that. There are some I took a few months ago where I do the same thing. Sometimes I'm able to appreciate an old photo for completely different reasons than I originally liked it for. It's all part of the learning process, but if you refuse to learn because you don't want to look at your own stuff critically, you're going to be stuck at the same skill level forever.

Eventually you'll get to the point where you're your own worst critic, and that's a good thing. I feel like I'm a better photographer for allowing people to tear my stuff to bits even when it stung, and I suggest you let us do the same.

 

[UnderThePink]

Love it! Wouldn't change anything =D

 

[BJPhotography]

Its hard to get past the sarcasm. The written words leaves out alot of emotion. I hear what everyone is saying. Ive already mentioned that I am taking in what is being said. I got it. Over and over. Ive responded in a positive tone. Beat me, whip me, tie my mouth shut. I got it.

 

[lyonsroar]

Looks kinda like something a mom would post on her Facebook page...

That's the hard thing with taking photos of emotional people/ things. They don't hold the same emotions for the other people viewing them. To everyone else it's just another OOF picture of some kids laying on a bed with some grain.

 

[sanderso]

That's the hard thing with taking photos of emotional people/ things. They don't hold the same emotions for the other people viewing them. To everyone else it's just another OOF picture of some kids laying on a bed with some grain.

That's the challenge...to move from taking snapshots (emotional driven) into taking photographs which spur emotion. I've taken years of snapshots....the hard (and fun) part is to learn to take photographs. I'm an expert w snapshots and a noob w photographs.

 

[BJPhotography]

That's the hard thing with taking photos of emotional people/ things. They don't hold the same emotions for the other people viewing them. To everyone else it's just another OOF picture of some kids laying on a bed with some grain.

That's the challenge...to move from taking snapshots (emotional driven) into taking photographs which spur emotion. I've taken years of snapshots....the hard (and fun) part is to learn to take photographs. I'm an expert w snapshots and a noob w photographs.

Thats all Im trying to do. Play with settings and change up the fstops and apertures and post what Im doing to maybe get someone who can steer me in the right direction. Something like, "I see what you are trying to produce in low light, but maybe try <insert correct aperture> or <insert iso setting> instead and see if that improves it." Instead I get sarcasm and it sounds like so many of you have been doing photography for so long that the only thing to say is something sarcastic because its been so long since you werent any good. I dont know. Maybe I expect too much. I just want corrective criticism, whether its good or bad, but at the same time, because my settings arent perfect yet because Im still learning, I can atleast play with it enough to come out with something halfway creative. Thats all Im saying.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

How can people help you with technical flaws, when they are hidden behind lotsa post processing?

 

[OrionsByte]

If that's what you're looking for, then that's what you should ask for, and you should thank people for their input even when it's harsh or even mean. Sarcasm is THE response you will get to defensiveness on this forum, every single time.

I'm sorry you don't feel welcome, but honestly once you've been here for several months, you too will start getting tired of the endless waves of new posters who post something for critique and then get offended and defensive about the critique they get. Those of us who've stuck around have learned that when you post something and ask for feedback, you'd best be prepared for people to hate it and let you know about it, and then to learn from that feedback.

 

[BJPhotography]

How can people help you with technical flaws, when they are hidden behind lotsa post processing?

Because I didnt realize that post processing was even a word much less that it wasnt part of my photograph. To me the processing that I did after the photo was taken was still part of the photograph.

 

[lyonsroar]

but honestly once you've been here for several months, you too will start getting tired of the endless waves of new posters who post something for critique and then get offended and defensive about the critique they get.

this.

To me, if you feel the need to defend your work by providing excuses (it was cloudy, I had a poor vantage point, the dog wouldn't stay still, the baby was crawling away) there's no point in even posting the image for C&C. Any legitimate advice a poster provides will automatically get shot down with an excuse. What's the point?

There're some great minds on this forum (not me), you've just gotta listen to 'em!
:mrgreen:

 

[BJPhotography]

I do listen to it. Its just hard to hear nothing good when before I belonged here, people always told me what good photos I take. I come here and I dont know if Ive gotten one good comment. Its kind of a blow when you just join something like this and have a passion for something to have to hear you suck. I dont mind hearing that I suck if I suck but damn. Its just negative and there wasnt much corrective happening.