Shots from the past few months

Heather Koch · Dec 6, 2015

So, I haven't been on here in quite awhile, life has been quite a handful...but wanted to post some shots I've done recently and see what y'all think

1.

_HKP4548-2 by Heather Koch, on Flickr

2.

_HKP4758 by Heather Koch, on Flickr

3.

_HKP4732 by Heather Koch, on Flickr

4.

B&WshelitsaBOY by Heather Koch, on Flickr

Thanks!

imagemaker46 · Dec 7, 2015

I think you need a little more work balancing out available light and on camera flash. The harsh shadow on the last picture is really just a basic mistake than could have been fixed by moving the subject away from the wall. The second one is a cute idea. First one is a point and shoot. I don't know how much you practice without a flash, maybe not at all, but learning how to use the light around you is a basic key to becoming better with photography.

The_Traveler · Dec 7, 2015

The difficulty in responding to these shots is that there is so much difference between what you have done and what I think is one of the many ways to do things.

#2
There is a tree growing out of her head - on a slant -red arrow
There is a wide lighter halo around the bodies where it seems you have burnt down the brighter background -yellow arrows.
The picture has a deep blue cast overall - violet arrow

#3 - The subject is in dappled shade and has a distinct blue cast - and is slanted.
#4 - The blue ribbon and balloon are totally distracting and the conversion to b&w is very flat and, with the deep sharp shadow, honestly ugly. Selective color is very rarely a positive thing.

Heather Koch · Dec 7, 2015

imagemaker46 said:
I think you need a little more work balancing out available light and on camera flash. The harsh shadow on the last picture is really just a basic mistake than could have been fixed by moving the subject away from the wall. The second one is a cute idea. First one is a point and shoot. I don't know how much you practice without a flash, maybe not at all, but learning how to use the light around you is a basic key to becoming better with photography.

The last picture was taken in a 8x9 ish room in their basement. So I merely worked with what I had... But I agree, if I had a full studio I definitely would have done things different. I also much rather shoot outside with natural light but that day was very gloomy and cold.

Heather Koch · Dec 7, 2015

The_Traveler said:
The difficulty in responding to these shots is that there is so much difference between what you have done and what I think is one of the many ways to do things.

#2
There is a tree growing out of her head - on a slant -red arrow
There is a wide lighter halo around the bodies where it seems you have burnt down the brighter background -yellow arrows.
The picture has a deep blue cast overall - violet arrow

View attachment 112419

#3 - The subject is in dappled shade and has a distinct blue cast - and is slanted.
#4 - The blue ribbon and balloon are totally distracting and the conversion to b&w is very flat and, with the deep sharp shadow, honestly ugly. Selective color is very rarely a positive thing.

The point of the balloons and the ribbon were for revealing the gender of their baby. Both those props were their ideas. She requested the black and white and blue, to emphasize that shes having a baby boy...

Heather Koch · Dec 7, 2015

I guess I rather have my photography, at this point tell a story than be to perfect standards that are "accepted" here.

imagemaker46 · Dec 7, 2015

Perfect standards aren't expected on this forum, the majority of people that post are amateurs, there in fact are very few full time professionals. Many of the hobby or amateur photographers on this forum are also excellent photographers, many of them(not me) have a greater understanding of the technical side of photography and business. I just take pictures. My personal standards are very high, the ones I expect of myself, everyone has their own standards.

Heather Koch · Dec 7, 2015

Excellent point. I'm going to PM you, if you don't mind...

Donde · Dec 7, 2015

Heather Koch said:
I guess I rather have my photography, at this point tell a story than be to perfect standards that are "accepted" here.

I very much appreciate photography that serves to illustrate or tell a story. Much historical art was produced for just that purpose.

Shades of Blue · Dec 16, 2015

Heather Koch said:
I guess I rather have my photography, at this point tell a story than be to perfect standards that are "accepted" here.

I am new here, and through my first few threads I've gotten a lot of criticism. Here is the thing about criticism. After you get over the initial gut punch, if you are honest with yourself, you will see that some of what is suggested is great insight, and some of it is subjectivity towards that individual's taste. If you didn't think your photos were good, you wouldn't have posted them, so having that initial "hey screw you" thought process is normal I think. I'm sure that the people you took the photos loved your shots!

A lot of criticism in my photos seems to be that they are underexposed and some people don't like my cropping. The underexposed thing is a real issue to me, and if I want to get better, I need to get better at exposure. The cropping thing so far seems to fall in the preference category because I like the composition of most of my shots.

Getting to your photos, I quite like the first one. I too take family/kids photos and like the rustic wood look as you have done in your background. The other photos I can tell you are fighting shooting in the shade, and that is the nature of the beast outdoors and such. Just work on better lighting....I too have the same problem most of the time! I like the "story" in your pics, you just need to make them pop!