buffyjean Loc: Washington, North Carolina

Thanks in advance.

Bob Mevis Loc: Plymouth, Indiana

I like all of them
Nicely done.

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

A beautiful family!! Well done.

luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

You have the very good subjects to work with and I think you have a good idea of what you want. What I see (JUST MY OPINION) is that you are not watching your background.

Picture 1: the bird cage on the right and the other room on the left. One big step to your left would have helped. Also a shallower depth of field. Unless there was a specific reason I would not have included the whole tree; I would have moved forward and gotten eye level to the boy.
Picture 2: the door, window and door transom do not make a pretty background. If this is your only option bring the subject as far from the background as you can, open the lens for a blurred background or use a telephoto and open the lens. I would move in closer to the subject.
Picture 3: Same as picture 2 your background needs to be blurred. Move in closer.
Picture 4: If there were multiple steps I would have set the gentlemen down one step to bring all their heads closer to the same height and moved in for a more intimate shot blur the background.
Picture 5: Glass reflection is distracting. Get eye level, move in and blur the background.

This is just my opinion and if you are happy with them the way they are than leave them....your opinion is what matters. These three gentlemen are very photogenic and I would certainly use them again to practice with. Check Youtube videos for how to pose subjects and keep trying. The best way to learn is to practice and experiment.

I look forward to seeing more!!!

Dodie

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

From all these images only the third one shows the whole extremities of the subject. The way the extremities have been amputated is a no-no in photography.
They all have good exposure and clarity. You need to learn how to pose the model and your images will be absolutely beautiful.
Merry Christmas.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Good constructive criticism that I would think/hope is appreciated by the OP.
Too many offer false, undeserved praise with no suggestions for improvement.

fredpnm Loc: Corrales, NM

All look good. Aside from the suggestions already provided. I would level picture 1 and 4.

BudsOwl Loc: Upstate NY and New England

I beg to differ. It is not necessary to show peoples feet if they don't add to the picture although some of the photos would be better if they had shown the feet or been cropped so that the lower legs were not in the shot.. Many times we just want to show the upper body often from the waste up for example as in photo #2

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Hi Buffyjean, your topic title suggests you are looking for feedback regarding your processing. In future, if you click "store original" prior to the attach button, we will have larger files to examine closely. The last image could use a little lightening on the faces IMO (along with cropping out the windows and a little from the bottom so it doesn't look like a mistake that you "just" missed the bottom of the shoe ). The reflection in the cabinet is unfortunate and may prove difficult to darken.

Otherwise, the thumbnails look good!

There is a Post Processing section of UHH if you have specific questions in future:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-116-1.html

I think the suggestions for future compositions and blurring the background are great and I also think several of these shots could be made stronger by cropping, as suggested. Is the gentleman on left in last pic slightly out of focus?

I read your topic from yesterday about what to charge; excellent advice there also. You may want to look at the Portraiture section of UHH: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-127-1.html

One of the moderators is Ed Shapiro who has been doing commercial photography for decades. All the best!

buffyjean Loc: Washington, North Carolina

Thank you so much for all your advice. The guys wanted the nutcrackers included, that's why I left it. I looked for rules for cropping the limbs and I thought I did it right. It's so nice to have seasoned photographers to help you without being rude. Again thanks. Peggy

buffyjean Loc: Washington, North Carolina

Thanks so much

buffyjean Loc: Washington, North Carolina

Just a few of my landscapes.
Any suggestions on these.
Thanks, Peggy

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luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

I think you have some good images here. Please remember that these are JUST MY OPINIONS and that what pleases one person may not please another. I try to always look at my photos using the suggestions given to see if I can improve or learn from their comments. Sometimes I still like mine the way they are.

Photo 1: Nice impact with the lighthouse dead center though some will say it's breaking all the composition rules and that can be ok to get your idea across. I would love to have seen this shot during the golden hour to give it more impact and depth. I believe that either (or both) Lightroom and Photoshop have a way to make the tower stand straight. Please check with the post processing gurus on this. Some would have shot this as a vertical but I think your horizontal is a better choice.

Photo 2: Was this photo heavily cropped? When I downloaded it pixelated and has aberrations. Here again the post processing gurus can help with this. What I will mention is that you have followed the rule of thirds and placed your main subject on one of the intersecting corners giving it a more pleasing effect. A little pp work to bring out the sky would bring more attention to the castle.

Photo3: This photo has good balance, nice color saturation, your horizon isn't dead center and your sky with clouds gives the photo more depth. Personally, I would crop a little off the top but it's not a necessity. Very nice photo!!

Photo 4: Nice use of negative space. I would take some off the bottom to get your horizon out of the middle of the frame and a little pp work to up the saturation. PERSONALLY...I would have used a longer lens and photographed more of the island....I don't do many negative space photos.

Photo 5: This is out of focus. I will say that I think that shooting this horizontally like the other lighthouse gives it more impact. I would shoot it as a vertical as well to see which I preferred.

Photo 6: This is my favorite. Great sky and nicely balanced if you will crop the trees off the right side and the horizon isn't dead center. Very nicely done!!!

The main point I will make about these photos is they seem to be taken around midday when the light isn't working in your favor. If these are locations you can return to I would try for photos before 10 am and after 3pm. If you follow any photographers on Youtube you will see that they get up early in the morning or arrive late afternoon to photograph during the golden hours. As they say..."It's all about the light".

I am attaching links to 2 photographers that I follow that should give you some ideas. The first is Adam Gibbs and the second is Thomas Heaton. They are both all about the light.

https://youtu.be/4oM-6OPSwLA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/4oM-6OPSwLAhttps://youtu.be/4oM-6OPSwLA

https://youtu.be/-MypPi4MiBg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/-MypPi4MiBghttps://youtu.be/-MypPi4MiBg

I hope this helps.

Dodie

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

Other than a little straightening on a couple, I think they are fine for the family album.

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

Very good set of a good looking family, Peggy.