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Please critique me! Please!!!
Oct 17, 2011 11:09:54   #
Betsi
 
So I am nervous to be critiqued but I really need it. The only people who have seen my photographs are my family and they like it but they love me cause I'm the mom! So I fear they are not telling me the truth. Please critique these photos. I would really appreciate an an unbiased answer! :lol:







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Oct 17, 2011 11:19:04   #
Hiskid.58 Loc: Erie, PA
 
I agree, very nice photos. I do have some suggestions. The sepia seems like it's either too much, or it's the wrong colors. Can't put my finger on it exactly. #2 is very nice. I think the leaves blend in too much with her hair. If you take these in color and then change them post, try using the channel mixer to make them b&w and use the filters. I always take photos in color and convert them post. #3 is nice, but I would crop it on the left side. It's too centered for this image. I agree that you can break the thirds rule, but it doesn't work here in my opinion. The tree is also too much distraction. The bg is too "busy". If the subject stood a little farther away and you used a larger f-stop to blur the bg that would have helped some.

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Oct 17, 2011 11:24:39   #
tilde531 Loc: Seaford Delaware
 
I agree with everything Hiskid.58 has already offered.
The contrast in the sepia-toned one is not quite enough... or something. It's kinda flat... and the background in both, imo, are too busy.
Maybe a little blurring or soft-focus on your beautiful subject would help with that (as it appears you've done in the third one)!

The third one could stand a little more cropping to bring her in a bit closer, too. I realize you probably wanted to include part of the natural setting... but one suggestion I take to heart when doing portraits is "Fill the frame with your subject"

Her dress is what you're trying to highlight in this one, I presume. Cropping it a little more will achieve that without losing any of that pretty dress.

They're very good shots!

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Oct 17, 2011 11:27:20   #
Hiskid.58 Loc: Erie, PA
 
Here is a crop and an adjustment. I didn't do it quite well, just something quick so you could see the blurred bg and also how it looks off center.

original
original...

"fixed"
"fixed"...

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Oct 17, 2011 11:29:38   #
Betsi
 
Awesome! Thank You so much! I did learn that it really limited any editing options shooting them in black and white. I will defintiely take all ofyour advice. Thank You!

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Oct 17, 2011 11:31:51   #
Betsi
 
That is really neat. I see how that makes the photo about her and not the background. Is that done with photoshop?

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Oct 17, 2011 11:35:56   #
PitchurMan Loc: Michigan
 
Betsi wrote:
So I am nervous to be critiqued but I really need it. The only people who have seen my photographs are my family and they like it but they love me cause I'm the mom! So I fear they are not telling me the truth. Please critique these photos. I would really appreciate an an unbiased answer! :lol:


Your lighting and post processing are particularly well done. The background on all three shots, however, is much too busy. I understand that you have to go with what your given, but you clearly have the ability to edit after the fact. Get rid of some of the busyness by either lightening or darkening and blending to the edges. Number 3 also lends itself more to a vertical format rather than horizontal. I've added a very quick edit to illustrate what I mean. If it were my own photo and hi-resolution I would certainly spend more time on it, but you will get the drift of my meaning from this rather crude edit.

Overall, you're doing very well, and you have a good eye.

original
original...

edited
edited...

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Oct 17, 2011 11:39:53   #
MWAC Loc: Somewhere East Of Crazy
 
I'm not a fan of the #1, the colouring looks off which has already been mentioned. Your b/w conversations look to be going in the right direction, maybe a little more contrast? I struggle with B/W conversations,so take my advice on that with a grain of salt.

#2 I wish she was looking at the camera, or you needed some space to the right of the photo to follow her eyes a little bit, but over all a wonderful shot.

#3 - she is a little too centered for my liking but once again an overall nice image.

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Oct 17, 2011 11:42:27   #
Hiskid.58 Loc: Erie, PA
 
I did it with Photoshop using the gaussian blur tool, but it's much better to do it in camera. It is very hard to select the subject perfectly and then blur the bg without leaving some "witness". If you look close, you can see the areas through the dress are still sharp compared to the blurred bg. You do this in camera with depth of field control (f-stops). The larger the number, the more that's in focus. The smaller the number, the more that is blurred.

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Oct 17, 2011 11:47:04   #
Betsi
 
PitchurMan wrote:
Betsi wrote:
So I am nervous to be critiqued but I really need it. The only people who have seen my photographs are my family and they like it but they love me cause I'm the mom! So I fear they are not telling me the truth. Please critique these photos. I would really appreciate an an unbiased answer! :lol:


Your lighting and post processing are particularly well done. The background on all three shots, however, is much too busy. I understand that you have to go with what your given, but you clearly have the ability to edit after the fact. Get rid of some of the busyness by either lightening or darkening and blending to the edges. Number 3 also lends itself more to a vertical format rather than horizontal. I've added a very quick edit to illustrate what I mean. If it were my own photo and hi-resolution I would certainly spend more time on it, but you will get the drift of my meaning from this rather crude edit.

Overall, you're doing very well, and you have a good eye.
quote=Betsi So I am nervous to be critiqued but I... (show quote)


Thank You! Your edit is gorgeous! I completely see what you are talking about and I understand a lot more now. I am editing with Picasa and trying to take it slow because their is so much to learn.

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Oct 17, 2011 11:47:46   #
SpiffyPhoto Loc: Southern Wisconsin
 
Hi Betsi ..... I like all your photos ..... one thing to remember about b&w and sepia ..... b&w gives the look of a cold image (black, middle grays and white)& sepia the look of a warm image (a little color)..... personally I like both b&w and sepia for certain photos to fit each one .....

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Oct 17, 2011 13:05:28   #
Betsi
 
Thank You everyone so very much! I will definitely work on all of your suggestions.

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Oct 18, 2011 22:58:10   #
cameranut Loc: North Carolina
 
Betsi wrote:
So I am nervous to be critiqued but I really need it. The only people who have seen my photographs are my family and they like it but they love me cause I'm the mom! So I fear they are not telling me the truth. Please critique these photos. I would really appreciate an an unbiased answer! :lol:


# 1 looks like snow or frost in the background. Thing is; she wouldn't be sleeveless if that were the case. I'm not too fond of black & white but I like #2.

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Oct 19, 2011 19:30:16   #
NoSocks Loc: quonochontaug, rhode island
 
the close-up in the middle is a good shot. the tones are right on and you've captured something going on in the eyes of the subject. there's a story with that shot. the other two are technically ok, though the sepia shot seems a bit over-exposed. i'm not nuts about them. but i love the close up in the middle.

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