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Thread: Critique Thread

  1. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by #1 Mustang Fan View Post
    I see where your coming from, the reflections were spectacular and TBH I was aiming to get the whole reflection in, rather than to get cram in the surroundings. I've attached the original and a couple of other shots from that day if anyone is interested, I don't see these as good as the first.
    Well, let's talk about this one for a minute:



    First off, it would benefit (color-wise) from a little post processing... get the colors UP and some contrast would make the water like a looking glass.

    BUT... from the standpoint of composition... first, you could have shifted to your left a bit and cropped off that second group of trees and tis reflection. It's not really giving us any more information about the location. Then if you'd have had the room or the lens to widen your shot.... imagine if the "V" of the reflection went corner to corner... so, our view started with the bottom of the frame completely in the water. Now... let's add lowering our point of view and have the camera sitting JUST above the water.

    There might have been an opportunity to give the illusion of what a swimmer might see just has their eyes broke through the surface.

    Obviously, I can't see what's outside the frame... so who knows, you could have been trying to crop out a bunch of drunks on a pontoon boat.... LOL- but I think you can see where I coming from when we think about ways to approach a scene or location. Try to back-engineer what your audience will ultimately take away from the picture.

    Looks like a goregous place.

    JT
    Last edited by John Thawley; 11-18-2008 at 02:43 PM.
    www.johnthawley.com / www.automotivephoto.net

  2. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Thawley View Post
    In that case, you did a pretty good job. It's apparent you want to shoot "cool" shots... I'd suggest, if you want to get it into it, take the time to learn and understand the basics. You've got a pretty good sense of "style"... but you need to know the "rules"... before you break them. (I'm hestitant about using the word "rules"... but there are some basic fundamentals)

    JT
    Thats why I'm looking forward to this thread, I'd love to learn more about photography.
    "We went to Wnedy's. I had chicken nuggest." ~ Quiggs

  3. #48
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    I completely forgot about this thread!

    Here's a couple of pictures.

    Also, how would you guys edit these photos, if you were to edit them?

    Any comments, tips, etc. are much appreciated!

    By the way, is this thread going to be stickied?
    Attached Images Attached Images

  4. #49
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    Maybe crop the picture of the phantom a little so it's less busy.
    "Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
    "No. My Finnish is fine; I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"

  5. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by NSXType-R View Post
    I completely forgot about this thread!

    Here's a couple of pictures.

    Also, how would you guys edit these photos, if you were to edit them?

    Any comments, tips, etc. are much appreciated!

    By the way, is this thread going to be stickied?
    Maybe post one photo at a time.

    Although, after looking, there is a common theme to them all. They're grab shots.

    Nothing personal, but your pointing the camera and imagining you see "something" and then anticipating we will see it too.

    The Aston Martin is simply a miss. It's a difficult shot in-as-much as you you had no way of anticipating the car. But... other than a personal keepsake, it's a miss. Not entirely your fault.

    The second shot is a visual mess. No point of interest.. no story... just a plane parked and shot from the nose with a wide angle.

    Next shot pretty much the same as the second... was this an airshow or something?

    Major horizon problems on the fourth shot. Guy in the background. Buildings growing out of the top of the nose... another wing coming into frame at the right. Sorry... snapshot.

    Fifth one I like. Needs a little more light in the foreground. But I like how the crowd is out of focus and milling around. The plane takes center stage.. just off center... and your eye looks about to see what's going on. I like this photo. I'd really like it in B&W. It has that look... and B&W might fix a problem... your white balance is off for color. But I like this photo.

    Last one. OK... we all enjoyed the Sopranos... but this ain't it. Shooting through car windows should be avoided in most instances. This would be one of them.

    Photographs are stories. The need a point. They need supporting elements. They need to tell the viewer about whatever it is you saw. Think of a photo of your way of telling me an exciting thing that happened to you. Something that was an amazing experience.

    If you were at a fabulous place.... and had an incredible experience, think about how you would come home and tell your friends about it. How you would include all the details and try your best to give the same sense of bewilderment you experienced. You'd try your hardest to make them feel like they were there too.

    That's what you do with a photo... you see an opportunity. Something you think is cool. You "experience" it. As a photographer, it is your job to find away to visually tell that story and share that experience. If you can do that... you're MAKING photographs.

    JT
    Last edited by John Thawley; 12-04-2008 at 07:11 PM.
    www.johnthawley.com / www.automotivephoto.net

  6. #51
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    Looks like the deck of the USS Intrepid to me.
    I did some messing around w/ photoshop on the on inside the ship. It seems like the plane has an aura around it, while everyone else is just silhouettes. Very cool.
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    "We went to Wnedy's. I had chicken nuggest." ~ Quiggs

  7. #52
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    Thanks for the response guys!

    The Aston Martin I did see at the last moment, I had no time except to just press the shutter release.

    Hmm, I'm not sure how to say it, but I do understand what you're trying to say. But I'm also not sure how to improve.

    No, it's not an airshow, it was at the Intrepid Air and Space Museum.

  8. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by NSXType-R View Post
    Thanks for the response guys!

    The Aston Martin I did see at the last moment, I had no time except to just press the shutter release.

    Hmm, I'm not sure how to say it, but I do understand what you're trying to say. But I'm also not sure how to improve.

    No, it's not an airshow, it was at the Intrepid Air and Space Museum.
    Well... think of it in a baseball analogy. It starts with shot selection.... your first few are simply swinging at a bad pitch.

    NOW... I'm not saying don't take the picture. If you want a keepsake for yourself... enjoy. Take the picture.

    But when we begin "critiquing" photos, we're not talking about "TAKING" pictures... we're talking about "MAKING" pictures. There's a difference.

    Lots of people own bicycles. That does not make them cyclists. At least not in the Tour d' France sense. A lot of people paint their living rooms... doesn't make them painters. A LOT of people have cameras. That doesn't make them photographers.

    SO... we're left to ask ourselves... what level to we want to shoot at?

    That said, it's always good to get "good" at something. It becomes more enjoyable. When I shot as a hobby, I devoured it. I would always tell myself that even if I gave up the hobby, my vaction photos and family type snapshots would always be above average from what I learned while perusing the hobby.

    But, to your point... shot selection is the first step in making a good photography. After that, you want to walk around the subject and select a point of view that tells the story with the most thought and impact.

    JT
    www.johnthawley.com / www.automotivephoto.net

  9. #54
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    This is what I'd do with the Aston pic. Too bad that minivan is there.
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    You can call me scott.

  10. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by scottie300z View Post
    This is what I'd do with the Aston pic. Too bad that minivan is there.
    And then what would you do with it?

    a.) the mini van IS there
    b.) it's out of focus
    c.) 3/4 or the frame is empty.

    I don't want to beat up on NSXType-R, but the purpose of this thread is to improve how we see photos and how to improve your skills... how to make a good photo better... saving a bad photo will ultimately prove futile. UNLESS, you're a photojournalist and capture a once in a lifetime "moment" that can't be replicated. Then content overrides a multitude of sins. If the Aston were a "SPY" shot... MAYBE it would have some merit...

    Coming back to reality and the point of this discussion... NSXType-R posted:

    how would you guys edit these photos, if you were to edit them?
    And, just so we can keep terminology straight... "editing" is the process of selecting and (more likely) deleting of images from a shoot. The act of cropping, contrast, sharpening, etc. is referred to as post processing or adjusting your images.

    JT
    www.johnthawley.com / www.automotivephoto.net

  11. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Thawley View Post
    And then what would you do with it?

    a.) the mini van IS there
    b.) it's out of focus
    c.) 3/4 or the frame is empty.

    I don't want to beat up on NSXType-R, but the purpose of this thread is to improve how we see photos and how to improve your skills... how to make a good photo better... saving a bad photo will ultimately prove futile. UNLESS, you're a photojournalist and capture a once in a lifetime "moment" that can't be replicated. Then content overrides a multitude of sins. If the Aston were a "SPY" shot... MAYBE it would have some merit...

    Coming back to reality and the point of this discussion... NSXType-R posted:



    And, just so we can keep terminology straight... "editing" is the process of selecting and (more likely) deleting of images from a shoot. The act of cropping, contrast, sharpening, etc. is referred to as post processing or adjusting your images.

    JT
    On a side note I like 3/4 of it being empty and the subject, especially since it's a car, being set to the far side.

    What I didn't like was so much road under the car and how square the photo was. The road really isn't that much of a bother to me compared to the squareness, but still. Instead of just saying it I displayed it and he can take that info to improve by thinking about where he sets the car in the frame before hitting the shutter button next time and then also that pictures don't have to always be in the same mold. I didn't ever say save a bad photo that does nothing for anyone.

    I'm not going to argue with how I used photo editing software to edit a photo. Oh wait , I guess I just did...
    Last edited by scottie300z; 12-05-2008 at 01:31 PM.
    You can call me scott.

  12. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13 View Post
    Maybe crop the picture of the phantom a little so it's less busy.
    Here's what I meant.
    (levels also adjusted and I got rid of the helicopter flying to the right of the cockpit)
    EDIT: Sorry it ins't particularly high quality. I wasn't sure how large it would be and i had to keep it under a meg.
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  13. #58
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    Here's another one of mine.
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  14. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by scottie300z View Post
    On a side note I like 3/4 of it being empty and the subject, especially since it's a car, being set to the far side.

    What I didn't like was so much road under the car and how square the photo was. The road really isn't that much of a bother to me compared to the squareness, but still. Instead of just saying it I displayed it and he can take that info to improve by thinking about where he sets the car in the frame before hitting the shutter button next time and then also that pictures don't have to always be in the same mold. I didn't ever say save a bad photo that does nothing for anyone.

    I'm not going to argue with how I used photo editing software to edit a photo. Oh wait , I guess I just did...
    FIrst, I don't adjust other people's photos without asking. Second, with all due respect, your post processing changes nothing, in my opinion.

    For me, it's a miss. Crop it, saturate it, sharpen it... doesn't matter. It's a miss. And, it's not my style to mislead people or betray my personal philosophies.


    JT
    www.johnthawley.com / www.automotivephoto.net

  15. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Thawley View Post
    FIrst, I don't adjust other people's photos without asking. Second, with all due respect, your post processing changes nothing, in my opinion.

    For me, it's a miss. Crop it, saturate it, sharpen it... doesn't matter. It's a miss. And, it's not my style to mislead people or betray my personal philosophies.


    JT
    For your first point I apologize to NSX if I stepped on his grounds. Posting them here and asking for comments kinda implies an openness but implication is not really enough, so sorry.

    As far as your second, you must have glazed over what I said.
    You can call me scott.

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