Photo Critiques

[barrie]

I think one of the most valuable ways to get better at something is to receive constructive feedback from people that you respect. But I also think it’s hard for people to give what might be perceived as negative feedback without it being asked for it. That seems to be especially true on these boards because everyone is so friendly and helpful and positive – one of the reasons I love it here!

Anyway, I came up with this idea for a thread. I guess we could think of it as a peer review thread. Ok, here goes:

This is a thread for giving and receiving constructive feedback on photos. There ARE rules ( winking at you andromedaslove!) – and I reserve the right to change or add to the rules at any time!


Rules for posting photos for review:

§ Photos are not limited to Disney photos.

§ Photos cannot be altered in ANY way. This is for getting feedback on taking photos, not on editing photos.

§ Before you can post a photo you must have given feedback to someone first. And if there is someone who has not yet received feedback on the photo they posted, you must choose their photo to critique before giving feedback to someone else.


Rules for posting feedback:

§ All feedback must include all of these three parts, in this order:

1. What works: Tell the person what is good about their photo, what they did well, what you like about it. Be specific. Saying “Nice job!” is not enough.

2. What doesn’t work: Tell them what could be improved, what should be different, what you don’t care for. Again, be specific – don’t just say “This photo’s bad.” And be nice… deliver your negative feedback in a positive way, the way you would want to hear it.

3. Suggestions: Give the poster suggestions for what they could do differently to improve their photo if they had the chance to do it over. Tell them "how to" if you are able.

§ You cannot comment on other people’s feedback.

§ Anyone can give feedback, even if they don’t intend to post their own photos.


OK – let’s just see where this goes…

 

[barrie]

OK - I've got my thick skin on... have at it!

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Since you asked (heck, I always give me 2 cents anyway )

I think the pic will work better if you focus on the area circled below.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

now my turn to be critiqued:

 

[barrie]

Thanks for playing Kelly! You gave me #3 (the part on what to do differently), but you also have to give me #1 (what you like) and #2 (what you don't like). That way I know what I'm doing right and why I should do something different.

Hope you don't mind me using your post to clarify the rules. Barrie

 

[Kelly Grannell]

not at all. so let me try again.

1. I like the idea of your composition, it fits to the variant of the 1/3 rule. 1/3 on the left corner top is 'empty' and the other 2/3 is 'busy'
2. My eyes drawn automatically to the busiest part of the picture, too bad it's out of focus.
3. The picture may look better if you focus on the area circled below

 

[barrie]

1. What works: I love the sense of motion in the water and the way the light in the background looks like a star. And I like that the fountain is not centered in the frame.

2. What doesn't work: The neon light on the right is distracting to me. It takes my eye away from the fountain.

3. Suggestions: This part's harder for me not having much experience. But hey, we can learn from everyone, right? I guess there's a couple of ways maybe - zoom in a wee bit more to lose the neon and/or turn the camera a little to the left.

 

[barrie]

Cool, that's perfect! Now that we've got the ball rolling... anyone else want to play?

 

[CheshireVal]

OK - I've got my thick skin on... have at it!

1. The perspective is unusual and interesting... in a good way.

2. My eye is drawn to the part of the picture that Kelly circled, but it's out of focus so it kind of takes away from the overall appeal of the picture.

3. I'd definitely shift the focus.

 

[CheshireVal]

now my turn to be critiqued:

1. The colors are nice-- the fountain looks beautiful lit up like that.

2. The shutter speed is a little too slow for me. But I've never been partial to "blurry" water shots like that, so that's probably just me. The neon on the right side is a little distracting.

3. Frame it differently so that the neon is out of the shot (though that can easily be cropped). I'd also increase the shutter speed just a bit.

 

[fitzperry]

OK - I've got my thick skin on... have at it!

Here goes . . . .
1. What works: I also like the perspective--the bridge makes a nice background.
2. What doesn't: I agree with Kelly about the focus area. Also, it appears a bit underexposed, at least on my monitor.
3. Suggestions: Perhaps boost the saturation level a bit (?)

 

[fitzperry]

Ok, here's mine. It was my entry in the photo contest a couple of weeks ago, and perhaps I'm just biased toward the subject , but I thought it would get more votes than it did! Tell me what's wrong with it!

 

[CheshireVal]

Ok, here's mine. It was my entry in the photo contest a couple of weeks ago, and perhaps I'm just biased toward the subject , but I thought it would get more votes than it did! Tell me what's wrong with it!

1. It's a cute shot-- in some ways, the sepia makes it look very classic and professional portrait....

2. But in other ways, I feel that the sepia makes it less festive than it should be with a sombrero.

3. I'd be curious to see the pic in full color, or maybe with some selective coloring.

 

[CheshireVal]

Here is one of mine:

 

[handicap18]

Ok, here's mine. It was my entry in the photo contest a couple of weeks ago, and perhaps I'm just biased toward the subject , but I thought it would get more votes than it did! Tell me what's wrong with it!

Very cute subject. Great Idea.
With the hat that big it makes it tough to get good lighting. Half the picture is dark and half is light which kind of draws away from each other.
To make it better balanced I though of maybe taking the pic from a lower angle, but that would take away from the hat (at least seeing the top of it) which might not be a good idea. Instead, maybe stepping further back would allow better use of the fill flash or turn her more towards the natural light so her face would be seen better and the shadows would be more behind her rather than on half of her.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

ChesireVal

What I Like: This is basically the mirror image of Barrie's picture (in terms of composition)
What I Don't Like: There is too much empty space at the top.
What I Would Do:

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Fitzperry

What I Like: The use of sepia and the subject give an olden-times nostalgic feel
What I Dislike: The subject it neither here nor there. She's not really in the middle but also not to the right. Part of her face is darkened.
What I Would do: Lower the camera angle so not the entire Sombrero can be seen, this will give the effect of a larger Sombrero. This way you also can use fill-in flash.
The following is an approximation what the image would be look like if I took the picture.

 

[pyrxtc]

Here is one of mine:

1. What works: the lights are not too blurry from movement on your part.

2. What doesn’t work: i'm not sure if I'm supposed to be looking at the trees lit up or the Epcot ball at the end of the photo.

3. Suggestions: If uou get rid of the black space on the left and moved two steps to the left then it would be a really cool picture of the lit trees leading to the ball. Or you could ahve taken 2 steps to the right and focused on the trees but got down lower to show them off better.

 

[Dan Murphy]

No critque or picture, but did want to just say what a neat idea/thread.

 

[roger_ramjet]

now my turn to be critiqued:

What I like: The clarity of the photo. Obviously using the slower shutter speed at night time allowed the fountain to be very sharp and focused.

What I didn't like: Too much dark space up the top.

Suggestion: Crop more of the empty space as well as the neon to the right.