Challenge 31--yes/no-maybe?

lizzard_nyc

1.





2.CLOSED FOR BUSINESS



and just too really crack you up--this was an outtake:)--Seewee wabbit.



This is my first challenge participation--need all the C&C I can get.
Thanks.

whiterice

I #1. very nice processing....love the grain and the square crop. My only suggestion would be to make some adjustments to better define the pupil and the iris. If this is cropped, I might recrop this to include just a tad more of the chin area below the lips. As is, I get sort of a "cramped" feeling. Very, very nice!

As for #2, I love the processing, but I just don't "get" the image.

lizzard_nyc

whiterice wrote:

I #1. very nice processing....love the grain and the square crop. My only suggestion would be to make some adjustments to better define the pupil and the iris. If this is cropped, I might recrop this to include just a tad more of the chin area below the lips. As is, I get sort of a "cramped" feeling. Very, very nice!

As for #2, I love the processing, but I just don't "get" the image.

Hi White Rice,
Thanks so much for your reply.
The first shot is pretty much SOOC (ha! I'm learning the lingo), it just has slight cropping (my camera comes with a setting called b&w grainy--I use these settings frequently because I have minimal PP available to me).

Your advise to include more chin is spot on--the newbie in me is learning--I realized I pretty much took most photos with the chin chopped off! darn it.

I'm adding two different versions of #1, maybe these are better?

As for #2--I used the PP available on smugmug, called picnik and wound p with those bold colors and blurred edges--I love that pic, though when I look at it, it seems a bit sexual (not that there is anything wrong with that). Actually if I had to come up with a title, it would be "closed for busines"--that's just what comes to mind:D .

3.




4.

Katmitchell

Hello and Welcome to the DG,

My advice is that #2 is stronger on theme.

The first is a great shot, but the closed and open your portraying are the eyes and they do not stand a chance against all of the hair in the composition because the crop lets the hair take over, especially in #4 with the hair being a strong orange color.

#3 looks more like a great portrait glamour shot, but is not as strong on theme..

So I vote for #2, however, I would back off on the strong vignette and I would re-shoot it with cleaner doors.. re-draw the doors with straighter lines and level door knobs. I would also work on the color. Orange and red are very close on the wheel so you might pull some of the lighter skin tones out with adjusting the levels... too much orange and red.. overall, a great idea..

As far as the title.. I had to laugh because I just came over from Jeff's thread where I made that exact same title suggestion, although, your title means something entirely different.. haha.. too funny...

Good luck with it...

Kat

whiterice

Ok, now that you've titled it I "get" #2.....sorry, I'm a bit slow. I didn't realize those were doors......I was thinking they were teeth!!

This image has a fine art quality about it.

So, now I pick #2.....(but I still like #1!!)

kds1

I didn't get that they were doors, either! I think maybe they don't look enough like doors (in number 2) to make the point or something. And I think whiterice is right about the eyes in number 1 needing to be sharper. I like number 4 if you would do it in black and white. I agree with Kat that the orange is distracting, but it is nice and sharp. I might turn it black and white and then play with the crop a bit to see if I could get the eye area to stand out more and in less competition with the hair.

I'm saying all this like I know what I'm talking about!

lizzard_nyc

Katmitchell wrote:

Hello and Welcome to the DG,

My advice is that #2 is stronger on theme.

#3 looks more like a great portrait glamour shot, but is not as strong on theme..

---

Hey Ktmitchell, thanks for the welcome. Glad to be here.

Oh man, what a burn!!! "glamour shot", lol--when I went back to it, that's what it reminds me of now. To think I once paid good money for those kind of portraits:)

I'm diggin #2 also. I turned my kids' toy box upside down in search for a tiny door (there are many little cars now missing doors) but none would do, so I improvised, I kind of like the kid art quality of the doors (but agree the lines need to be straighter and the knobs more even), so I hope I can reshoot again, and also I will play with the PP. Thanks so much for the C&C, it's really appreciated.


kds1- thanks for taking a look. Yes, I agree the doors look like teeth, bugs bunny teeth, watsup doc, kinda teeth. I will attempt a reshoot, depending on if the model is available, if not I will try a self portrait with that shot (that should be hysterical). I will attempt a redraw or find a perfect tiny toy door.

Whiterice- glad you get it now I think this one is the pic I will try and enter if I get to do a reshoot. Least it will get people talking.

Thanks all.

Katmitchell

I think the idea of the toy doors would have been awesome !!.. Bummer that did not work out.. The doors you have, if ya clean them up, are super too...


Feel free to just call me Kat... it will make it easier to type out

Good Luck to you

dnie

lizzard_nyc wrote:

kds1- thanks for taking a look. Yes, I agree the doors look like teeth, bugs bunny teeth, watsup doc, kinda teeth. I will attempt a reshoot, depending on if the model is available, if not I will try a self portrait with that shot (that should be hysterical). I will attempt a redraw or find a perfect tiny toy door.

Whiterice- glad you get it now I think this one is the pic I will try and enter if I get to do a reshoot. Least it will get people talking.

Thanks all.

Do you know anyone with a lot of Legos? if so, the may have a castle set or something that has doors.