CC anyone?

mariap

Hi. I am not new to Smugmug but I am new to DGin. Looking to improve my photographs (from snapshots to something I would really consider great) and would love any constructive critism. I am definitely an amateur. Until recently I shot primarily in Av (Manual scared me) but I have recently switched over to Manual mode. I also dabble in both Lightroom and CS2.

Thanks!

1

2


3


4


1, 2, 3 were from last weekend.

4 was from today - is it over processed? It was taken at the mall with flash so the lighting not great. ps. she was pretending to be a bunny.

Maria

mariap

Really? 91 views and no comments? Did I post in the wrong forum?

Swartzy

Welcome to the funny farm Maria! Please allow some observations that may be of help:


First...she is a cutie! I'll bet you'll learn lots simply by using her as your muse. I'm not a huge fan of the muted/cast type coloring throughout the series. It works once in awhile but don't be afraid to use real colors (and color balance) to make the images pop. Take care not to "center" your subject in the frame. Rules are meant to be broken but a rule of thumb is to off center your subject and use your background elements to "enhance" your subject. Think of the simple rule of 3rds...both top to bottom, left to right.

The light looks fairly even and flat..which isn't a bad thing at all...it's just that having a bit more light on your subject and a little less on the surroundings can also improve the viewer's attention span.

Keep shooting cause they grow up way too fast!

whiterice

Hi Maria. Welcome to Dgrin.

And yes, to agree with Swartzy, this is a funny farm. Don't let the lack of replies deter you. There are lots of great people that will eventually chime in.

1st - you are so lucky so have such great subject matter. I can only hope that my little girl will grow up to be as cooperative.

Overall, I do like your choice of processing, but that is really a personal choice (it seems that as of late that's the sort of thing I'm into).

#1 This is my favorite of the series. I would crop a bit off the right, and just enough off the top/bottom to give you the dimensions you'd like. I really would like to see her less centered and to remove the scratched paint area that distracts from the real subject matter.

#2, #3 Nice, but I much prefer the expression on #1. I think that both could benefit from cropping AND leveling - a very simple fix in LR.

#4 I actually like the centered composition. I'm not convinced though of the processing, only because the skin tones so closely match the background. It looks like she has dark eyes - my only other suggestion would be to work a little CS2 magic to better define the iris/pupil. I know that there are nice tutorials for that - I just don't have a link handy.

Again - welcome to Dgrin.

mariap

Thank you for your comments Swartzy and Christopher. I really appreciate the feedback. I've been taking photos - snapshots really - and really want to get better. Luckily my daughter is a good sport most of the time. She did have a phase where she wanted nothing to do with the camera...

The series on the slide was taken at about 10am so the lighting was a little harsher than I liked. I think that's why I opted for the muted tones (I started a 365 project on Flickr and have been playing with actions lately) and while I do like them I am a little cautious about overprocessing and straying away from more natural photos.

I really liked the composition of #4 but wasn't happy with the light. I had to play with it a lot. I will some different processing and play with the eyes as you suggested.

Expect to see more of me. I have a lot to learn!
Maria


quote=whiterice]Hi Maria. Welcome to Dgrin.

And yes, to agree with Swartzy, this is a funny farm. Don't let the lack of replies deter you. There are lots of great people that will eventually chime in.

1st - you are so lucky so have such great subject matter. I can only hope that my little girl will grow up to be as cooperative.

Overall, I do like your choice of processing, but that is really a personal choice (it seems that as of late that's the sort of thing I'm into).

#1 This is my favorite of the series. I would crop a bit off the right, and just enough off the top/bottom to give you the dimensions you'd like. I really would like to see her less centered and to remove the scratched paint area that distracts from the real subject matter.

#2, #3 Nice, but I much prefer the expression on #1. I think that both could benefit from cropping AND leveling - a very simple fix in LR.

#4 I actually like the centered composition. I'm not convinced though of the processing, only because the skin tones so closely match the background. It looks like she has dark eyes - my only other suggestion would be to work a little CS2 magic to better define the iris/pupil. I know that there are nice tutorials for that - I just don't have a link handy.

Again - welcome to Dgrin. [/quote]

Seneca

Cute...however...all the images look orangy to me. But I love the images nonetheless.

Swartzy

Seneca wrote:

Cute...however...all the images look orangy to me. But I love the images nonetheless.

Seneca! I haven't seen you here in ages! Welcome back.

Hackbone

As everyone said, she is a real cutie. Congrats for going into manual mode.

Just take your time to get a good light reading. Try to get your subject in a shaded area. With digital you have to treat it like slide film where you really should meter for the highlights. Bring a white art board with you and try to reflect some light into the dark side of the face to open up the shadows. If you can't get to your subject to get a good reading just place your hand in the same lighting conditions and meter off your hand. Hope some of this helps. Keep it in manual and you might even want to try RAW. It is more forgiving if your metering is off.

mariap

Thanks Hackbone. I really appreaciate the tips. I am shooting in raw btw. I've found it much more forgiving than jpeg though my goal to get good enough for minimal pp. How's the focus? I think it's okay but I find I have trouble getting her eye in focus. I should be able to focus on the eyes and reframe right?

Hackbone wrote:

As everyone said, she is a real cutie. Congrats for going into manual mode.

Just take your time to get a good light reading. Try to get your subject in a shaded area. With digital you have to treat it like slide film where you really should meter for the highlights. Bring a white art board with you and try to reflect some light into the dark side of the face to open up the shadows. If you can't get to your subject to get a good reading just place your hand in the same lighting conditions and meter off your hand. Hope some of this helps. Keep it in manual and you might even want to try RAW. It is more forgiving if your metering is off.

mariap

Thanks Seneca. Any recommendations for calibration software that isn't too expensive?

Seneca wrote:

Cute...however...all the images look orangy to me. But I love the images nonetheless.

BradfordBenn

mariap wrote:

Thanks Seneca. Any recommendations for calibration software that isn't too expensive?

Just following the steps in this article helped a lot for me. I also had a second pair of eyes do it with me as my wife's eyesight is better than mine.

http://www.smugmug.com/help/display-color