Entering print comp....cc away

Hackbone

I haven't been active in the state association due to surgery and trying to get back into the flow. Here are 10 prints I'm entering (haven't done this in over a year) and the competition is really tough. CC those that you want to and catch any oversights I've made (it happens a lot).

Thanks

Beginning to Weaken
1.

Branchless Dancers
2.

Bridge to Home
3.

Solitary Sleep
4.

Light At The End Of The Tunnel
5.

Lit From Above
6.

Maaammmm
7.

I Like My Smirk
8.

Pensive Eyes
9.

You Gotta Catch Me First
10.

kdotaylor

I definitely like the shots of the people better than the others. On my monitor anyway, I can't see detail in the shadows or the highlights of some of your still shots. The people, on the other hand, come alive....I especially like 8, 9 and 10. Your treatment of the skin & eyes is just wonderful. #9: she may be too close into the leaves, but I think it works...looks like she's part of nature. I absolutely love the baby!

Wachel

1, 6, 7 are my favs but they are all great.

Since you are talking about competition I will nit pick a little... I agree that the blacks seem a little dark on a few of them and there is a slight "halo" on the barn and trees in #1.

Hackbone

Thanks all, didn't catch the halo. Will have to work on that.

Tinstafl

The lit from above shows the wrinkles in the background. Light at the end of a tunnel looks a bit too black but that may be what you were looking for.

puzzledpaul

Are these being considered for specific comp categories?

Armpit of 8 looks too smooth (to me) ... and since it's close to a thirds point, makes me wonder if it's an ad for something related. ('well, I've just used product x, great result - see for yourself ...')

Like the moodiness of 5, btw, but agree about lack of detail (and maybe a focal point?) in foreground.

pp

Hackbone

The first 5 are Illustrative cat and the last 5 are portrait cat. When projected there is some detail in the shadow area. Thanks for comments, it helps to have another pair of eyes.

Travel

As a PPA Master I would say 3,7,9. 3 and 7 need new titles. Best to you!

Travel

Number 2 is almost there. Need more space maybe you have it? Great title!

Hackbone

thanks for all the comments folks, greatly appreciated. I'm always amazed at what the judges think, it is sooo subjective. I've seen one judge give a 70 and the other give an 80 on the same print and you wonder what they were thinking.

Travel, as a Master please post so we can learn, please!!

Hackbone

Well, the results are in and I need to improve some and the judges were tough, but they always are. It's the only way to improve when others judge you work and give cc. One of the judges was a 25 year old female that had her Masters from the Professional Photographers of America. That takes a bunch of years to obtain and she was sharp in her cc.


Maryland scores in the following manner:
Exceptional 100-95
Superior 94-90
Excellent 89-85
Deserving a Merit 84-80
Above Average 79-75
Average 74-70
Below standards 69 and below

If you got a 78 on a test you would not be very happy but that is what most scores seem to lie.

In the illustrative category meaning everything that doesn't fit in portraits, weddings. Some portraits do fit in the illustrative cat depending on how they are used. There were about 60 prints with the highest score being an 80 and 13 prints met that score. I got two prints to go 80 (the bridge and the gravestone) the others got 78, 78, 75.

In the portrait cat there were about 50 prints and the one top score was 86.......there were 7 80's and the rest below. I got one of the 80's and 4 78's. ( the young lady in the leaves).

So in all I got 3 merits and some great cc.

If some of you think we can be rough on you try to visit your states competition. Generally you can sit there for free. It is a great education as to what makes a quality print or the average run of the mill ones.

Now that I got my feet wet again I'm planning to improve those scores next time.

anonymouscuban

Hackbone wrote: »

Well, the results are in and I need to improve some and the judges were tough, but they always are. It's the only way to improve when others judge you work and give cc. One of the judges was a 25 year old female that had her Masters from the Professional Photographers of America. That takes a bunch of years to obtain and she was sharp in her cc.


Maryland scores in the following manner:
Exceptional 100-95
Superior 94-90
Excellent 89-85
Deserving a Merit 84-80
Above Average 79-75
Average 74-70
Below standards 69 and below

If you got a 78 on a test you would not be very happy but that is what most scores seem to lie.

In the illustrative category meaning everything that doesn't fit in portraits, weddings. Some portraits do fit in the illustrative cat depending on how they are used. There were about 60 prints with the highest score being an 80 and 13 prints met that score. I got two prints to go 80 (the bridge and the gravestone) the others got 78, 78, 75.

In the portrait cat there were about 50 prints and the one top score was 86.......there were 7 80's and the rest below. I got one of the 80's and 4 78's. ( the young lady in the leaves).

So in all I got 3 merits and some great cc.

If some of you think we can be rough on you try to visit your states competition. Generally you can sit there for free. It is a great education as to what makes a quality print or the average run of the mill ones.

Now that I got my feet wet again I'm planning to improve those scores next time.

Does every state have one Hack. How did you go about finding yours?

anonymouscuban

Never mind... quick Google search and I found California's.

Hackbone

Alex, you're not that far away from Alvarado, alies vajieo (sp). I'm sure he might want to photograph both of you. Worth a shot.

anonymouscuban

Hackbone wrote: »

Alex, you're not that far away from Alvarado, alies vajieo (sp). I'm sure he might want to photograph both of you. Worth a shot.

You think so? Don't know anything about the guy, other than his work. Not sure how receptive he is to working with other photogs, especially a noob like me.

Hackbone

Robert is one of the most sincere, pleasant person you will ever meet..........take some shots of your guys and sent them to him. He does at times work TFP so give it a shot. He loves ink.

jmphotocraft

First of all let me say that you are a portrait master and I really admire your work. With that out of the way I am going to be direct. All IMHO.

1, the sky doesn't jive with the rest of it. Too dark and the blue has almost turned gray. The halo around the barn and trees reveal the heavy processing. Otherwise nice comp, but done to death.

3 looks cooked.

5 is too dark

6 I love but for the wrong reasons. I had been using this pose (without the leg crossed) for my last few senior portraits and it was bugging me that I liked the pose but had a feeling that I shouldn't. Then it dawned on me... it's this:



The rest of your portraits are great as usual. The landscapes I didn't mention are fine but not that moving for me.

Hackbone

Thanks for the comments. On some of them you are spot on with the 3 Master Photographer Judges, good eye.

I do like your version better, I was going to try it with one of my seniors then I came back to my senses.

kshays

Hey Hack,

I agree with most others also, portraits are amazing, but a couple of the landscapes seem a little dark on this monitor. Not sure how they look when printed. I like #1 on the landscapes the best, but I wish the shadows wasn't so dark. Did you take this pic in the middle of the day? I try to take my landscapes early in the morning or late in the evening during sunset to capture that warm glow. Now sometimes a pic in the middle of the day can capture some really nice shadows of tree limbs leading your eye to your focal point!

Congrats on the merits at the show!

Kevin

Hackbone

Kevin, yes it was very close to mid day. I always keep a camera in the car and grab it when something catches my fancy. I am getting too lazy and should take the tripod and do multiple shots to get information in all ranges and then combine them but some are just plain old grab and go shots. Thanks for the comments.

kshays

Hackbone wrote: »

Kevin, yes it was very close to mid day. I always keep a camera in the car and grab it when something catches my fancy. I am getting too lazy and should take the tripod and do multiple shots to get information in all ranges and then combine them but some are just plain old grab and go shots. Thanks for the comments.

Hackbone,

I don't carry mine in the car enough lately it seems. I've missed some good shots because of it
Some shots that I've taken like this I think, "wow" this will be a good one and I take a look at it afterwards and so much information is lost while others I've taking just to get a good reading and they turn out to be some of my best ones.

Go figure