critique appreciated on 5 pictures

simple

hey guys,

just wondering what you thoughts are of these following pictures. they're not exactly recent, however, they are some of my favourites. most of them have primitive photoshop editing (contrast, brightness, etc). hopefully these are in the correct post area .

-simple
(any feedback is appreciated -- negative or positive [constructive])

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

gavin

I personally dont; liek obviou photoshoped images like your first one. IMO its a nice shot of his face, but the red harsh contrast look doesn;t do anything for me.

Second shot there is way to much space and i don;t really want to look up his nose. perhaps a different pose?

Third shot i like it. I think it would be a little better with an all blue background. So isolating the head against the sky would look nice. just not as much clutter thats all.

4th shot again PS work doesn't do anythigng or me. Looks like a dumplicat layer set to multiply or somthing...

5th shot i like that more than the psed version just maybe add a little contrast? Sky is a little hot.

On the whole your pictures look nice, keep at it

simple

thanks -- appreciate it.

I think, personally, looking at the 5th, I get a greater sense of emotional capture from it vs. the 4th (ps-ed one).

ESiggins

I really like #4. The high contrast makes it very striking, and I still feel the emotion while #5 seems flat and a bit more snap-shotty (although still a great moment). I like the compostion of #2, but I also don't find nostril-cam flattering. #3 is nice, but the composition breaks the rule of thirds to its detriment, I think. Lots of character comes through in these, which is what good portraits are about!

Fred.

simple

Personally, I really enjoy #2. You guys have mentioned it being a "nostril" shot, but for me, my eyes aren't intrinsically attracted to that part of the picture.

I enjoy the bw aspect of this picture. Some elements, such as the light shining on the left side of the face, bring out the human touch to the face.

There's something about the sky overhead him that I can't seem to put my finger on... no clouds, just pure, potent, bliss.

45
Although I still feel that a greater sense of emotion is portrayed in #5, I feel as if the conflicting colours on his leg (the swimsuit vs. skin colour) takes away from the picture. I think that the two silhouettes in #4 contrasting against and, ultimately blending in with, the water also add a sense of ... emotional integrity and privacy. by taking away some of the detail from the face, the relationship between the two individuals seems to be much more ... powerful.

does anyone else see any of this?

-simple

AntoineD

simple wrote:

does anyone else see any of this?

-simple

Hi, maybe we do

The 5th shot, you did it well: guess it was the right moment to shoot But the image needed some optimization, so did you, then you got 4th one.

In my opinion, I think the most efficient picture – sorry I sound like an engineer – is somewhere between 4th and 5th. Ok, let's get very deep shadows, get them almost black, but try to recover some midtone. Try the level modifier: get the black up, but move the midtone cursor a little bit to the left (the dark side ) so you can get some nuance.

I hope you understand me: I'm writing very quick so I can go to bed

By the way : I totally agree with Gavin. I'm pretty sure you have a nice shot, but you smashed it out with that curious grainy ps effect :cry I'm sure you'd be happy to try more subtle a post-treatment

mmroden

The last two shots show promise, but for me, the mountains on the horizon interrupt her face just enough to mess up the conveyance of emotion. A lower angle (not as low as #2, maybe a foot or two) might help isolate the heads so that the background doesn't interfere.

The third shot reminds me a bit of The Brown Bunny. If you haven't seen it, don't. But if you have, you'll probably know what I mean.

For the first shot, I'd get rid of the logo on his t-shirt, and just go with the face (which is what I think you're trying to emphasize).

simple

interesting. I hadn't even noticed the mountains before. By lower angle... would this position her head up and have the sky as the background?