Laying my cards on the table

pemmett

Well, as I've mentioned before "Beginner Grinner" is my middle name. And now I have the photographic equivalent of ‘stage fright’ – I’ve tried being a crocodile (:D), but it hasn’t worked so far. So I’m laying my cards on the table in need of some direction and feedback. Below are my “best” images from the last week, please can you help me either choose which one you think is best, and/or tell which one or two I should focus on re-shooting to make them better.

I couldn't find any rules that say I shouldn't do this (please let me know if otherwise), but realize that showing my hand may put me at a disadvantage.

#1 – Never Forget



#2 – Hair



#3 – Spring Flower



#4 – Summer Flower



#5 – Ventilate



#6 – Yellow



#7 – Dance



#8 – Snack Time

Dalantech

I really like the first two, but the last one needs a different title to really put it over the top...

"Unprocessed Chicken Nuggets"

pemmett

Dalantech wrote:

I really like the first two, but the last one needs a different title to really put it over the top...

"Unprocessed Chicken Nuggets"

Thanks for the feedback.

Actually I'd thought about "One man's rubbish is another man's treasure". This was taken from a local market here in the Philippines, where please really do eat chicken's feet and the chicken heads are used for stock (although they can be eaten).

Personally I really like chickens feet for Chinese Dim Sum (I lived in Hong Kong for 18 years), though I have found it hard to find a good support group for this kind of addiction. Amazingly I even found a restaurant here that de-bones the chicken feet before cooking them, but I found that half the fun of eating the feet is spitting out the bones

Actually a walk around a "wet Market" here is quite an experience and I would say not for the faint hearted

Dalantech

pemmett wrote:

Thanks for the feedback.

Actually I'd thought about "One man's rubbish is another man's treasure". This was taken from a local market here in the Philippines, where please really do eat chicken's feet and the chicken heads are used for stock (although they can be eaten).

Personally I really like chickens feet for Chinese Dim Sum (I lived in Hong Kong for 18 years), though I have found it hard to find a good support group for this kind of addiction. Amazingly I even found a restaurant here that de-bones the chicken feet before cooking them, but I found that half the fun of eating the feet is spitting out the bones

Actually a walk around a "wet Market" here is quite an experience and I would say not for the faint hearted

In another life, or at least it seems that way so long ago, I spent two months in the PI and another two in Singapore. The destroyer I was on played chicken with a civilian ship that was carrying munitions and lost. So I've seen exactly what you're describing. I actually had some of the best frog legs I've ever eaten in that part of the world

richtersl

Nice stuff!
#1
I love the message you're trying to get across with this one. If you have another version with a silhouette of someone slightly profiled and looking up, it would be more effective.


#2
Love it! The light on her hair looks great! This one's my overall favorite.


#3
Looks grainy on my monitor. Not sure if that was the effect you wanted. Doesn't do much for me.


#4
Better than #3. Details are nice and crisp.


#5 & #6
I'd be leary of submitting either one of those for fear of getting dinged by a comment to the effect of someone's eye wandering all over the photo without a focal point of sorts.


#7
Very nice! Love it!


#8
This one has the same problem as #5 & #6. It's kind of gross, but....I think you can pull this one off with a clever caption.

sunita

I like #1 #4 and #8 the most. #5 and 6 suffer from a lack of point of focus.

The girl is a little too centered in #1. In #8, the corners are darker - perhaps you could PS it to change that?!

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Sunita

Tessa HD

choice
good for you! I haven't compiled all my ideas yet, you're way ahead of me. Of the ones you posted, I'm leaning toward #7, the dancer. I like the movement in it and the lighting too. Have fun choosing, you're doing great!!!

Tessa

Flyinggina

FWIW (which is not even $0.02), I like #2 the best. It looks a bit too bright on my screen and the thumb showing on the right distracts.

I would forget abstracts. Abstracts in general have never done well in the challenges and these two have no "wow" factor.

#1 has a lot of promise, but for me the silhouette is too small in the frame. You might try various crops. Part of my problem with the picture is that the silhouette isn't of the whole body and part of it is that the background overpowers the person. While that may be the message of the photograph - and a powerful message at that -- I'm not feeling anything when I see the photograph except frustration that the names are slightly fuzzy, especially in the lower lefthand corner.

The flower shots are lovely. The chicken shot is "interesting" but probably not a good entry for this round.

The dancer is lovely but would be much stronger for me if it had been taken from the front and if her dress did not almost disappear into the background.

You are coming up with some really nice shots so keep on shooting. It is clear that you are going to have something marvelous to enter. And, on top of that, you will have some really neat shots to add to your porfolio.

Virginia

DaveK

You already have some good feedback on the technical aspects of the photos which I agree with, so merely on composition/interest I lean toward #2 and #8. Reshoot #2 as suggested, play around a bit with it, closer, further away, only portion of girl in shot, upside down, different backgrounds, etc..

As for #8 I was first drawn to it out of pure intrique of the subject but it may grow old after longer examination and consideration of what you are actually looking at. It does coneve emotion though and a different caption would help.

All good efforts though and you will do great. Good luck!

dlscott56

I like #2 the best. I agree that the thumb has to go but am not really bothered by the centering. Not sure on that one but still like this one the best of all you've posted here. Great job and best of luck to you!

pemmett

Thank you very much to everyone for taking time to have a look and comment on the images.

I've played around with #2 a bit to try and improve it as much as I can based on the comments. Is this going in the right direction? (without reshooting the image for the moment of course.)

amy wilburn

#2 grabbed me immediately

I can see others' points about it, but the only thing I wished was for her eyes to seem a little more in focus...which it seems you've corrected in your reworking of the pic.

I love it.

Amy

ChrisJ

#2 is my favorite, I think the highlights on her hair steals some attention from her eyes, and the background is kind of drab. But I definitely think it's worthy of a re-shoot.

The macro and abstract shots, though well done, don't really do anything for me. I've seen to many Lord V shots! I think the dancers face should be showing, and the chickens don't hold my attention because I don't want to look at them!

I'm torn on the first, I also think it has potential, but it's not quite there yet and I'm not sure why.

Anyway, just my 2c.

pemmett

ChrisJ wrote:

#2 is my favorite, I think the highlights on her hair steals some attention from her eyes, and the background is kind of drab. But I definitely think it's worthy of a re-shoot.

Chris, Thanks for the feedback. Do you think that the highlights on the hair are adjusted enough on the image below to remove the distraction you mentioned? I'm really trying to find the right balance for each of the components so the re-shoot is easier. Thanks.

DaveK

Trust you don't mind my doing a sample tweak on your photo. Just a quick work up of an alternative approach. Very rough work but gives you some idea of different cropping and possibly bringing more focus to the eyes and key facial features. Still would like to see a different background.

pemmett

DaveK wrote:

Trust you don't mind my doing a sample tweak on your photo. Just a quick work up of an alternative approach. Very rough work but gives you some idea of different cropping and possibly bringing more focus to the eyes and key facial features. Still would like to see a different background.

Thanks dave for the feedback. I'll keep working on it. I've posted my entry for the SF1 just in case I run out of time whilst trying the re-shoot - that's if I get my camera back from the cleaners on time

This was the original background - which do you prefer?

adrian_k

Although it looks like you'll go for 'Hair', I reckon Spring Flower is teriffic.

pemmett wrote:

Well, as I've mentioned before "Beginner Grinner" is my middle name. And now I have the photographic equivalent of ‘stage fright’ – I’ve tried being a crocodile (:D), but it hasn’t worked so far. So I’m laying my cards on the table in need of some direction and feedback. Below are my “best” images from the last week, please can you help me either choose which one you think is best, and/or tell which one or two I should focus on re-shooting to make them better.

I couldn't find any rules that say I shouldn't do this (please let me know if otherwise), but realize that showing my hand may put me at a disadvantage.

#1 – Never Forget
#2 – Hair
#3 – Spring Flower
#4 – Summer Flower
#5 – Ventilate
#6 – Yellow
#7 – Dance
#8 – Snack Time

DaveK

pemmett wrote:

This was the original background - which do you prefer?

I was thinking more along the lines of a reshoot with a different background but again take all of this with a grain of salt as I am no expert and merely giving my humble and subjective opinion. As for the two versions you do have, I would stick with your origional if not reshooting.

Swartzy

My take....sorry so late
been super busy these past weeks..geez.

Ok...first, I'd like to see the focus spot on...right now the entire image is too noisy and looks like a bit of camera shake. At this distance, she should be tack sharp, then if you want to soften it a bit ok....but it doesn't look right. They eyes don't POP as a result. I don't find the highlights of the hair distracting at all, rather, I think it identifies the essence of the "Angelic". I personally think it's all about the hair with the eyes sharp. Her cute face is an added bonus but be quite careful of overprocessing as her skin tones are washed out....looks like she has freckles (kind of)...let's see them. Get that flash off the camera, or use the better bounce card (easy to make) spin the flash around and use crinkled tin foil on a hard piece of cardboard to bounce it.

I think the shot has potential and would be worth retaking. Ok, my pockets are empty now 2 cents doesn't go very far these days.

Robert

Unlike others, I actually like the graininess in #3 – Spring Flower while I don’t like it in #7 – Dance.
#8 – Snack Time is just too horrid for my liking.

seastack

Swartzy wrote:

been super busy these past weeks..geez.

Ok...first, I'd like to see the focus spot on...right now the entire image is too noisy and looks like a bit of camera shake. At this distance, she should be tack sharp, then if you want to soften it a bit ok....but it doesn't look right. They eyes don't POP as a result. I don't find the highlights of the hair distracting at all, rather, I think it identifies the essence of the "Angelic". I personally think it's all about the hair with the eyes sharp. Her cute face is an added bonus but be quite careful of overprocessing as her skin tones are washed out....looks like she has freckles (kind of)...let's see them. Get that flash off the camera, or use the better bounce card (easy to make) spin the flash around and use crinkled tin foil on a hard piece of cardboard to bounce it.

I think the shot has potential and would be worth retaking. Ok, my pockets are empty now 2 cents doesn't go very far these days.

davidweaver

I'd rather not see the vignetted shadow on number 8.

Suggested title: "Parts is Parts"