Officially delurking

willaibach

Recognizing that I am *way* out of my league here, I've mostly lurked for a while now. But I've girded up my courage and decided that if I'm going to learn and improve as a photographer, the LPS is a great tool. I've decided to view the LPS challenges as "homework assignments", which is a great exercise in and of itself, but I'm realizing more and more that honest critique from better photographers is also an important tool. So, here goes. Here are five pics I shot last night thinking about ways to interpret the LPS theme. I doubt any of them are entry worthy, but would appreciate feedback nonetheless. :dunno














Thanks!:bow

eoren1

Welcome to the LPS!
I like #4 the best (football). Works well for turf. Only suggestions would be that the horizon looks a bit crooked. It would have been nice to get a bit more of the players bodies in the frame as well.
Good job.
E

willaibach

Thanks, E!

eoren1 wrote:

Welcome to the LPS!
I like #4 the best (football). Works well for turf. Only suggestions would be that the horizon looks a bit crooked. E

How's this?

eoren1 wrote:

It would have been nice to get a bit more of the players bodies in the frame as well.
E

Here's another version I shot, but felt like the other drew more focus to the turf itself. Also, in my effort to include more of the players I lost a bit of dof and have more detail of the cars in the background, which I don't like.

eoren1

That's a tough one. I thought the players were going to be little guys and then it would be nice to see their small bodies juxtaposed with the seemingly huge football. I favor the original post. Horizon looks better now.
E

Travis

Oh you picked a rough rough road... :-)
You unwittingly sold your soul to the anguish of LPS. Glad to have company! Once I got past taking it personally, this has been the greatest learning experience that I have ever had. Now for the beat down (),

Actually I like both 1 and 4, although 4 definitely hit me as being more in line with the theme. To really bring out the "turf", I'd like to see more saturation and contrast in the image. It appears kind of flat and unemotional (then again, how emotional is grass..hmmmm). I'm also leaning toward the original version of #4. The football tells the story without the bright distraction of the sky and full uniforms in the background.

Good luck and welcome to your new little piece of our shared hell......

pyroPrints.com

The corrected #4 looks great. Welcome =c)

willaibach

Travis wrote:

You unwittingly sold your soul to the anguish of LPS. Glad to have company! Once I got past taking it personally, this has been the greatest learning experience that I have ever had. Now for the beat down (),

Actually I like both 1 and 4, although 4 definitely hit me as being more in line with the theme. To really bring out the "turf", I'd like to see more saturation and contrast in the image. It appears kind of flat and unemotional (then again, how emotional is grass..hmmmm). I'm also leaning toward the original version of #4. The football tells the story without the bright distraction of the sky and full uniforms in the background.

Good luck and welcome to your new little piece of our shared hell......

Thanks, Travis. I totally see what you mean about #1. I think I overexposed it a bit. . .it was 7pm and overcast, so my light was fading quickly. . .I think I overcompensated and lost detail. I'll play with it a bit. Thanks for the help. I am excited about the opportunity to learn, and I've prepared myself mentally for the necessary *ouch* that will go with the territory.

pyroPrints.com

willaibach wrote:

Thanks, Travis. I totally see what you mean about #1. I think I overexposed it a bit. . .it was 7pm and overcast, so my light was fading quickly. . .I think I overcompensated and lost detail. I'll play with it a bit. Thanks for the help. I am excited about the opportunity to learn, and I've prepared myself mentally for the necessary *ouch* that will go with the territory.

For #1 I'd try cranking up the contrast, maybe use the curves layer, and mess with the selective colors layer.

willaibach

First correction attempt

LiquidAir

Welcome. Taking the competition as a homework assignment is the right idea. I think of it as the "Photo of the Fortnight" club since I can't manage a "Photo of the Day". I try to let each round push me a bit outside my comfort zone and I am learning a lot in the process.

On #1: I like the puddle splash, but the composition here feels a little bland. If you want to shoot some more, I think there is an opportunity here; experiment with framing and point of view to add some excitement to the shot.

On #4: The football with a huddle in the background is a classic shot and fits well with the theme. The color feels a tad on the cool side on this one; I'd shift the white balance a tad to warm it up.

willaibach

LiquidAir wrote:

On #1: I like the puddle splash, but the composition here feels a little bland. If you want to shoot some more, I think there is an opportunity here; experiment with framing and point of view to add some excitement to the shot.

I really wanted to shoot that shot laying on the ground. View from the turf. . .maybe even catch my son's face from the ground up as he splashed. Unfortunately I had a meeting to go to right after, and since the ground was (obviously) soaked, decided to forgo the shot in order to attend the meeting in dry clothes.

LiquidAir wrote:

On #4: The football with a huddle in the background is a classic shot and fits well with the theme. The color feels a tad on the cool side on this one; I'd shift the white balance a tad to warm it up.

Is this better?

dlscott56

willaibach wrote:

I really wanted to shoot that shot laying on the ground. View from the turf. . .maybe even catch my son's face from the ground up as he splashed. Unfortunately I had a meeting to go to right after, and since the ground was (obviously) soaked, decided to forgo the shot in order to attend the meeting in dry clothes.



Is this better?

Welcome! I like the treatment on this one. Nice job.

Travis

I like the updated football
Good job.

BistiArt

Lighter Ball?

willaibach wrote:

How's this?

Welcome aboard...

What would you think about using a blend mode on the football to give it some lighter emphasis?

I think it would strengthen your presentation...