Critique Please

[dougp]

I went to Hawaii a month ago, and show over 1,000 pictures. Most of those were at a family wedding, but there are some in general. I want some critique and feedback on the images if you don't mind. I know some of them are blown out, but these are all PP.

This one is my favorite:

And here are the rest:

I know my understanding of lighting is really low, and a lot of my outdoor portraits I did for the family would have been better if I had a hotshoe flash (given the angles they were asking for.) My least favorite is the sand picture - I'll be getting a new monitor shortly that has much color representation, so I hope to really start working on the pictures soon.

 

[fralexandr]

i think the sand picture might've been nicer with a sky in the background as opposed to the somewhat cloudy sand colored sea, to provide some contrast i guess although it might've been impossible to do that

i like the lighting in the green landscape pictures, and sunsets/sunrises are always beautiful although sometimes overdone

there are a lot of nice colors in those photos

the slanted water/sky line one is a nice change of pace from the typical horizontal ones hah

most of them are probably a lot better than i could do myself anyway

i think i like picture #3 the best

 

[blastingcap]

I like the most: number 2 and 6

1 seems unclear as to purpose... there are probably better places to put the flowers; or a better angle.

3's tree branches kind of ruin it for me

Not sure what the point of 4 was

Ditto 5

I sort of like 7 but it probably could have used a lower and closer foreground to give more depth

8's cloud-tree blend doesn't work for me, but nice colors



Just my 2 cents

 

[swanysto]

Beautiful pictures. It is surprising how much a monitor can make the difference. When I bought my 27" iMac, it was like I was seeing my pictures for the first time. Especially when it came to pp. it is amazing how pp can save some pictures, and take good to great. May I ask what gear you used? I love the color you were able to get.

 

[CuriousMike]

I like 2 and 6.

They're all good.

 

[dougp]

Thanks guys, it's refreshing to hear opinions that aren't close friends and family - I'd rather think most of you guys would point out problem areas.

Some of the pictures didn't have purpose, the lei shot was at the reception after the wedding - they were on the back of all the chairs. I was just shooting random things at the wedding and thought the bokeh worked well but it'd probably look better if the lei was laid down in a more casual fashion.

For the comments on 2-4, those are all auto stitched shots on my camera. There's some ghosting that I haven't cleaned up yet, but I feel like I'm putting it off until I get a better monitor right now.

The photo that's named sunset_hdr.jpg is shot with my 28mm prime, and I was stuck behidn some shrubs. I really wanted to be able to go down close to the water, but we were at a luau and the sunset was gorgeous. Oh, and the sand shot was completely accidental. We were on North Shore trying to watch the surfers and I must have left my finger on the shutter too long and that's what came out of it.

This is one of the surf shots - all done w/ my 70-210 f4 beercan.

For my gear, it's all done with:

Sony SLT-A33
Minolta AF 28mm f/2.8
Minolta AF 50mm f/1.7
Minolta AF 70-210mm f/4
Kit Lens

My next two purchases will be a 28-70mm f/2.8 and a flash, possibly a speedlite since I can grab those at a reasonable price. The three Minolta lenses were all probably made back in the 80s and I got them for very reasonable sums of $82 (28mm), $45 (50mm) and $60 (70-210mm). It's going to hurt paying for the 28-70mm!

 

[swanysto]

I thought the first one was actually one of the cooler ones. I absolutely loved the colors, especially of the chair.

It must feel really good having gotten shots like that for the amount of money you have spent. The new lens will cost you, but I would say you have done quite well financially to this point.

I have been reading up on getting an adapter, and buying some inexpensive older lenses. I have seen some great shots on sub $100 lenses.

 

[Gooberlx2]

I actually really like the sand one. DoF is well controlled and the framing is interesting. I like that the whole image is basically shades of the same tone/color.

My favorite is probably #2. Pretty striking range. The sunny green/rocky cliff faces contrasts well against the shaded top and dark blue sky. I would have liked #3 more if that patch of trees and branches weren't there on the right.

My least favorite is #4. Just too much angle for me.

 

[radhak]

Why am I not seeing the pictures? I can see the rest of the post...

I am logged in, and have not blocked any scripts.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

All the shots are neat.

#1 The DOF is too shallow for me and the angles are "wrong". I don't know exactly why but the shot bothers me to look at.

#2. Very cool. The focus seems a bit soft (at least on my work monitor). I can't see the detail I would have liked in the crag face. Also, if the clouds were moving, it might have been nice to have the top of the mountain brighter and the lower parts in shadow. Maybe.

#3. Very Pleasant. I love the colors. This is one I'd like to see in a large print. Similar loss of fine detail as seen in #2. The hill farther back is the focal point of the shot and is the most subdued looking. My eyes go to the partial mountain on the right and the grass in front - and it is these areas that have the colors I like the most.

#4. This one doesn't do anything for me. My eyes just want to go to the next shot. I think it's the framing.

#5. I really like the sand shot. I love the texture and the bokeh at the waves is perfect. The more I look at it the more I like it.

#6. (plus 7 & 8) are the kind of shots I really like. I'm a sucker for silhouettes and sunsets. On this one I usually don't like front bokeh, but it works here. I like the red flowers in the foreground contasted against the black silhouettes. Wonderful.

#7. Really really like this shot. It's interesting and just feels good to look at. I might make it my desktop background for a while (if that's oK).

#8. I would like to see this one from farther back; horizon higher, palm trees fitting the shot and plenty of sky. I love the sky and the silhouetted palm trees, I just don't really like the angle of the shot.

These are just my initial impressions and how I "feel" as I look at the shots.

JR

 

[dougp]

Thanks again, but sure, go ahead and use it as your background, no worries from me. I do plan on putting them up on DA, 500px and Smug when I get a chance. I think the blur that you're seeing on #2 is from bumping up clarity in LR or it's from the JPG conversion when I resized. My PP filesize was 15mb, which I felt was a bit too big to link on here.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Very nice! :thumbsup:

I wish I could go to Hawaii

 

[foghorn67]

I like no. 2.
Composition skills will help immensely.
Eye of the Photographer by Michael Freeman.

 

[radhak]

<I figured out that my work firewall did not display stuff from dropbox. I turned it off just to take a look. >

I think you have great pictures; at least much better than mine are. #6 is simply grand, and picture of the surf has great colors too.

The only opinion I'd offer is that I feel pictures should either tell a story, or be completely abstract. The first picture has nice flowers, but by cutting off the lower part, we don't know what that picture is about. Is it a decoration on a furniture set (looks like a chair), or is it telling us something about an arbor? Of course, if you crop out far more, it could also be a good abstract.

Similarly, the angular view in #4 takes a lot away from the view itself (vast ocean). Distracts rather than focusing.

Anyway, my two-bit, while I confess to be a lesser of a photographer than you are.

 

[twistedlogic]

Composition skills will help immensely.
Eye of the Photographer by Michael Freeman.

My biggest weakness, composition. I hope with experience and some reading that I will improve. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever have the "eye" to consistently create interesting photos.

I've been working hard on thinking before I frame, but I never quite get the results like I have them drawn in my head, heh.

 

[jacqg]

Very nice, first shot is really really good.
Just like you, my biggest weakness is composition and post-processing. :\

 

[slashbinslashbash]

I like 'em. Nothing major pops out to me. The 2nd and 3rd photos look a little off, but that's pretty common from what I've seen from in-camera stitching. E.g. in the 2nd one, several spots in the image look OOF when there should easily be enough DOF there to capture everything sharply.