Constructive criticism please?

[Snickers3434]

I'm 16 and and wanting to be a photojournalist or photographer someday..
Recently I've been trying my hand at macro shots and Close ups for a portfolio to mimic Edward Weston's Style..
Advise, Criticism (if its constructive) or praise is muchly appreciated.

[Pete]

Nice composition and subject matter. I'd say that they should be in sharper focus. Probably better lighting as well, but I'm certainly no expert on the matter.

Try posting these same shots in the Experimental/BW/Still Life section, they seem more geared toward that style of shot.

[LordV]

Think the pepper shot should be sharper. The snail shell is nice but seems to be too centred in the pic.
Brian V.

[Bill Pham]

agree with Brian with the pepper being a bit sharper. the snail i like but would like a close up or different angle. maybe stand it up. just my .02 worth.

Bill

[Robert_Lay]

I don't know what criteria the other critics are using relative to sharpness, but so far as I'm concerned, that portion of the picture that is in focus is plenty sharp. I see no evidence of unsharpness other than that caused by the limited depth of field. We could argue, however, that the depth of field is too shallow, and that would be a subjective issue.

I think your green pepper is quite nice, although I think I would go for a greater DOF.

The shell is very nice and would be even better with a greater magnification (or crop it), since we don't really need all that black. One other consideration on the shell is that the background texture is not part of the project. So, you might think about burning that in to reduce the visibility of the texture - i.e., go for dead black.

The purpose of the shell exercise is to see if you can get two effects - the shape of the shell as delineated by the lights and darks, which give the 3-dimensionality, is one objective. The other would be to capture the subtle tonality of an iridescent shell, which will be difficult to impossible if you are unlucky enough to have a shell with no iridescence.

[Dalantech]

The only thing I can add to Mr. Lay's excellent advice is to develop your own style. If you are always walking in someone else's shadow no one will notice you...

[Snickers3434]

Thank you for your advise.. It's muchly appreciated..
I will definetly crop the shell picture.. and will do another shoot with a greater DOF..
Thank you once again = ]