First batch of Tamron 24-75 & Raw

[Kadath]

Well, I cant say "go easy on me, I'm a noobie", I need to get better so go _hard_ on me and let me know what you think works and doesnt.

First off, I'm color blind (both kinds!), relatively new to Photoshop/Raw, and my monitor is not calibrated, so if the colors seem off please definitly note it.

Note that some are crops and some are not. My philosophy is 'shoot for coverage' most of the time and dont sweat the exact framing, but keep it close as that prevents you from getting sloppy and gets you the most bang for your pixels.

http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/copter2.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/copter5.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/copter6.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/copter7.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/copter8.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/copter10.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/dad.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/eddiecup1.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/eddiecup2.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/flag4.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/jeanne2.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/joesteelman.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/leseddie2.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/reverse.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/ryanbubbles.jpg
http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~posten/easter05/ryansurprised2.jpg

On my work machine I am seeing some strange ghosting, not sure if that is due to my choice at jpeg quality or something I botched using USM. I dont see this at home. Or at least I didnt last time I looked.

Anyway, any advice for a noob is appreciated.

Sam

[Andy_T]

Sam,

first of all ... I assume it's the 28-75/2.8 Tamron you're writing about :wink:

Just some thoughts ... don't have much time at the moment.

- Try to pick a single image or maybe two for criticism. This is just too much for most people to comment on. So pick a few images that you think have the most potential that you would like us to criticise.

- The colours don't seem terrible off (at least not to me).

- I think you overdid the sharpening on some of the pictures, or the compression for web was wreaking havoc on the pictures.

- I really like 'Copter7', 'Copter10' and 'Ryanbubbles'. I think they are great shots because of the expressions, especially on Ryans face. Very nice, although the last one would profit from tighter cropping, IMO.

- I also like the picture of the suspicious-looking bald guy :wink:
The composition with the lady in the foreground who is out of focus works for me.

Best regards,
Andy

[Kadath]

Thats the FIFTH time I've done that. I've lusted after the Canon 24-70L so long I dont know I'll ever write out the Tamron right =)

I'll post a link to one of the full size jpegs later and see if the weird halos show up in them.

Sam

[Titus213]

Sam
I don't know about the colors being 'off' but they do appear washed out to me on two monitors. The photos also appear very flat, low contrast. I like the composition on several but my favorite is leseddie2. I pulled it down and fooled with it a bit and got it so I liked it better but I'm no hand at PS. I was trying to separate the subject from the background a bit more. The blur tool was working for that quite well. I'm just learning too and find these forums an excellent place for it.

[tim]

They look like standard family pics done by anyone with a cheap P&S camera to me. They're flat, lack contrast, and the composition is average. I don't mean to be mean, but in the Critique Corner I tell it like I see it.

[johneric8]

the colors do look to be off somehow.. You just need to keep at it, some of them are quite good... Good luck!!

[Titus213]

Kadath - When I started in photography I had a tendency to shoot too fast and shoot everything. Now even with hundreds of pictures available without reloading I have still made a concerted effort to slow down and see what I'm shooting. I thought several of your shots were well framed. Don't be discouraged and remember there is always an encouraging way to say things. Some of the problems could very well be USM. There seem to be lots of artifacts on edges in that. I like the shot though. Are you truly color blind or just a figure of speech?

[mal]

Well, if someone is asking for critique I feel it should be given to them. Whether it is positive or not. I really don't like the pictures. I agree with Tim, they look like standard snap shot photos. A lot of the shots seemed to have bad timing. I know in about 3 or 4 of the shots at least one person's eyes were not open. Most of the shots lack a interesting subject. Some photos are not in focus (ryansurprised2) and the composition could be better. I do however like the shots eddiecup1 and reverse. not excellent shots, but interesting. I don't say this to be mean, so I hope this won't stop you from posting here. This forum is an excellent place for us to learn from. Take the critique, see if you agree with me, and if you do try and correct what you see wrong. Good luck and keep posting!

[Kadath]

I ask for harsh criticism and am willing to put it to use. Do not feel you have to couch your harshness with praise. If something sucks, say so.

These absolutely are family shots and nothing I would ever say present in a class for grades. The shots arent throw aways but examples of what I'm learning on AND keeping as snapshots. Perhaps that wasnt a smart choice to ask for critique on, lesson learned.

When you say 'flat' can you give an example of an opposite so I have something to work towards.

I agree with the dull colors on some of them, and I'm not certain what I can do to improve on that either in camera or in PS. I tried adding saturation and working with the color temperature in raw, but those looked artificial to me. Perhaps its something I can do with the curves feature?

Perhaps lets just focus on one of the photos I was most happy with, reverse.jpg
Does that one exhibit the flatness you mentioned? What would you do to improve on that one?

Sam

[Kadath]

Are you truly color blind or just a figure of speech?

I have both red/green and blue/brown color blindness. The term is confusing, I can see colors just fine, except for me those combinations 'run together'.... IE I will identify a shirt as being black when really it is dark blue, etc.

You can test yourself here:
http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/Ishihara.html
http://colorvisiontesting.com/online%20test.htm#demonstration%20card%20answer

I was diagnosed with this deficiency in kindergarden based on these tests, and its still true today =)

This explains why many males are color blind:
http://colorvisiontesting.com/color3.htm

Sam

[Titus213]

Flat - lacking contrast or shading between tones. reverse.jpg is OK, just not my style. If the subject of the photo was the bald guy carrying the EOS Digital camera you hit it. Seems to be a lot of clutter in the background and I find the out of focus foreground to be a distraction. And there is very little color in the photo. Looks like a drab world.

I have found The Luminous Landscape site to have a wealth of great info on photography. Check out their 'Understanding Series' here:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/index.shtml

Thanks for the test sites: I'm not color blind but I am chromatically challenged two ways - color and music....and I still don't know what mauve is.

[Kadath]

I believe a lot in the philosophy of the book 'Drawing on the right side of the brain' in that many people think like engineers and many people think like artists depending on which hemisphere of the brain is 'dominant'... I've never had much of an artistic bent (as an aside, I took one semester of electric bass in college and my professor told me 'You have less rythm than any white man in history', and he wasnt joking), so I have to actually work and practice this stuff to really understand it. This is quite different for me than say computer programming which I just 'get' because it seems elegant and logical to me.

Thank you for all your input. More in the future I'm sure, and will definitly shorten down the shots I submit and will make them more general interest than self interest.

Sam