Navy Suicide Awareness Poster I made

[Tortri]

I want peoples honest opinions. I entered a contest to try my camera skills out. I recent got the 5D Mark II and 17-40 lens and wanted to see how good I might be, considering I came from a LONG point and shoot background and been learning this power horse of a camera.

I hope I win the Navy Suicide Awareness Poster Contest honestly. I would of posted this sooner but decided to wait until the contest was over 31 July 2009 to be on the safe side.

I used photoshop to clean the photo up. The image is intentionally slight desaturated, I see a couple of goofs I'll let you guys figure out. I had help from my wife for ideas. I used the 5d mark ii, 17-40 and 430ex II. I ended up using one of my uniforms to spread the flash, I'm still learning that. I think the EXIF "might" be intact.

Also not sure where I should of posted this so I'm posting it in here I guess as a Experimental.

Enjoy!

Also the final product is MUCH more detail than this photo as I used RAW 21MP on a L (lower case L? ;-)) lens. At 100% you can see the individual stitching on my NWU's(blue uniform)

Click to view it (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2485/3718828320_a70070b57c_b.jpg)

Be advise All photos uploaded for the contest become the Property Of the Navy, FYI...

[Crashoran]

The only thing that bugs me is that the image isn't level

[CyberDyneSystems]

Honestly?
I can't stand the 1st font,. and I think the text should be on a solid back ground, as opposed to hovering over the image.

Consider putting the Title above the image, and the rest below it on solid back grounds.

[wickerprints]

Your basic concept for the image is strong, but there are some things that should be improved:

First, the graphic design is not particularly refined. The choice of typefaces, color, and layout are all extremely important but it does not appear as if those things were carefully considered. My main concern here is that the text is simply overlaid on the photo in the blank space. The semi-opaque text boxes are visually distracting. This is not the kind of layout that a photo with strong visual impact should have--the text and graphic should not compete so directly like this. Place the text separately from the image. There is a LOT to read there and it is simply too busy. The placement of text over the noose diminishes the impact of both graphic and text.

Second, I find the typeface to be ill-chosen. You have used a font that is decorative in nature, rather than one that is easily readable with clean strong lines. I would have chosen a bold sans-serif font for the titling, one that reads well in uppercase. (I would not choose to use mixed-case for titling.) Finally, I would try to use the same font or font family for the small text. I would also avoid mixing too much bold and regular face together as you have done here.

Third, with respect to the image itself, I feel that it lacks dramatic lighting. It is conceptually very strong, makes a clear statement, and tells a compelling story, but aesthetically it could be more refined. Try changing the lighting and perspective. For instance, a strong downward spotlight akin to an overhead closet light that shines directly down the center and highlights the noose and middle pair of boots, while casting more dramatic shadows off to the sides and the rear wall, might further increase the visual impact.

Finally, I suggest you try and look at examples of award-winning print advertising. Take a look at http://www.commarts.com/ to see how successful advertising integrates text and graphics. Check out Art Center College of Design at http://www.artcenter.edu (unfortunately it appears their site is down at the moment) for other examples as well.

[Magic 24]

Are you an Air Traffic Controller? School - Millington or P-Cola?

[Tortri]

P-Cola