Critique my pics, please

[tiziano]

Hi All,
I already posted this yesterday, in what, I realize now, was the wrong area.
I'm really really amateur, but photography has hit me strongly lately... I'm studying a lot!
These are some of my preferred pictures.

http://photobucket.com/albums/a135/tiziano_bruno/

Any critique is most welcome. I feel the need to show my pictures to someone who is not a relative or a friend, and will therefore tell me the true.

Below a subset of pictures I took some time ago, during a walk. I took these pictures with my zoom lens, I didn't
know this people.

Thanks in advance

[tiziano]

here are the pics

[tiziano]

.

[Robert_Lay]

#2 needs some increased contrast in mid-tones.
#4 is the "Decisive Moment" - great shot, but again, needs a little pizzaz in the mid-tones.

[Snapman]

IMHO you've a definite talent for seeing pictures but you need to learn to develop your post processing skills. I'm not permitted under forum rules to do so without your permission, so would you mind if I were to copy and repost a couple of your pictures which I'm confident could be enhanced with levels and sharpening?

[Radtech1]

Globally, they could all stand some post processing, especially in the area of contrast and color, as everything looks somewhat murky.

Specifically, No 1, could stand to be cropped into a portrait or at least square orientation. I always ask, "What does this do to contribute to the composition?", and in the case of the emptiness on either side, it adds nothing. For the same reason, you would think of cloning out the white distraction on the bottom.

No 2, I might say crop it, but it looks like it is over cropped as is, and perhaps a little out of focus as well. Pretty girl, though.

No 3, I like this one the best, but it is unfortunate that you did not wait till she was further down. The shift in position that the rockway makes it coincides with the cuff of the jeans and throws some visual confusion into the mix.

No 4, Is pushed too far off to the side. Way off balance. And the boats are too busy to take up 2/3 of the frame without being a distraction. Either crop them out, or skip this one all together.

Let's see more of your work soon.

Rad

[tiziano]

Hi,

Thanks to all of you for your comments, which I'll study, and please fell free to enhance the pictures in any way you prefer.

[Snapman]

Here's my go at pictures 2 and 4. I played with levels, added sharpening and reduced the saturation a little.

[tiziano]

Hi Snapman,

The pics really look better now. Which PhotoShop functions did you use? Shadow/Highlight and Smart Sharpening?

[Snapman]

Hi Snapman,

The pics really look better now. Which PhotoShop functions did you use? Shadow/Highlight and Smart Sharpening?

No, I only have PS Elements-2. I just used the levels, sharpening and saturation to remove a little of the colour.

[rklepper]

I like the compositions of all the photos. I think that the first 2 that snapman redid were over PS'd. The second 2 look much better.

[colliewalker1]

[quote=tiziano]Hi All,

Any critique is most welcome. I feel the need to show my pictures to someone who is not a relative or a friend, and will therefore tell me the true.

I felt tempted to post process ( Hoping you don't mind) the photo of the llama (?) in front of the cacti. as the llama seems lost aginst the background and the whole photo is dull and lacks contrast However, the image size - Height 160 pixels/Width 158 pixels is too small to work with:any chance of a larger version?

[colliewalker1]

[quote=tiziano]Hi All,

Any critique is most welcome. I feel the need to show my pictures to someone who is not a relative or a friend, and will therefore tell me the true.

I felt tempted to post process ( Hoping you don't mind) the photo of the llama (?) in front of the cacti. as the llama seems lost aginst the background and the whole photo is dull and lacks contrast However, the image size - Height 160 pixels/Width 158 pixels is too small to work with:any chance of a larger version?

A follow up to my earlier post - above paragraph - Please ignore my comment about the small image size - the problem was at my end:rolleyes: . But do you have an editing programme e.g. Photoshop or Paintshop Pro?

[tiziano]

Hi,

I do have PhotoShop CS2, but I amnot that skilled yet (but I'm studying it), and often I don't like the images in which you can see that there has been a lot of post processing. I appreciate it, when you can't notice it. Please go ahead, if you want to modify any pic!
Thanks.

[tiziano]

Hi, I have been studying PS... Here are the results. I worked only on the picture of the girl. I'm posting two versions. The first one, was obtained using only the PS curves and a small amount of smart sharpening, while the second, well.. lot of layers, channels, paths... as I said above... I have been studying PS... :) Please let me know what you think.
Thanks

[PeaPicker]

I use the NoiseWareProPlugin in CS2 and it gets the noise out and sharpens. Good pics. Keep shooting.:)

[tiziano]

Cool! I'm looking for this plugin, but can't find it. Do you know where I can find it? Thanks

[PeaPicker]

Here is the website for NoiseWare
http://www.imagenomic.com/
I really like it. Also Scott Kelbys book "The Photoshop CS2 Book for Digital Photographers" is great.

[tiziano]

Hi Peapicker,

Thanks a lot! I just tried that plugin, and I love it! Here below is the result: I applied the noise reduction filter only to the girl, and not the rocks.