Brutal Friday Critique - are you ready? Well punk are you?

jwoods85 wrote in post #8894521

brightened exposure, vignette, sharpened and saturation

Hi Jwoods!
I shoot a ton of weddings and in turn do a lot of ring shots -- for me I typically dislike most of the ones I shoot -- for me to get good macro work I have to switch lenses and set up the elements -- I like shooting in a different manner so my ring shots are quick and look like crap.
Yours has some potential - but I think there are a few elements that are off - you have image editing off so I will not make an attempt and editing your photo- but I think the diamond of the ring should be showing -- it should be brighter and sharper on the rights -- and a little editing work might make that happen but the diamond is still a little off-- and because of those items I would say that this is ok but not great. (again remember I am critical of ring photos) -- the couple might love this photo --- but again I look at wedding photography as what will clients pay me huge money for -- because they cannot do it on their own.
Thanks for sharing!

Snydremark wrote in post #8895091
Alright, what're your thoughts on this b/w conversion? Great thread, btw...

100mm Macro; 1/6sec; f/10; ISO 100

Snyder - Hello! Thanks for sharing -- first I am not really a macro expert - all I can offer is my two cents on as a professional can I ask a client to pay me well for a shot like this. My initial thought is that this is ok -- but not a keeper.
Here is how I see a shot like this working -- maybe not so close of a close up-- - with the drip stretched out to an extreme of just falling off the stick/branch etc - with the reflection in the drop....that might just be a killer shot.
Thanks for sharing - and please keep on shooting those macros!

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #8924664
"Survivors" Yea or Nay, Sir?

Jay-- you are really a show off. -- this shot is spectacular. I can see this in a very large print - selling for a few bucks! This has a lot of great elements to it. The colors and textures are excellent. For me this shot really works.
I am working on getting a sunset shot in the woods by my house - trying to capture the shadows of the trees along with a little sunset -- this is hard enough - let alone trying to get some killer clouds in it..... you did well with your shot.
Nice work - thanks for sharing!

stathunter wrote in post #8924799
Jay-- you are really a show off. -- this shot is spectacular. I can see this in a very large print - selling for a few bucks! This has a lot of great elements to it. The colors and textures are excellent. For me this shot really works.
I am working on getting a sunset shot in the woods by my house - trying to capture the shadows of the trees along with a little sunset -- this is hard enough - let alone trying to get some killer clouds in it..... you did well with your shot.
Nice work - thanks for sharing!

Gracias Amigo! Have a great weekend...

stathunter wrote in post #8924780
Snyder - Hello! Thanks for sharing -- first I am not really a macro expert - all I can offer is my two cents on as a professional can I ask a client to pay me well for a shot like this. My initial thought is that this is ok -- but not a keeper.
Here is how I see a shot like this working -- maybe not so close of a close up-- - with the drip stretched out to an extreme of just falling off the stick/branch etc - with the reflection in the drop....that might just be a killer shot.
Thanks for sharing - and please keep on shooting those macros!

Great feedback, thanks!

I wouldn't mind one of my photos getting ripped to pieces if you have a minute

tmichieldds wrote in post #8925352
I wouldn't mind one of my photos getting ripped to pieces if you have a minute

Hi TM -- thanks for sharing -- well if you are ready to get ripped.....then let me do so! --- actually this is a pretty good shot..... but...yep always a but..... this shot looks a bit flat. It could be the web processing - but not sure if it is- it might benefit from a little contrast - or maybe sharpening -- looks like you do not have image editing open - so I cant do a quick edit for you.
Overall good shot - but I think a little post processing work might make it a real winner.
Thanks for sharing!

EDIT--my bad -- you do have image editing ok -- give me a min and let me whip up a quick edit.

OK -- here is my edit -- I took it into photoshop - then did a tad bit of saturation - then did a little sharpening-- I really did not like my edit -- so then I took that and did a quick HDR work to it......heck when all else fails sometimes HDR saves the day.... this might be a tad too much but it shows more details etc:

Ok here is one, one of my first attempts at b/w conversion. It was done on a tiny netbook screen under bad light so I don't know how it looks under normal conditions. I know the piece of paper in the foreground might be distracting but it was originally (in un-edited form) part of a hom-made birthday email. I also know it was poorly dodged, i might go back and do a better job on that part later. I think it adds emotion to the shot, but thats just my opinion. And I was going for the surreal over-contrasted bw look.

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/png'

goosfrabaa wrote in post #8925494
Ok here is one, one of my first attempts at b/w conversion. It was done on a tiny netbook screen under bad light so I don't know how it looks under normal conditions. I know the piece of paper in the foreground might be distracting but it was originally (in un-edited form) part of a hom-made birthday email. I also know it was poorly dodged, i might go back and do a better job on that part later. I think it adds emotion to the shot, but thats just my opinion. And I was going for the surreal over-contrasted bw look.

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/png'

Ok - well let me give you my disclaimer here....these are simply my opinions and not those of the forum or my employer or those .....do you get the idea I am preparing you for something brutal? --it is "brutal" Friday...ya know.
Anyway.... this does not do much for me - at first glance it looks like the ugly B&W monster puked on this..... ok - a bit too much brutality. I actually see where you might (in a drunken stupor) think this might work..... kidding. If the birthday sign was there -- and able to be viewed without you telling me it is there -- when then there might be something to look at. You could make the sign the focal point..... the way it sits now there is no real focal point.
I truly appreciate you going out on a limb with this -- I appreciate you posting this -- and would encourage you to keep on posting.... thanks.

Thanks Scott for the comments and the edit. I really need to invest in a monitor calibration device. That's the most frustrating thing for me right now. What I see in camera is different than the monitor and the print. I know that is a whole topic in itself. This is a great thread. Thanks.

stathunter wrote in post #8925571
Ok - well let me give you my disclaimer here....these are simply my opinions and not those of the forum or my employer or those .....do you get the idea I am preparing you for something brutal? --it is "brutal" Friday...ya know.
Anyway.... this does not do much for me - at first glance it looks like the ugly B&W monster puked on this..... ok - a bit too much brutality. I actually see where you might (in a drunken stupor) think this might work..... kidding. If the birthday sign was there -- and able to be viewed without you telling me it is there -- when then there might be something to look at. You could make the sign the focal point..... the way it sits now there is no real focal point.
I truly appreciate you going out on a limb with this -- I appreciate you posting this -- and would encourage you to keep on posting.... thanks.

Far enough, thank you for the honesty. Ill go back and try again (maybe try not to overdo it this time), mayb I can recover the sign with some more dodging, if not, sometimes you just need to let it go.

goosfrabaa wrote in post #8925598
Far enough, thank you for the honesty. Ill go back and try again (maybe try not to overdo it this time), mayb I can recover the sign with some more dodging, if not, sometimes you just need to let it go.

I was wondering if dodge and burn would do it -- I tried - but then had to copy the sign layer - modify it a bit - do several layers of editing on it - and here is what I ended up with:

what about

Hi Raz!
Welcome to the forum - just to let you know - I am typically not a selective color kind of guy-- but this has a few elements that makes it at least interesting. It is interesting to see the contrast from b&w to color - I live the beveled edge in combination with it-- but do not see the bevel at the top -- with your name at the top makes it look a bit whimsical which works for this shot -- so overall I put this in the like column but would like to see the bevel at the top to match the rest.
Thanks for sharing!

OK, did it once, ill come back for more

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/png' | Byte size: ZERO

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/png' | Byte size: ZERO