The Kitchen

[acolbert]

Thanks Gary!

I definitely will continue to work on my fundamentals! I love the "art" of photography so much that sometimes I forget it's also a science. (And that if I can't get the basics down, I'll never be able to effectively articulate my thoughts and ideas...)

Also, thanks for helping me understand more about food photography. I know absolutely nothing about it other than a stylist is required, that it's about as technical as a NASA launch, and that they do some pretty strange things to the food. What you've helped me understand is that a shallow DOF, while acceptable in a more subjective context (ie "fine art"), is not the conventional way to photograph food, correct? From your critique, I'm thinking that next time, in addition to a tripod and a light kit, I'll need to dial in a smaller aperture (larger F-stop) to get the entire plate in focus... Hopefully I'm on the right track.

Anyway, I'm here because my boyfriend is a reef enthusiast, and yesterday I took my first reef photos! Do you have any tips for reef photo-newbies? I can't wait to upload them and see how they turned out.

In the mean time, let me know what you think of the photo below. It was from a wedding editorial shoot a little while ago.

Thanks for the guidance and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[KLR]

I lost some quality in the transfer from my mac to photobucket and i'm not sure why. Any tips on a higher resolution photo storing website?

 

[icedgxe]

Thanks so much Gary! I ereally appreciate the feedback. That picture was taken spur of the moment while passing that flower. I tend to have shaky hands lol. I love what you did with the picture. It goes to show that a little knowledge of editing goes a long way. Thanks again.

 

[icedgxe]

Here is another one taken with the same camera.

 

[gparr]

I love the concept and can see what you're trying to achieve. However, in wedding photography, the bride must dominate the frame, especially when she's the only person in the image. It's a good attempt at framing the bride, but the framing objects introduce too much clutter to the image and the angled bar and black foreground object command a lot of attention. I'm not sure what that is at the bottom of the frame but it has plenty of detail and interest and my eye wants to study it too much, again pulling attention from the bride. I also want to know if anyone is sitting in the chair on the left, again pulling my eye away from the bride. The blown highlights in the curtains, though difficult to avoid, also detract from the bride. At the risk of making it seem like I'm really beating on you, your positioning of the bride in the frame in the upper right and looking out of the frame again sends my eyes elsewhere.

I very much want a crack at this scene and hope you explored it from other angles. The pose and contrast between delicate bride and that heavy chair is very appealing. If the image is simplified and arranged so that more attention is funneled toward the bride it would be much stronger. I long ago quit doing weddings because I got sick of it, but you could easily get me to do this bride's wedding. She has such elegant lines that it would be a great day of photography. I'd be curious to see if you did anything else with this scene.

Gary

 

[gparr]

I lost some quality in the transfer from my mac to photobucket and i'm not sure why. Any tips on a higher resolution photo storing website?

Have to ask you to comply with the size requirements.
Gary

 

[KLR]

Have to ask you to comply with the size requirements.
Gary

Sorry, fixed it in the original post.

 

[gparr]

Nice exposure and good capture of the birds. Much potential here. However, I'm not sure what you're trying to say with this image. I assume you want me to see/enjoy the birds because that's the action item in the photo. But you've left so much detailed foliage that it competes with the flock and makes me wonder if there's something in all of those plants that is the purpose of the image. Assuming that the birds are the object of your affection, consider something along the lines of the crop below. You also might try a more horizontal image by including the two birds on the left, though they're a bit disconnected from the main flock.

Another item to keep in mind with all of your images, and particularly evident in this one, is edge intruders. Always study the edges and eliminate intruding elements either when framing the image or by cropping them out in your post processing procedures. Bits of bird bodies in the upper right and on the left are very distracting.

Play with several crops of this image and see if you don't uncover something you like better.

Gary

 

[gparr]

Your main flower is not in focus.

I'm glad to see someone else try to make this composition work. I've tried it more than once and am never happy with the results. The problem is that you have two white objects competing for attention. Though the bloom on the left is OOF, it's still white and offers enough detail to command attention. Where this composition breaks down is that there is too much distance between the competing objects, forcing the eye to bounce back and forth between the blooms, eventually causing frustration. An angle that brings them closer together or simply eliminating the bloom on the left makes a stronger image.

As for your main bloom, some areas of the bracts (white "petals") are blown out. The bloom isn't a very good specimen, either. When photographing flowers, always seek out the freshest, least damaged bloom. It will make a stronger image. If there are no fresh blooms, look for the oldest, most deteriorated bloom. They make great images, too.

Gary

 

[acolbert]

Funny because I fancy the composition here almost as much as the model's delicate lines! I definitely see your point, but I took a bit of liberty as this was a wedding editorial shoot, and not an actual wedding. I had some fun pulling a peek-a-boo through the prop and music desk on this baby grand as well as toying with the reflection off the piano's super-shiny surface. My attention in this shot was absolutely dedicated to the composition... I wonder if my model would get jealous if she found out

I'll take a look and see if I can dig up some other versions of this image. But for now, tell me what you think of this photo from the same shoot. This time, all the attention was on Elena:

 

[gparr]

Alex,
That's the beauty and fun of this hobby. There is no real right or wrong, we all see things differently, and we all definitely have our opinions. And my offerings are nothing more than opinions.

My opinion of this shot is, Bravo!! I really like it. Good exposure along the entire length of the dress, creative shooting angle that uses the ruffled bottom of the dress to draw me into the image, nice pose, and I like the window and drapery background. The only suggestions I would make, and they're trivial, are to crop the top to eliminate the odd reflection on the second cross piece and to clone out the three interior light reflections to the right of her head. Nice work on this one. Very creative.

Gary

 

[Mitchell]

An old abandoned store/house in Northern Ontario. Just dabbling in HDR. I didn't want it to look too cooked. I think its subtle enough. Yes? No? 5 exposures combined in CS5 HDR processor. Nikon D300 and Nikon 12-24 at 12mm


house1 by in his image, on Flickr

 

[gparr]

My apologies. I've been otherwise occupied.

This is a terrific scent with a great subject. Lighting is nice, as is the composition. However, I would be curious to see other angles that might make better use of the upper right side of the frame. I'm also struggling with your lens choice. Using an ultra-wide-angle lens at this shooting angle has caused all of the lines to angle rather severely toward a center point at the top of the frame. It's not a terrible thing, but I'm not a big fan of angled/sloping building lines. The lens/lens angle is also making the trees on the left lean unnaturally.

You HDR effort isn't too bad, but, for me, it's crossed that line into the unnatural-looking range. I think HDR is being overused these days, many times as a crutch to avoid learning how to expose properly. In this instance, a single exposure, metered for the highlights would likely have produced a better image. You probably have that image in the set you used for this HDR photo. HDR is an extremely powerful tool for scenes in which the exposure range is outside what the camera can capture, but I don't think this is one of those scenes.

Gary

 

[Mitchell]

Thanks Gary for your input. Like I said I didn't know if it worked or not.... I guess.... Maybe not lol. I'll keep working this house each time I head up there. Thanks for your input.

 

[clowns101]

This was just a fun photo. Id like input on how to make it look better, I was at aperature at 1.8, shutter 1/500 and ISO was anywehre between 500 and 800, I dont have the exact number. Thanks!

 

[KLR]

My first take ever at photographing the moon:

I am not quite sure what the best way to crop these, since it is just round object and blank background...
Tips please!

 

[gparr]

Kelby,
I'd say you did rather well. The moon is very bright. Most have a lot of trouble believing that and, as a result, usually create a bad exposure. You nailed the exposure and focus, delivering excellent detail of the moon's surface. I like your composition because it's not just an orb in a black rectangle, but also includes some thin clouds that have just enough presence in the sky to provide a balance to the image. They also offer a diagonal that tends to lead the eye to and away from the moon. I'm actually doing a little applauding for you on this one.

Any circular object in a rectangular space is a compositional challenge. You chose, and chose well IMO, to implement the rule of thirds and achieved a very nice image. The other option is what I call a target composition, which is basically placing the orb in the center and retaining the rectangle or cropping to a square format. There is no right or wrong. It's just what you want at the moment.

At the risk of piling it on, if I was looking to print an image and hang it on the wall, I'd give this one serious consideration. Regardless, proudly share it with others. It's a good one.

Gary

 

[KLR]

Thanks!
I took this right before it was completely dark and that gave the "sandy" look to the surface of the moon, I am trying now to take the same pictures and the color is not as good.

What is funny is this was more of an experiment. I took this with the Tamron 180mm Macro on a tripod. I new it could perform somewhat as a telephoto lense but never expected it to perform like this!

 

[secretreefer]

hey Kelby,
what lens did you use to take that beautiful moon photo? i've been trying with mine but i guess my lens isn't powerful enough.

 

[KLR]

Tamron 180mm Macro

Also the sky was perfect today, as clear as it could be. Not a single cloud passed over all day. So that benefitted the shot as well.