- This topic has 19 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 2y, 3mo ago by
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- https://instagram.com/lightstalking
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/lightstalking
- Allows Edits: Yes
Allows Edits? YesHaha. I mean it’s almost as if the person is a juxtaposition in terms of shape and sharpness. I don’t think there are too many obvious mistakes. So then it comes down to personal taste…
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Dahlia, thank you for looking! It was close to dark so I used f2.8. The person is kinda a mystery subject.
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Lenny, a couple of things.
I do not think the photo works. The leading lines are not leading to anything, at least not to the human element in the image. I feel that the leading line is now an empty gap in your image.I also do not like the white round dots in the BG. They disturb me.
And I think the chairs on the right are too bright. My attention goes immediately to those chairs but they do not lead to anything.Lastly, there is an ugly “smudge” on the bench the woman is sitting on in the BG. Looks like you cloned something out and were left with a smudge.
I also tried to crop out the chairs on the right. At least that gives a sense of direction, but it doesn’t solve the problems. Here is a version without the white dots, darker chairs on the right and try to hide the smudge.
Here a crop out of the chairs on the right:
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This is what I love and hate about photo critiques. Several have said they like the image and find no flaws and that is engaging. A few have liked the sense of mystery. One has made somewhat negative comments about flaws and composition. As Rob says, much of this (and most of the posts) are matters of personal taste except when there are serious flaws in camera craft.
There’s nothing here that resonates with me emotionally. Usually, that leads me to simply ignore the picture, treating it as, from my point of view, pointless. That’s not helpful to the person who sees something or to me who fails to.
So, that leads me to search for something that might have attracted my attention, though possibly not yours. This is especially true because I’m not a big street photography person but invites me to consider something out of my comfort zone.
So, here’s what I might have done or wish I had done had I been there or consider trying in my own setting. Eight or ten steps to the left, perhaps zooming in to give fewer chairs, using the remaining part of the front row of seats to make a very clear (singular) leading line to the person who is staring through the frame towards something unseen by the viewer, even or maybe especially if s/he is OOF. This would have given me pause and enhanced the sense of mystery that might resonate with me though, again, not necessarily with anyone else.
I hope that’s enough disclaimers to prevent my being a curmudgeon.
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- https://instagram.com/lightstalking
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/lightstalking
- Allows Edits: Yes
Allows Edits? YesI think it’s a good summary @lightandshadow
People tend to use the ST for different things. Most of the regulars here have their camera craft at a pretty good level which leads to matters of taste. But many newer folks are looking for technical tips. All are welcome, but how useful you find the critiques probably depends largely where you are with your photography skills and tastes.
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depends largely where you are with your photography skills and tastes , I really agree with this Rob , for me personally taste rules my emotions you just know instantly if you like something or not , i see many photos that are technically excellent images but they do nothing for me ( nearly always the big wide angle landscape ) yet i can and do appreciate that those photographers have a grasp and understanding way past my own skill levels.
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Patrick, I agree. I also know instantly if I like something or not. But even if I like something there are often things that can improve the image. And usually, these improvements make you like the image even better.
Like I said in my first line in the comment: This picture, “line of chairs” does not work for me and I try to explain why.
@lightandshadow (Steve I believe?) refers to my comments as ” somewhat negative comments about flaws and composition”.I know that I have not been on LS for a long time, but isn’t that what the Shark Tank used to be all about: Constructive and friendly, but negative criticism?
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I’d like to weigh in on this one. I used to be sensitive to “negative” criticism until I learned that all feedback is simply feedback and valuable. We should all forget the word “negative” IMHO. If I have spinach between my teeth & everyone is afraid to tell me, I really appreciate someone speaking up so I can fix it! (As when Erik recently kindly firmly pointed out that the white “tulips” I posted in my title for a recent ST shot were not tulips but daffodils lol. Ouch but thank you! I immediately asked Dahlia to please fix it,) We don’t have to agree with criticism offered, but it’s all valuable if we use it to improve our work. If one of my shots does nothing for you, please tell me. This helps me learn what doesn’t work and why. If you show me what does work, it helps me understand why. I happily give edit privileges in ST and have gotten some amazing reworks of shots I’ve submitted. How great is that to have someone else show me what my shot could be through skilled post-processing. To my way of thinking, ST feedback is like having a master class of professional, one-on-one tutors who strive to tell me and show me how to be my absolute best, detail by detail. You can be totally fearless when critiquing my work (although I do appreciate it when it’s kindly put), and I will thank you for your honest opinion. As I’ve said elsewhere on LS, ST teachers generously offering their proficiency have helped me improve in countless ways in a short amount of time and in areas I never would have thought of or paid attention to. They’ve also introduced me to photography concepts I hadn’t heard of, such as frequency separation. I love everything about it, my thanks to you all!
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Every time this subject comes up, we all sort of rehash the same ideas. For me, that speaks to the actual difficulty we have, in spite of what we want to believe about the thickness of our skins and the openness to negative comments. The “mantra” is, in fact, helpful as we talk to ourselves about our commitment to listening to advice about our “child rearing” habits.
I was once part of a Facebook forum dedicated to critiques. The page had this same point of view and advice. I left the page because the owner engaged in a fair amount of “chest thumping” criticism. I should have known that would happen when he sought input about renaming the site and it resulted in his adopting his own user name for the page.
This isn’t true here. Thankfully.
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- https://instagram.com/lightstalking
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/lightstalking
- Allows Edits: Yes
Allows Edits? YesThe Shark Tank is definitely a balancing act that relies on the maturity of its participants. And to be fair, most people get it pretty quickly. Approach it with a generous mindset and it will be a great benefit for everyone.
Personally I love a few of the posters here who are clearly at an apex of technical talent. It really makes me dig deep to find something “wrong” or at least improbable on incredible level shots. Probably helps me more than them.
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