Wedding Critique of the Week 5/31/10

<p>This week's image was taken by Marilyn Berrys.<br /><br />This is Part 2 of Wedding Photo of the Week. You can see all submissions in the thread with that title.In your critiques - include what you would do to improve the shot or why the shot is perfect as it is.<br /><br />Remember that this is not a contest. Sometimes an image will be a winning image and sometimes an image that needs some help. Try not to just say "great shot" but explain why it works. Or - "Doesn't do it for me" without explaining why.<br /><br />The photographer up for critique for this week should remember that the comments expressed each week are simply "opinions" and the effort and focus of these threads are to learn and to take images to another level. There will be times where the critique is simply members pointing out why the shot works which is also a way for others to learn about what aspects contribute to a good wedding photo. In reading all critiques -- you may agree or disagree with some points of view - but remember that there are varying approaches and often no right or wrong answer.</p>

<p>Marilyn's Comments: No wedding last weekend, but did an engagement shoot. This one's a little unconventional but I like it. D300 17-55 2.8 1/250 @ 2.8</p><div></div>

<p>looks illicit! ... hdr pp? not sure i like the clutter (whether the absence of the crate wood thingy would have better drawn the eye to the couple)... it's different!</p>

<p>i can't keep my eye off that blue bucket...and the guy's bald spot, if that's what that is... :-)</p>

<p>thanks for submitting</p>

<p>Love it!</p>

<p>Here in the hub-bub of daily life and real-world clutter two love birds steal away to themselves. My eye went directly to them.</p>

<p>Technically, I'd lessen the vignetting in the corners a bit. </p>

<p>17-55 2.8 1/250 @ 2.8 for some $1400, and vignetting on DX format ? It could have been a lens hood, or a filter ...</p>

<p>It's a busy photo..but I like it !</p>

<p>This photo is, for me, too much all at once for an engagement shoot...for street photography, I can't say I wouldn't like it.</p>

<p>I think I'd eliminate the color, or at least de-saturate the image, and do SOMETHING to make the couple stand out. I actually like the vignette, and would probably increase it, again, to make the couple stand out.</p>

<p>Here's a quick photoshop of the image</p><div></div>

<p>I like this shot, mainly because it gives me a sense of two separate worlds -- the busy world outside, and then this quiet, centered, intense world where there's just the two of them. I vacillate between its being too busy, or OK. I think that, for me, what might have worked just as well would have been a vertical crop, showing less of the street scene, showing the couple larger in the frame. For example, have them come down the alley towards the camera another 5 feet or so, so they're only about 5 feet from the opening, then go for a more shallow DOF. You'll still get the feeling of two worlds, but the outside world will be less intrusive, and as a bonus you'd have a better chance of capturing their expressions as they look at each other (an aspect of this photo that I don't really like is that there's not a lot we can see of their faces due to the size of them in the image). <br /> I like it better in color than in black and white, though.</p>

<p>I really like it, if anything I would clone out the guys bald spot (but thats just because its so bright in a dark spot, and for some reason draws my attention). haha But otherwise I like it this way, and in color. It reminds me of one of those surreal moments in movies were to the couple there is nothing else going on it the world but the two of them being together(even though there is). This also feels very artistic to me, if I had a picture like this of myself and my husband, I would probably have it framed or put on canvas. That could be my tastes though. </p>

<p>I like the shot, but personally I'd like to see the couple stand out more, while keeping color.</p>

<p>I hope you don't mind, but I downloaded the image and played with it for a couple minutes. Try creating a new layer, using apply image to apply the green channel, then set it to overlay. It washes out the walls and some of the foreground 'distraction' a bit.. adjust opacity to taste (I liked it around 55%) then mask out the couple as well as the walls they are leaning on.</p>

<p>The washed out walls focus you more, while keeping the mood of the image. I also cloned out the spot on the guy's head in the foreground because it's distracting in such a dark area.</p>

<p>Cool shot</p>

<p>Very busy - and more like a candid street scene than an engagement shot (though that might be the appeal). Would crop the window on the right for sure, keeping part of that wall and positioning the couple close to the 1/3 line. Since you didn't get the heel of the person on the left, maybe crop about the bottom fourth of the image. Here is a quick edit to illustrate the crop - I also did some selective desaturation but that might be too much:</p>

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<p>Thanks to all who have commented so far. I agree that this is not your typical engagement shot. The shoot took place in a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto. I live, and do most of my shooting in a small town north of Toronto, so being in a vibrant, urban setting was like eye candy. I wanted to try some edgier shots, as well as the more traditional engagement photos. I find when I shoot 'ouside the box' and do something different, I'm usually happy with the results. The couple is thrilled with the whole session, and that's really what it's all about. You're welcome to check out more photos from the shoot on my blog, which is accessed from the splash page of my website. It's the only E session posted, as I just started the blog a few days ago. <br>

I didn't really notice the bald spot til it was mentioned, and now it's all I can look at!<br>

Kyle, where's the updated image?<br>

Dieter, I really like what you've done, maybe with a bit less desaturation.</p>

<p>what about a vertical crop instead of horizontal? it would be less busy if you took our the palette (or most of it), and the hat on it is just a distraction. remember the rule of thirds. get the couple on the right third of the space. the plain wall around them and the vertical lines of the structure make a nice contrast to the busy store window.</p>

<p>I like the photo. I'd only do two things. I sooo hate the black and white spot of color thing. I'd desaturate the whole image a bit, just to wash out the color. Then in PS, use the saturation tool to add some color back to the couple and some of the surroundings near them to draw attention to them. I'd also do a different crop, to put them in a different spot.<br /><br /><img src="http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll177/whoami58/00Waft-248755584.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I like the photo. I'd only do two things. I sooo hate the black and white spot of color thing. I'd desaturate the whole image a bit, just to wash out the color. Then in PS, use the saturation tool to add some color back to the couple and some of the surroundings near them to draw attention to them. I'd also do a different crop, to put them in a different spot.</p>

<p><a href="http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll177/whoami58/00Waft-248755584.jpg">http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll177/whoami58/00Waft-248755584.jpg</a></p>

<p>Yea sorry, forgot to actually attach the image :) It's not a 'drastic' adjustment, just pushes it enough to make things stand out more. You could up the opacity on the overlay layer to make the contrast more extreme. Doing it again I'd probably go for a stronger adjustment.. but you can play with that if you follow the above steps.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>Ok, had to.. this is the same exact edit, but with the opacity pushed up to around 75% to show a stronger adjustment.</p>

<p>Edit: weird.. they are displaying exactly the same in this thread, but if you open them in a new window you see the change.</p><div></div>

<p>here is my version of the photo, turned it to B&W added some glow, used my wand tool and kept the couple in color to allow more of a directional look to the couple in the photo...enjoy!!! </p><div></div>

<p>It is different....and cluttered with unattractive elements. The pose looks awkward and they appear to be in some artificial "stare down" contest rather than engaged in a romantic gaze in to each other's eyes. I'm disappointed, looks like they are an attractive couple but they are very small in the frame and appear somewhat anonymous. Not my cup of tea.......</p>

<p>I would like to start by saying that in general I like the picture very much. There are some tweaks (like the posing of their heads isn't great) but for the most part it is very good.<br>

I like what Richard did, but would not desaturate it. Also, I think you might have missed focus as the storefront is in perfect focus which shouldn't be at f/2.8. I would also ditch the vignetting as I personally view vignetting as a means of drawing focus to something specific which it isn't doing here.</p><div></div>

<p>rodney! nice. best one by far.<br>

other idea-- no time for me but maybe someone else--</p>

<p>crop in portrait orientation-- leave the entire crate/hat thing, get rid of the entire LHS window washer area incl. the window </p>

<p>This is a fun one to play with so here is a different take on it. I like the idea behind this photo, it just needs a little refining. I created a layer mask on a duplicate layer in photoshop and masked the couple. Then solarized on the original layer and increased contrast. The variations are endless when solarizing. Then you can play with the colors too for different effects.</p><div></div>

<p>I tried a vertical crop without the busyness of the window, but am not sure it improves. I think it's the guy on the left that makes the photo. Here's the crop I tried and decided that I didn't like as much after all....</p>

<p>Trying the attachment again.... </p><div></div>

<p>I like it and I think it's nice. I think it would be stronger without the window cleaner guy as he is too distracting, and it would be improved with less DOF. I don't like the HDR looking processing.</p>

<p>My eye goes right to the couple, as well. I rather like the effect of all the activity in this instance. Love the hat perched on the wood boards/pallet! I definitely agree about the bald spot, and maybe even de-saturating the bucket itself. If it were my shot, I would probably lose the vignette and do a little less of the HDR effect, but hey, art is subjective!</p>