A Day At the Beach

Nice shot ! I like this photo.

This is a wonderful shot, the girl is lovely but the waves behind, and the the rocks with the green growth are amazing. Well done.

Excellent work! Spectacular use of Depth of Field, lighting is superb, tones are flawless.

I really like the waves a lot. The lines on the rocks lead straight to the subject, who isn't hard to look at in the slightest :)

Absolutely perfect!

I understand that some people don't have alot (or any) images to upload. What I don't understand is rating an image (like this one) a 3/3 or 2/2. To be honest I know this isn't a perfect photo, and I would feel bad if every single rating was a 7/7, but I'm pretty sure that this image is atleast an average (what you rated it at 4/4) or higher, not a 2/2 (Stefaan Verdonckt rated it a 2/2 WITHOUT A COMMENT!) All I'm asking for is for poeple to comment on what they like or dislike, if they dislike it soo much that they must rate it a 2/2 then give an example of what's wrong with it. Mr. Cline I'm sure once you start uploading images that you are proud of and people rate them 2's and 3's you'll be as upset as me. T.Page

Nice shot. Nitpics follow. The lighting is just a tad too harsh. The hotspot at the intersection of her forehead and hairline is distracting. Front of her left tennis is dirty. Details matter. Good composition and pretty woman.

Thank you for your very informing comment. This helps alot! T.Page

 

 

 

P.S. Don't ever tell me "lighten up a bit"

Details matter.

OK - it's a nice shot, but I'll pick on a few items because I think it's not far removed from being a great shot.

Details

• It's just my taste I suppose, but I'm inclined to say that clothes with writing on them and photos don't often go well together - why add unnecessary distractions to compete with the subject.
• There's a bit of a trick to this that isn't easy for people to learn that aren't modeling for a living, but I think she needs to take a little tension out of her arms and shoulders.
• The shirt is sort of partly tucked into the waistband of the jeans right in the center. You could tuck it or leave it untucked, but half tucked looks a bit half baked.
• The shoe, as previously noted.
• This is just something to think about, but I keep wondering if it would be possible or interesting to pose her so that her body more closely parallels the angles of the rocks behind her.

Having ripped on it a bit, I'll say again that I do think it's pretty nicely done.

BTW, sometimes you just can't figure how some people rate. One person rated your photo a 2/2, but rated Barn and Grass by Moonlight 6/6. I'd be more inclined to do the exact opposite with these two images, but last time I checked nobody had died and left me in charge.

Your comment is great! You definitly have more of an "eye" for photographs. I can understand exactly what you are saying about her pose, and clothes. This was not taken as a modeling photograph or anything of that nature, it was simply taken for fun while we were enjoying the sights and sun. Very shortly I will take "modeling" images that will have more of a "costume" rather than street clothes.

 

 

When I find time I will check out your portfolio and I'll tell you truthfully what I like or dislike about your shots! :) Thanks again! T.Page

 

Nice detail and use of light!

very good shot.

...simply taken for fun...

I assumed as much, which leads me to think you could come up with really stunning shots if you were really working at it rather than just having some fun in the sun.

As for the strange ratings, I tend to think it's just not worth getting too worked up about it. Some people just have strange taste, some people get a kick out of handing out ones and twos, and some, as you said, only give decent ratings to friends (or their own work posted under another account). Just toss out the crazy scores and take the rest as an assessment of what people think.

In the meantime, you seem to have a willing and attractive model available - take advantage of the opportunity.

you ask for comments and people respond and who the hell do you think you are to chop back on some reasonable advice.

 

you know, lightening up a bit could mean delaying your heart attack by a few months....on photo.net you find raters of the lost art and they will stick you with rating numbers that will boil your blood if you let it. If you dont want to lighten up, dont post.

 

about the photo...of course, I have probably lost you by now, its very good. Not like some beach photos, you have combined what my eyes see as two photos and the sum is greater than the two. The waves in the background seem to be from another day and place than the woman on the rocks. The combination of the two is wonderful.

 

Have a nice day, have an angry day, have any kind of day you want, but take your camera for a walk in the sun.

Thanks for the advice! I'm over it.

 

The photo: This image is unmanipulated... The only thing that was done in PS was a bit of color correction, alittle bit of sharpening, and some cropping. What you see here is exactly what I took on that day (the wave, the rocks, the girl, the lighting). I'm glad you like it and would love for you to critique my other photos if you would could - if you're not mad at me :( Have a good one. T.Page

Toby, I didnt mean you had photoshop combined two photos, but rather that your single image had the appearance and contrast and impact of two photos....which I think is a big part of its strength. I could tell it was one image, a very striking one.

 

I am neither PS or anti-PS.

Lots of back and forth on this, and it opens up the whole rating / commenting debate again! I'll do the image first - that's what we're here for - your model (girlfriend?) is stunning :-), and perfectly positioned in the image. The breaking wave is well timed - it gives good atmosphere. After I've looked at her though, my eye wanders to that big boulder far right, and therefore out of the scene. Secondly, ratings, well, one of mine posted here was given a 3/3 by some guy with no comment when everyone else was giving it up to 6/6!!!! Now, not every photo is to everyone's taste but that's the great thing about photography!! So I do understand where you are coming from about very random ratings - which is why I personally tend to comment more and seek comments, but a bland figure doesn't help me improve! Hopefully we're all learning as we go. Carry on the good stuff! Neil

what I rate personally is how many responses you get for your pictures - I wish I knew your secret - i think it has to something to do with Forum etiquette and method rather than quality of pics - the pics i've uploaded are my best, although they rarely get more than about 3 responses max, if at all.

There is only one thing about this photo that bugs me. I only read about half of the comments so I don't know if anyone else noticed, but to me it is an unnecessary nuisance. Didn't anyone else find that piece of hair in her eye at least somewhat distracting? I know looking through a lens this thing would be virtually invisible, but in the capture it is not and that is why we have Photoshop. Otherwise this is a wonderful image Toby. She's gorgeous and peaceful, the rocks are abstract yet friendly, and the sea is tumultuous and at the same time the wave is relatively level which only strengthens the base. When you can get that many contrasting themes all in the same image, you're doing something right. Oh but let me see... next time better have her bring a brand new pair of shoes to put on after you get there. Pfft! Are you kidding me? Thats sand on her shoes for crying out loud.

 

BTW Toby, I live in El Dorado County and anytime you want to go out and shot something let me know, before or after you get a 10D. As you see from my folders I go all over the place so a little distance is okay too. Let me know...

 

PS- Don't misunderstand Mr. Gibson. It's been my experience that his presence is always one of respect. His ratings are always reasonable and his advice most helpful.

 

It's a competent shot but why not get her head clear of that rock behind her?

Joe Garrick's comments above are good. However, the items he points out are exactly why I like this shot. This photo takes me back to endless days with friends, doing whatever we were doing, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. (was there any other kind of clothes?) Pooling our money to get lunch at the hotdog stand. Riding in my dad's old car with the windows rolled down and the radio on. Pretending to be movie stars, or models. Laughing all day long. This girl, and photo, is a snapshot of a chapter of life. If I had given a professional photographer the task of creating this mood, they could not have done a better job. Great shot. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't go back to my teens for anything. Well, maybe for a day... or two...

:)

Doug B -

 

I don't dispute your take on this at all, but if you're going to shoot it, why not fix the shirt (not necessarily change it, but the odd tuck at the waist), clean the shoe, etc? I'm not really trying to nit pick the thing to death because I really think it's pretty good, but those little details are part of what makes the difference between a good photo and a great photo.

 

Think of yourself standing there and you notice the dirt on the shoe. You ask her to brush off the sand - if that doesn't work, then ask her to just remove her shoes and hide them behind her. It might even be better barefoot. Then you have her tuck the shirt in (or the rest of the way out), then bend the elbows a little and straighten her back a tiny bit to look a little less slouched. I know this isn't a studio shot, but it's not a candid either, and none of these are big things to fix (except the shirt itself, which would require a change of clothes in my original comment). None of them should be enough to "break the mood" unless it was terribly fragile to begin with, or to change the casual feel of the shot. They're just easy fixes that would take the shot up one level in overall quality. It's good now, but it's tantalizingly close to being very good.

 

It seems strange, but in some cases, perhaps most, it can actually improve a subject's mood for a shot if you fuss over them a little. When I was doing portrait work, I used to always make it a point to adjust hair or clothing or jewelry or something - anything, even if nothing really needed fixing - when setting up a pose. This fussing around, for most people, puts them in the frame of mind of being the center of attention and helps them to feel more certain that they look their best. On rare occasions you'd run into people who really didn't like being fussed with, but most responded to the treatment. Get in close and move things into the spots where you want them. Your subjects will love it and the results will show up in the photos.

Its an honest and wonderful picture Toby, and I'm glad you didn't posit this in the 'artistic' section...then we'd be hearing comments about the sensuous rocks echoing the diaphenous (sic) model and other nonsense...or worse.

 

What the pix says to me is: youth; beauty; and its wonderful to be alive.