ricardojmendez

Hi everyone,

 

I'd like to read your comments on this photo. What do you think?

Interesting angle and good toning, but that stone bit up front distracts too much from what should be the main center of attention.

Great framing, beautiful colors, excellent posing on the model's behalf. :-) Good use of the cropping to enhance the subject as well.

Hi again everyone,

 

I'm back after a long hiatus, and would like to request some critiques

on this image.

 

Thanks in advance.

What do you think of this image? Is it well balanced? What does it

make you think and feel?

 

Critiques are welcome.

One of those few photos I've seen here that I'd truly like to have printed to hang. The contrasts between his coal-covered skin and the kitten's clean fur, his tense body and the kitten's relaxed pose, the fact that he looks strong and muscular while the kitten is obviously a just a baby; all make it an image where your gaze just keep moving around, looking for more detail.

 

It's also tender. While you can't fully see his expression, the wrinkles around his eyes make it look like he's smiling, content in being with his friend.

 

A beautiful image.

Normally I would worry about not having a strong enough center of

attention, but I like the mood of the scene enough that this image

works for me. What do you think? Any pointers or notes? Does your

gaze wander around too much, or does the image holds you?

 

Thanks in advance.

Hi Piotr,

 

I love the sense of humor. I was raised on a catholic society but don't consider myself a catholic at all, and this photo really amuses me.

 

Some notes: while the background is a bit cluttered, I can let it pass because it adds a feeling of a lived-in house. The while splotch in the frame, however, distracts too much since it is the hotter spot in the whole image.

Lovely portrait and a priceless expression. The scar-like thing on her arm kind of draws my eyes away from the face, but other than that it's beautiful.

 

That 70-200L lens seems to be one sharp baby.

Interesting concept, even if her attitude is more Cécile de Volanges. Even though I can imagine it would be hard to accomplish it in a controlled setting, your reference to the club makes me want to see them on a group of otherwise dressed party goers.

 

I like the side front light a lot, and it reminded me somewhat of Igor Amelkovich's work on nudes posted here in Photo.net. Was the change on the texture of the wall behind them natural or digitally added later?

Hi Poitr,

 

The stitching looks good. Actually the sky colour change is the part I like most, but other than that the image seems empty and expressionless, unlike your usual work.

A great expression of remose on the body language. I'm not sure about the choice of focus on the forehead and hair, but the blurriness of the face adds a degree of anonimity to the penitent.

 

It's a beautiful image, too, but I'm sure you didn't need me to tell you that.

Beautiful image. I love the way she seems to both be coming out of the shadows and hiding back into them, how she looks both midly frightened but curious about the light, how her body language is not clear-cut and makes us wonder, and the great work you did with the illumination.

 

As Jay mentions, do let me know if you're willing to take on pupils.

I'm glad to see that your foray in digital is going well.

 

While I love your "Little Anne"s - even if "love" might not be the correct word - your forays into less shocking subjects are more often than not beautiful. As others have pointed out, the degradation in tones and composition are just great.

Beautiful image, even if not groundbreaking. It should show us all that it's the photographer and not thousands of dollars in L glass that makes an image.

 

Piotr, what are your experiences in shooting people with Velvia? Is this image as on the slide or did you have to perform color corrections for the skin?

 

 

I've got to echo Justin - down to the easy-sell-for-cat-photos comment. The blue color is indeed a great contrasts against the grey cat. The only thing mildly distracting is the area on the bottom right, but in shots such as these you can't just overthink the foreground or you'll miss it.

I'd bet it's a cat - anybody who has a cat would probably recognize that gaze of superiority.

 

Great mysterious lighting, Leslie. What's your experience in going digital?

A much delayed comment.

 

I like the idea, and the contrast between the butch figure that the warrior presents versus the more effeminate arms and legs of the woman at her feet. There are two things that bother me, however:

 

a) The mask looks out of place, and while it adds to the surreal feeling that white splotch amidst all the greys break the image for me; and

 

b) The way the warrior holds her sword, almost leaning on it and softly holding it by the end, just screams "prop". A more definite grip on the weapon would have made her look more like the part.

Hi Nathan,

 

Since you asked for suggestions, please take these into consideration.

 

1) Lighting: on-camera flash will leave your images washed out, and won't evenly illuminate a scene. If you don't have lighting equipment at hand, I suggest you try window light - images come out looking a lot more natural then.

 

2) Depth of field and focusing: watch were you're focusing, and make sure you have as much depth of field as you need. In the case of this specific image, the area in focus is not her face but her arm, and this causes an unnecessary softness that hurts the image.

 

3) Watch the model. There are some marks on her wrist, probably from a watch or a bracelet, that are distracting and break the smoothness of the skin. Her other hand, which could have been playfully going through her hair, was actually caught in an awkward claw-like position.

 

4) Watch the foreground. What do you want us to see? Her face is partly covered, and I would have liked to see both of her eyes. Instead I get both her arms right in the foreground, both in awkward positions like they're just there because they have nothing else to do.

 

5) Watch the frame. You cut off her left shoulder for no apparent reason, which suddenly stops what could have been a flowing curve towards her thighs.

 

6) Finally, try to tell us something, even if it is just that she's relaxed and thinking of something else. Focus on the traits that better transmit your concept.

 

Good luck and keep on shooting,

 

 

Interesting perspectives, I must confess I never went into a representing-evil state-of-mind. Actually, my first thought was "cruxifiction" - which goes towards Frank's point of a Rorshach test.

 

I just love the aesthetics of the image, specially the contrast of the red on the jam and lips against eh pale white-pink of the skin.

I like how the photo makes them look like they're floating, adding an unnatural aura to it; and the only thing I would have changed in the arrangement is to have the grace on the right be a little closer to the center, to balance the photo more. Still, the way she is positioned gives her an independent air that she wouldn't have on a closer, more submissive arrangement.

I personally like that by being farther away, Mauricio managed to capture the energy of the crowd versus the static setting. Had he moved in too close, we probably owuld have gotten only a blurr of people and not the contrast.

Excellent image. Impressive.

 

(Oh, there's a man on the background who looks just like Charlie Watts).

Hi Mauricio,

 

It's good to have you back. Of all the photos of her that you posted, I like better the ones that focus on her face and sparkling eyes; which look extremely alive and contrast well with the apparent coldness of the weather. Her eyes are even more apparent here, where they match the leaves in the background as much as her skin matches the sweater. This photo, the only one where she is half-smiling, makes her look almost impish and childish, and a lot more like someone I'd like to meet than her more serious ones.

Perhaps Mr. Kochanowski would care to clarify if this was a club or a street photo - I'm pretty sure the people behind her are walking by, not dancing; and the confusion is another reason as to why this would have worked better in landscape with a wider view.