laceyhughes
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Image Comments posted by laceyhughes
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This one is probably my favorite of the group of the ones where she is well lit. The pose is great, her look enticing. I really like your lighting with soft shadows. Again with the blue stockings, a punch of color and texture.
My suggestion for this one would again be some sort of back-lighting. For me her head just blends back too much. Especially with her bright, vibrant red hair, the highlights you could create would really help make this image stand out.
Lacey
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I'm not a fan of this one as much as a few of your other photos of this model. For one thing, to me it appears her head falls outside the focal plane. It's mostly in her eyes. They do not appear in sharp focus. I see you shot at ISO 200, f8, 1/125. You should have been able to close down your aperture more and still be able to hand-hold your camera (if that's what you were doing), to allow for more focal plane. If your camera was mounted to a tripod, you could have slowed it a lot farther. As long as the model was not moving fast, slow shutter speeds shouldn't have been a problem. However, I do now know the sync speed of your flash. So, take it all with a grain of salt. The other thing I don't like about her head is that perspectively speaking, it appears much smaller that it should. Her cheeks appear larger than her head to me.
I do really like the lighting you have here. Her skin tone appears very even, with nice, light shadows. Unfortunately her black shoes do not stand out against the black background. The straps of the shoes leave her feet oddly diced. But I do like your use of the blue stockings. They give a little boost of color and texture to the image. I think perhaps a small hair light illuminating her from behind would help separate the rest of her hair from blending into black. Just a couple thoughts.
Lacey
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Very dramatic. I like it.
The horizon bothers me though. I can't quite tell if it was supposed to be straight, but isn't; or if it's supposed to be off, but not off far enough. I personally would flatten the horizon. Especially with an almost centered transition between sea and sky, it is really obvious to me that something about the photo is amiss. Another idea might be to crop more of the sea out of the frame. It's not really adding much other than dead space, and the darker right corner draws more of my attention than I would like. I might bring the bottom edge somewhere around the middle of where it is now, and the horizon. Just a couple ideas.
Lacey
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I love the picture. Excellent exposure on the dog.
I actually stopped to comment because many years ago my Dad had a Dalmatian named Sadie. This photo reminds me a lot of her, even her spots were similar. Your photo makes me smile, and reminds me of my childhood. Thank you.
Lacey
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For me there is not enough light on the upper half of the model. She is sitting in a dark void surrounded by a light background. Her face is dark where she is sitting in shadows, where her legs are bright from the surrounding lighting. Perhaps either a reflecting disc, or fill flash aimed higher could have helped remedy this situation. Even her black dress graduates from almost a blueish tone at the bottom of the skirt to a black-black near the top of the dress. There is also an uneven contrast appearance throughout. Again, it is light contrast at the bottom of the frame, where toward the model's face there is a lot more. I would like to see more uniformity.
I don't have a lot of experience in staging people, but this pose is pleasing enough for me. She appear to be comfortable.
Just a few of my thoughts.
Lacey
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Jacqueline
There is something haunting about this image. Well done. I love the catch-lights in her eyes. Her gaze is captivating. The exposure, and possibly brightened eyes, are all well executed. I don't much care for the mottling in the child's skin tone, especially around the jaw line. I might try and tone it down just a little. I also don't care for how close her eyes are to the top edge of the frame. I would liked to have seen just a little more space. Not much, but enough so that the upper eyebrow is not so dangerously close to being cut off. There is also a dark spot on the child's upper lip. It reminds me of a cookie crumb, and a bit distracting. The whites of the child's eyes are excellent.
I do not find this image in the least bit sexual. Nor do I find the image a portrayal of animal cruelty. If this was a faux fur stuffie, you would not have received such harsh criticism over what actually has nothing to do with the image itself. Unless you are using this photo for an ad, I really don't see what the fox really has to do with more than just an interesting side element. It's an accent piece. It really could have been just about anything you used to cover the child. I think the fur adds an element of texture to the image. And the fox's face really just completes the idea that this was not just something found in the common household.
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I like your newest version as well. Each have their own strengths. I guess the best question to ask here is how are you trying to depict this scene? Are you going for more natural, or supernatural? This image is that of a more supernatural feel. Something of dreams/nightmares. Your newest version is more natural. I feel as though I really could come across that scene in real life. It's all spooky, and fantastic (fantasy). Obviously I can't see inside your head as to how you feel this image should be portrayed. But perhaps if you could convey in words how you are feeling, I could lend a more useful critique. For me, I find word extremely difficult. It's always easier to show than to describe. But sometimes feelings can cross over from the world of emotions to the world of vision. Anyway, just curious how you see this image when you close your eyes...
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Hi Michael!
I really like this version much more than the previous. You've maintained that dark, spookiness, yet the image is much brighter and easier to view. With the crop, you've eliminated the distracting vines, but maintained the stairs' railing. I like that this could have easily been shot at a dark castle. Your colors compliment each other well. Halloween is my favorite holiday/time of year. I actually leave a lot of my decor up year round, candle holders etc. I would be more than happy to display this image on my wall. I've always admired your skills, especially when it comes to processing. Excellence.
Lacey
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Hello again!
I saw the crop you left at my portfolio. It does to away with a lot of the space at the top of the frame. I don't much care for how close the tallest leave is to the edge. It's almost in danger of being cut off. I uploaded what I would have chose for a crop had it been my image. I feel your original crop left too much open space at the top. Your second crop was too close for my taste. I think that it's important to keep some of they sky element in the photograph. It allows the viewer to experience the soft, diffuse lighting conditions. You don't want to leave too much sky though, your focus is to be on the tea leaves of course. I also like the boheh blending from dark to light. Again, an element that I would not want to completely lose. Just an idea. Keep shooting!
Lacey
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Yes, I'm sure you found one or two. :) I use my portfolio as a learning tool, not a gallery to display my best work. I have fixed the ones you see, I just don't display them. The crops were just an idea, didn't know if you had thought of them or not. Like I mentioned, I see the potential for intriguing abstracts, not just scenery. Keep up the good work.
Lacey
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Interesting. I'm not sure what all the green adds, but ok...
The thing that bothers me with this photo is your dipping horizon, down to the left. With such a strong contrasty horizontal plane, you really should make sure it's level. I realize how hard it can be sometimes to shoot a level horizon. For this I suggest you rotate the image.
Something else to think about: This might make for an intriguing abstract piece. I can see it working well with different crops. I uploaded a few ideas.
Lacey
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hmmmm - Children as a category? I guess because it appears to be a child's toy...
Interesting. I like how the tires appear to be resting on top of water. Overall I would suggest a levels adjustment. For me the image appears too dull and flat.
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Fantastic capture! Your eagle is in excellent focus.
Unfortunately for me, because of the colors involved, the wings of the eagle blend too well with the background. I might spend some time and adjust the hue, saturation, and lightness of the kelp a bit. Just a thought. Well done Dan.
Lacey
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I agreed with the beautiful scenery. Unfortunately not so much on the execution side of a beautiful scene. The blaring blown sun spot is too much for me. If you had closed your aperture down as small as it would go it (f22 as opposed to f11) would have helped reduce that effect. Did you have a tripod with you? I see that you shot this at ISO 400, 1/256 sec. So my guess is that this shot was hand-held. Nothing wrong with that at all. For me, if I was hand-holding I would have stepped down the aperture to f16-f22 depending on what shutter speed would be required for the shot. If I was using a tripod, ISO would have been set at 100, aperture at f22 to cut the amount of light entering the camera and create the sun rays, and I probably would have a ND filter to slow my shutter speed. I might have also taken 2 exposures to blend together. One exposed for the scene, one exposed for the shadows. To me, this image is over-exposed in the sky, decent in the middle ground, foreground under-exposed. All in all this image does not work for me. I have viewed many more photos from your portfolio, and this particular image does not portray what you are truly capable of.
Lacey
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A very cute image of a very adorable little girl. You have great focus on her eyes. I love the softness you've achieved with what appears to be window light.
For me though, the image appears a bit flat and dull. She has a bright red shirt on. Captivating eyes. And an absolutely precious smirk. For me all this suggests the image should pop a bit more. I've uploaded a visual reference of what I'm trying to describe, hope you don't mind too much. I adjusted the levels to add a bit more brightness, and a hint more contrast. Then I isolated the girl and added a slight vignette to the background. I also increased the Vibrance a little. Just my ideas on your wonderful image...
Lacey
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I really like how you've captured the translucence of the leaves on what appears to be an overcast day. The soft light glowing through is superb. I might suggest a crop on the top of the frame. The bald grey sky does not add anything to the photo. Good job on your perspective. It's one not often seen.
Lacey
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You have good water flowing through the image. Appears to be well exposed. You have the wispy falls without harshly blown highlights.
I'm curious though, was the the natural coloring, or something done in post? The reason I ask is that the colors look really fake to me. They don't blend well with the rest of the water that is the iconic whitish/blue. While I can understand wanting to give a little more punch to the image, to me this creek (river, whatever) appears heavily polluted and not at all pleasant. If this was natural setting, I would be wanting to grab the nearest Geiger counter to make sure I wasn't irradiated after contact with that water. Either way, I think I would tone down the overall color effect. For me it's just too over-powering. I've uploaded a visual reference for a more toned down effect that I would find a little more appealing. Hope you don't mind. Just my thoughts. You have caputred a placid moment. I can't tell whether this was in your backyard, or far away. I like that there is a sense of wonder about it all. Well done.
Lacey
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Interesting HDR. I really like your landscape. The clouds help bring a sense of altitude to the image. Beautiful scenery. I don't like the haloing you still have on the right side around the foreground. For me it's just too obvious. This has potential to be a great HDR, and landscape. For me it just needs to be tonemapped again. What program are you using for the HDR processing? Your EXIF shows you using CS4, but the image resembles more of Photomatix. Are you going for a more natural look, or more toward the artistic look of HDR? You might be able to get away with just exposure fusion if you want the background to match the foreground. Just ideas.
Lacey
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What file format was this shot in?
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Gary
Well done! In my opinion, you have exposed this spot on. I have recently shot scenes with foggy trees. Your tree density was not as thick as mine, and you have great light on the forest floor. Your scene is well balanced in exposure. Nothing really too dark. Only on spot right in the middle that is close to being too bright. I like your horizontal composition, you really get a sense of space. Sorry, not much on the actual critique side this time. Just a great photo.
Lacey
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Beautiful scenery! Your horizon dips down on the right side though. I feel that perhaps because of all the mist, that the image could maybe use just a bit more contrast. Just my opinion though. I might also try and bring out the rainbow just a bit more. Just a few ideas for you to maybe think about. I uploaded a version with a corrected horizon, and just a bit more saturation and vibrance in the rainbow for visual reference. Hope you don't mind.
Lacey
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You have some interesting lighting here. Some of which I think works, some of it not quite as much. As you mentioned, you were set up for another shoot... The blue on the side of his head is strange to me. But the illuminated portions of his face are well lit. You have captured a great expression. Not really smiling, not frowning, not excited, not disgusted. Just is. I can see the thought behind his eyes, and it really makes me wonder what exactly he is thinking.
I don't care that you have left the cord to your lighting just hanging out in the frame. I find it a bit distracting. However it combined with the edge of your backdrop does help tell your story of a photo on the fly. Without your story though, I do not feel that it would really hold it's own. I also feel that if you are telling the story of a hard working man, then you should either completely include or exclude his nametag on the shirt. The nametag on the workshirt is pretty iconic of Blue-collar America. So for me I would much rather preferred to see all of it. Help identify who this is and what he does. Otherwise it really could just be some other random guy without a story to tell.
I feel the skin tone might be a bit too reddish. Overall a pretty good image.
Lacey
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Paulo
I see through an EXIF reader that you are using Adobe CS4 to process your photos. I also ran into the issue briefly. The reason behind the colors being rendered differently is because of the color space assigned to your photo is not recognized by your browser. You have to use the "Save for Web and Devices" option to color code them correctly for Explorer, etc. It's in the drop down menu just below "Save" and "Save As". Good Luck!
When I view this with my Explorer browser I get a monochrome, slightly greenish cast image. Much on the cooler tone side. I really like it. Safari shows me an image with the water more brownish, the boats and dock more yellowish. I actually don't care for this version as much. Just my personal preference though.
Lacey
Taller than the trees!
in Nature
Posted
Nice capture.
For my taste the image lacks contrast. It makes it appear very flat. And the overall tone is a bit too on the cool side. The giraffe appears to be cold. Assuming it's in Africa, I should feel as though I need to get it a blanket. :) The sky is bland. I see it was a cloudy day, so that can make shooting conditions a little more tricky.
You have a great base start on this image. I feel as though a little time with some editing software would really make this image stand out. Unfortunately cameras don't have even close to the same dynamic range our eyes do. And they tend to render cloudy images on the blue scale. Adjusting the image to more replicate the original scene would work fantastic for something like this. Nothing over the top. I just want to feel like I was really there. Just a few thoughts.
Lacey