dan_andrews

Sharp. Excellent exposure, and wonderful character. I think the cat needs more room on top so you can see the full shape of its eyebrow, but I would not crop anything from the sides or bottom. Very nicely done.

I like the use of silhouette and the effect you have in the sky. I think the border is out of place, but the lighting is marvelous. The composition is a little too tight for my liking, but not bad.

A nice pattern and good use of color. I'd recommend standing further back (if possible) and shooting the same iamge through a longer lens. You'll find the curves become more parallel and you get less of that "fall-off" on the right of the frame.

The bird is great, but what really makes this pic work is the diagonal branch. The use of a diagonal line adds interest--a horizontal branch would look merely average.

 

Excellent shot.

The pattern of windows is nice, but the balance between the brick wall and the sky is excellent composition.

 

One question: are the clouds natural? They look like they were either out-of-focus (shallow depth-of-fosuc?) or added afterwards in Photoshop. My guess is that were out-of-focus.

 

Another possible improvement (but this is a matter of opinion only): If you could go back to re-shoot this image, you might look for light that brightens up the wall, too. That way, you can enhance the brick's texture, perhaps adding to the pattern.

The central atrium of the Burj Al-Arab Hotel, Dubai

David, of all your uploaded photos, this is by far the strongest. Great use of color! The lines throughout this picture are very strong. The sense of place and activity is excellent. Best of all, you have nice lighting.

This works well as a contrasty B & W shot. The symmetry is wonderful.

A colorful rendition of an iconic building in Dubai. The tilt was

intentional.

A simple composition, but does it work?

I was playing with plane-of-focus for this shot.

I love the macro shot in its detail and compostion, but it looks unfinished with only two petals colored in. Odd numbers are generally more pleasing. Try a third petal (perhaps the one in between the yellow and purple petals) and find a complimentary color, or experiment with various combinations.

 

You are on to a great idea here, and the basic shot is technically solid. If you post others shots similar to this, let me know.

The Taj Mahal before sunset. I wanted to capture it at a unique

angle... the marble texture and people were intended to give it both

detail and scale.

The Jantar Mantar in Delhi. I wanted to capture the unusual curves

of this particular instrument.

Technically, this is a fine picture. very sharp, great colors. It shows the excellence of Velvia and the sharpness of the lens, as well as the photographer's ability to use those qualities to their fullest potential.

 

Aesthetically, it brings to mind photos from my own past ... which I will never show anyone because I felt that they were flat and lacked substance. (And I have taken enough of those photos to recognize another one immediately.)

 

One bit of advice I've often been given is to move in, work the subject, get closer ... and I would have done the same thing here.

Good: The subtle colors, which make this photo work for me.

 

More good: the hint of a silhouete in the lower right corner. (But it could be better--read on:)

 

Maybe good, maybe bad: the apparent sharpness of the image (though it could be better--but that may be a result of the scan).

 

The bad: there's a lot of dead space at the bottom. The water is more interesting and should fill the lower half of the photo. OR you could get in closer to the silhouetes and make them a foreground object. Either way, the photo would become more interesting.

 

Another bad: You're getting vignetting in the corners. A shot like this can work with a telephoto lens. A wideangle lens may be the cause of the vignetting.

 

Back to the good: Some photographers would say that by putting the horizon in the middle of the photo you create a poor composition, but I disagree in this case. The simplicity of the image is enhanced by putting the horizon there; following the rule of thirds would have weakened this shot IMHO.

 

Just starting out, eh? You look like you havce a promising future. Have fun!

Another shot inspired by Claude Butcher.

Cascading water near Kaaterskill Falls.

...and I'm not talking about black-and-white. The cultural contrast between the traditional veil of a Muslim woman and the obvious sense of power in this portrait is subtly provocative. No doubt there are other meanings one could read into this photo, but the positive reactions from viewers here speaks to the messages this photo could convey. Nice work!

Maybe it's just me, but I think the shot would work better if the child was in focus and a soft filter was used to create the intimacy. I seldom rate photos, but if I did this would get a high rating for originality but a low rating for aesthetics.

 

This is original because you break one of the basic rules of photography--for good reason, as you explained. But it's not very aesthetic to me because it just doesn't work.

 

I am interested in reading other opinions on this, however.

First, thanks for commenting on one of my shots.

 

This is the strongest of the three, but it could be better in two ways: first, the model needs a bit more space on top--right now the top of her head looks cramped next to the edge of the shot. The other improvement would be to increase the contrast slightly--maybe a half-grade harder if you print BW, or tweak the contrast level a bit digitally.

 

That said, this shot has a lot going for it: her expression shows off her face nicely, and she appears pleased. Her emotion doesn't dominate the picture. As a portrait this works--but for her actress portfolio she may need a different type of shot.

 

Her body appears relaxed, but her hand is a bit distracting. Her thumb shouldn't curl like that, and some photogs might say the ring she wears is too noticeable. Overall, her pose looks comfortable, so this works for the most part.

 

Technically this seems good, because she is completely in focus--her eyes in particular need to be sharp and they are. The neutral background is a good call and works in B&W. If this were a color shot, you'd want a suitably neutral color background.

 

Nice work!

The lines and shadows from a cavern in New York seemed to be

interesting subject matter for an abstract. Comments?

Taken near Kaaterskill Falls in upstate New York. I liked the lines

made by the rocks and the log. Comments?

A famous person--by himself--doesn't make for a great pic. This might be a personal keepsake, and the fact that you got close to Patrick is certainly memorable, but as a photo, this falls into the category of "snapshots." (A nice way of saying it's like 99.9% of all photos ever taken.)

 

There are many things to consider when taking a photo: light, composition, technical issues with your gear, etc. Obviously, the light was pretty poor, but you couldn't help that much, so I won't say any more on that.

 

In terms of composition, it looks like you were REAL close. A standard portrait requires the photographer to be about 2 meters away--you can fiddle with the distance to be original, but a standard distance is 2 meters. This looks like you were a bit closer than that, and the photo suffers for it. Patrick looks a bit distorted, and his head is cut off. Futhermore, his face is smack in the middle of the shot--remember the Rule of Thirds. It can be used for effect here, too.

 

One technical issue--your flash pumped too much light on the subject. Do you have a bounce card? If not, make a cheap one out of a envelope and rubber band, then angle your flash head upwards to 60-75 degrees. It will provide more even lighting, especially in dark situations. Forget one of the Sto-Fen things--they don't really improve your flash as much as a bounce card.

 

Keep your eyes open for more celebs--those a saleable photo opportunities. (Judging from the other photographers in your shot, you'll have competition, so you better be good!)

 

Good luck!

Inspired by Clyde Butcher, this photo tries to capture a scene in a

way the viewer can "step in to." Thoughts?