Gomez, Grant, Smith, Hickey, and everyone else--I'm calling you out!

[kentalan]

I know it sounds like fighting words, but I did want people a little fired up when they opened this post. You see, I want blatent, honest, critiques telling me exactly why my photos suck, and if eveyone is a bit irritated and defensive, they are less likely to blow smoke up my ass. I knew that Rolando, Marc, Mike, and JT won't hold back, and that's why they got named in the subject line.

So here all some of what I feel are my best from my first four shoots. Critique the hell out of them, let me know which are the better ones, and which I should burn and destroy. Feel free to hammer anything I have in my portfolio as well. Keep in mind that I don't really know anything about photograpy, and what little I do know has come from these experiments and reading here on GG.

So relieve you pent up frustrations from life, taxes, bills, relationships, and unload them here in the form of a critique so that I can learn and improve my photography. Here is the best of what have done since I started a couple months ago...

[mhickey]

I suspect you will get differing comments. Mainly because those of us you called out don't always agree with each other.

#1 - I am confused by this image. I like the angles and I dislike the angles. I like the way her bent leg echoes the window frame. However the strong light from the window carries an angle that pulls me back away and when I compare it to the vertical model I get lost. You as the creator need to know what you want to achieve, what was it that you saw in the viewfinder that made you click? Yes you have a nice image but my eyes get caught by the window, second by her nipples and then I get to her face. If I was you I would keep this one. What bothers me will appeal to others.

#2 - Does not work for me. It almost looks like it was blown up from a magazine shot. My eye gets distrated by the white light circle to her left, then while I am there I found myself trying to decide if there was some light source underneath the top where her breast would be. What I do like and what could have been played with more is the way the dof works with the arches behind her to create lines that could lead the viewer to the primary focus. The pose is workable.

#3 - Personally I like this one but many dislike pushed grain images. I like it here. Maybe a slightly different crop but I don't have time at the moment to play with it.

#4 - I don't think this image flatters the model. The blown out arm by the window bothers me, Overall there isn't enough tonal range in this one at least for my tastes. It also looks out of focus to me but I am undergoing changes with my eyesight these days so don't quote me on that. If you meant for it to be "soft" I guess you achieved that but soft and blown highlights are not a combination that I like.

#5 - When I first looked at this image I did not like it. I think because I wanted more shadow definition in her face but the more I studied it, I found things I did like. I like the diagonal her body creates in the image. I love the open door or window in the background as it tells a story for me. Perhaps if I could make it out just a little better it would mean more to me. I would have liked to see a black thong as it would draw less of my attention. As it is the 'x' of the thong is almost image center and creates a false balance to me. I like this image.

#6 - I remember when you first posted the last image and when you joined us here. I like very much the look on the model's face but I have never liked the combination of the pose and the crop. If the crop was tightened up that would help but the pose is still off to me. I could never quite figure out why but I believe it may be because the position of the left hand looks unnatural as if she has forced it into that position as opposed to the other hand.

I don't know if I can tell someone they should trash an image. As far as what goes in your book, they should be first and foremost what you feel are your best images. Sure you can get input from folks but you gotta make the decsion. You need to show some range to what you do. If you have an emerging style great but I don't think I see that yet. By the way you were lucky to catch my attention. I rarely look closely at the Home Page and I rarely go to the Critique Forum. I hope you get feedback from the others as they are the real pros, I'm just working at it, as best I can.


Mike

[kentalan]

I appreciate your comments, and since I agree with a lot that you pointed out, I hope to use those lessons in the future.

The second one was scanned from a 5x7 print done with an underexposed negative, so your magazine thoughts were not far off. This is one that I have been wanting to reshoot for a while. In fact, all of these I would like to reshoot for one reason or another.

If some people disagree with each other on these images, that's fine with me. It will give me more to think about.

Thanks again.

[thomasfallon]

They all suck. Sell the camera and become a monk. Actually, I like them. Number one is my favorite. I love the light. Her hand bothers me. The splayed fingers draw a lot of attention and ar not feminine. Two is flat light on the face and the image quality seems pretty poor. Hot spots in the background. But I like the low angle. Three is very graphic. It is kind of a like it or hate it image since it is so unusual. I like it, but I am a weird guy. Four, I love the light coming across th body, but you need some catchlights in the eyes IMHO. The knee up is distracting. The image quality again seems weak. What's up. On four, the light on the nose is distracting. The lighting seems hap-hazzard, blasting her back and leaving the face in shadow. Not much modelling of either area - just one tone. Also, the fingers point us out of the image. They get a lot of attention being dark on white. The last one is very soft and pretty. It goes in a totally different direction than any of the others. That would be my main suggestion to you. Find a style you like and stick with it. These run the gamut. I would never recognize them as the work of one person. You have an eye and a talent. You need a clear direction of where you want to go. Graphic, grainy and contrasty. Beautiful and subtle. Hard light or soft. You decide.

[thomasfallon]

BTW, you need to send all those models over to me.