New Portrait shot

CO.C

http://ragdoll21.deviantart.com/art/Smiles-90990678

This is one of the friends of a cousin I used the other day - He is 15 and I have to say he should go into modeling professionally as every picture I took of him - well what can I say they turned out fantastic but hey that's just my opinion!

Tell me what you guys think.

City-Exile

I quite simply don't see what you're glowing about, as this picture isn't, in my opinion, noteworthy. The focus is on his hair, which doesn't make for an interesting image. I certainly don't think it belongs under "Glamour Portraits".

Cabaal

I wouldn't say fantastic, but then I'm only looking at one photo of the person.

FX Meister

it's ok. He's no lady killer though. Maybe you have the hots for him or something

Ballyman

Bit harsh?

Then again, self praise is no praise!

Cabaal

Ballyman wrote: »

Bit harsh?

Then again, self praise is no praise!

Pehaps,
Comments about it being marked as Glamour are 100% valid though
In fairness look at the other photos in the glamour section - http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/people/glamour/

Its no place for a kids photo imho

AnimalRights

If he's model material then this pot bellied 44 year old is a supermodel.
:cool:

Ballyman

Cabaal wrote: »

Pehaps,
Comments about it being marked as Glamour are 100% valid though
In fairness look at the other photos in the glamour section - http://browse.deviantart.com/photography/people/glamour/

Its no place for a kids photo imho

I wasn't disagreeing with you in fact I totally agree. Just thought the first two comments were a little harsh.
But the OP may have drawn it on themselves also

CO.C

FX Meister wrote: »

it's ok. He's no lady killer though. Maybe you have the hots for him or something

Eh I am 23 and I am engaged, lol

CO.C

Ballyman wrote: »

I wasn't disagreeing with you in fact I totally agree. Just thought the first two comments were a little harsh.
But the OP may have drawn it on themselves also

wow - some harsh comments there, the reason I have focused on his hair more so then his face is because I felt it was a good shot, and no matter how much any one insults my picture I think it's good and it IS Noteworthy,

AnimalRights

Not insulting it just C & C ing it.

CO.C

ok I don't do short hand, what's C&Cing it

AnimalRights

Comment and critique.

Eirebear

I think this photo might possibly work a little better if we saw it as part of a series.

As a standalone portrait it does absolutely nothing, for reasons pointed out on here.

You have focused on the hair on top of his head, we cant see any facial features other than his nose.

You have to remember when you are showing people a standalone portrait, that they do not know the person in the way you do.
Our imagination cannot fill in the blanks, such as his eyes, his mouth, his general demanour in the way yours can.

And for those reasons this portrait doesnt work.

City-Exile

CO.C wrote: »

... and no matter how much any one insults my picture I think it's good and it IS Noteworthy,

No one is trying to insult you, or the shot.
You asked us for our opinion & we gave it to you.
We've tried to outline the reasons why we didn't like it.

In another thread, you're asking for advice on a portfolio, which would suggest you're planning on taking pictures professionally. All I will say to you is that if a majority of observers don't agree with your opinion, you may need to revise your approach. If you're not willing to take the advice of others, there isn't really much hope of you improving.

We're all here to help each other & you can get some really great advice here, if you want it.

CabanSail

I am not as against the pose as some others seem to be, then again I am not really taken by it either. At least you are trying something different, but in this case I don't think it really works. IMO you should have tried for the whole face to be sharp or made the DOF much smaller, the middle ground doesn't work for me & yells "AUTO"

The Monochrome conversion is also very flat & the highlights seem to be burnt out while there are no blacks.

Still if you like the shot & the subject does then that is fine too.

Dragan

City-Exile wrote: »

We're all here to help each other & you can get some really great advice here, if you want it.

Damn straight you can. I love this board, have gotten some stellar advice from folk that has really improved what i can do and helped me actualise what i have been trying to get from shots.

The important thing here OP is that you need to approach C&C with an open mind. If someone says they do not like a shot they are not knocking you, simply stating a preference.

For me i imagine it is a fine shot if i know the person, but i don't and the shot doesn't tell me alot about either the subject or the photographer.

Also, with regard to uploading to DA, you really do need to get your tags and catagories correct if you want people to see your work under the correct seaches, otherwise it will just be dismissed as it is in the wrong area and may never get a hit from someone who is interested in that style of shot.

Freddie59

City-Exile wrote: »

We're all here to help each other & you can get some really great advice here, if you want it.

Ditto to that.

I only started with a DSLR in April of this year and I've received tons of help on this board, which is much appreciated.:) Don't be so touchy. Everyone messes up from time to time. If you like the photo and someone else doesn't it's not the end of the world. I'm sure we all have shots like that. But it's a very good learning experience. Learn to listen - the techniques will follow quickly behind.

conkeroo

CO.C wrote: »

http://ragdoll21.deviantart.com/art/Smiles-90990678

This is one of the friends of a cousin I used the other day - He is 15 and I have to say he should go into modeling professionally as every picture I took of him - well what can I say they turned out fantastic but hey that's just my opinion!

Tell me what you guys think.

PM sent.

AnimalRights

I sent one but didn't boast about it.



































I bet Freddie sent her his famous 450D PM too.

Calina

OP,

please take this in the spirit in which it was meant.

The photograph is difficult for a number of reasons. For myself, I don't think it's technically so great, and I think you have affection for the model which doesn't allow you to be dispassionate about it.

I don't particularly like the black and white converstion. It lacks contrast and all I am getting is grey grey grey. Nor do I really like the framing as it comes across as far too busy for me.

The key problem that I have is that you've called the photograph "Smiles" and your model does not - because of the angle that you've shot - look like he's smiling.

On the good front, the exposure looks okay and it seems to be reasonably sharp.

Last question: do you think the photograph turned out great because you're a good photographer, or because you think he's so goodlooking and model-like?

I get the impression it's the latter which leads me to wonder what sort of answers you were hoping for when you asked us what we thought.

conkeroo

AnimalRights wrote: »

I sent one but didn't boast about it.

I bet Freddie sent her his famous 450D PM too.

Who's boasting??
PM SENT
Now that's boasting...

AnimalRights

In my PM I told her not to be scared away from here, but alas it seems she may have been.

CO.C

I would really like to take the advise but when some one questions if I have the hots for a 15 year old boy when I am a 23 year old female then I take offense to it. That's the reason why I have been quite.

City-Exile

CO.C wrote: »

I would really like to take the advise but when some one questions if I have the hots for a 15 year old boy when I am a 23 year old female then I take offense to it. That's the reason why I have been quite.

That seemed like a throw-away comment, so I'm sure you can ignore it.

Have you read anything here, which you think you could take with you & use the next time you're shooting portraits?

AnimalRights

I have learned to use older models, pity my Grandma is deceased.

melekalikimaka

b1tchy thread




thinks its ok, as calina said, b and w conversion not great, nothing catches my eye, nice for family members i suppose not the masses

if ya post here op you have to learn to accept negative comments, imo they're the best kind

AnCatDubh

Ok. I'm going to come from a somewhat different perspective here - i like the shot somewhat. Yep - it could do with the contrast to be bumped up a little. I can clearly see 'contentment' in the shot (and even a smile). I think a smile is a complete expression. From it, the impression i get is that he's not ecstatic but pleasantly pleased.

The crop isn't the normal but then again you've an unusual angle being explored. The depth of field is obviously shallow but i like the softness. Running an unsharp filter on it makes it quite harsh so if it were me, I'd stick with the softness thats in the shot.

I think the angle of shooting might be a little steep and to pull it back a little at time of shooting might have just given a little more of the face which would (i think) be more aesthetically pleasing - i'm only suggesting a little though. I think for a mood invoking shot you don't have to take a flat straight on take.

Overall, I think the chap's folk would be really pleased with it. It may not be everyones cup of tea. You've broken many of the 'rules' that some of the posters are pointing out but then again we often have threads around here about "which rule of photograph do you like to break most" so you are probably in good company.

Good luck with it.

CabanSail

CO.C wrote: »

I would really like to take the advise but when some one questions if I have the hots for a 15 year old boy when I am a 23 year old female then I take offense to it. That's the reason why I have been quite.

That comment was probably meant to be humorous, but may have missed the mark. In a forum like this you are probably better off just ignoring posts like that rather than getting offended. Maybe it's part of getting older but I find being offended takes too much effort these days. Concentrate more on the constructive criticism instead. So far I have found this particular forum to be very positive, compared to some of the online places I choose to frequent

If you are going to show work anywhere you will need to get a thick skin. It can be hard listening to an image you have worked hard on being pulled apart, but that is photography.

Placebo

thats a good photo, better than some with their on exhibs :rolleyes:

CO.C

Thanks guys, I do normally have a thick skin but it's just comments like that I take offense to because it's scary how out of control those comments can be and that's why I have been quite. I will take the comments on board when I am doing my next shoot.

Eirebear

CO.C wrote: »

Thanks guys, I do normally have a thick skin but it's just comments like that I take offense to because it's scary how out of control those comments can be and that's why I have been quite. I will take the comments on board when I am doing my next shoot.

Well welcome aboard anyways, im pretty sure i speak for everyone when i say were looking forward to seeing what else you may show us.

We may be a bunch of bastards at times, but were nice bastards!

City-Exile

I'm sure CO.C will look back in 12 months & be positive about what she has learned here.

CabanSail

CO.C .... How do you do your Mono Conversion?

I think that may be letting you down.

CO.C

CabanSail wrote: »

CO.C .... How do you do your Mono Conversion?

I think that may be letting you down.

I don't have any one to show me how to be a photographer so I am working on my own, I just bought a camera and started, lol as for my conversion, I can't afford photoshop so I use Piccasa tools, the editing software is soo damn expensive, I guess I will have to look for something better,

hey I like the boards, so I'm not scared off, I just know how bad comments can get out of control so fast so I am careful.

xshayx

Try getting gimp - www.gimp.org - poor wo/mans photoshop!

FX Meister

dont worry about it. Your attitude seemed a little immature so i thought you were of similar age. I fancied 15 year olds when i was 23

CO.C wrote: »

I would really like to take the advise but when some one questions if I have the hots for a 15 year old boy when I am a 23 year old female then I take offense to it. That's the reason why I have been quite.

CO.C

My attitude is not inmature - it's just defenseive because of the insult and if you knew me you would know why.

FX Meister

i dont know you. Sorry if i caused offence

Hugh_C

AnimalRights wrote: »

If he's model material then this pot bellied 44 year old is a supermodel.

AnimalRights wrote: »

Not insulting it just C & C ing it.

Don't see much in the way of C&C in your 1st effort there Animal. Maybe you should have a read of this ...

sprinkles

Calina wrote: »

I don't particularly like the black and white converstion. It lacks contrast and all I am getting is grey grey grey. Nor do I really like the framing as it comes across as far too busy for me.

The key problem that I have is that you've called the photograph "Smiles" and your model does not - because of the angle that you've shot - look like he's smiling.

I'd agree with Calina above. The BW conversion isn't great - there's some good free tools you can get your hands on if you don't have access to PS. The FAQ also has some good tutorials and tips - I can't recommend it enough.

As for the name - you called it smiles yet looking at the photo the "smile" is angled away from the camera and is not in focus. Instead the hair dominates. Perhaps if you had it the other way around, hair out of focus and the smile in focus it would have worked a bit better.

And don't take offense to anything anybody says to you. They're either giving you some constructive critisism or they're just in a grumpy mood

PS: You will learn more from your bad pictures than you will from the good ones..... but only by listening to people's opinions

FX Meister

CO.C wrote: »

wow - some harsh comments there, the reason I have focused on his hair more so then his face is because I felt it was a good shot, and no matter how much any one insults my picture I think it's good and it IS Noteworthy,

I find a lot of people here post their flicks just to get other boards users to flatter them. Then when they don't hear what they want they get all annoyed and don't listen to the criticism. You're a good example of this.

Ostrom

I had photoshop until I upgraded computers and left it behind. GIMP is free, and I find it just as good for what I need to do. I do a lot of black and white conversions, and I am generally happy with the results I get, I'm sure many would disagree.

This is how I do mine, if it is any use to you,

I do what I can in the camera with the shot if I know it is going to be black and white, I still use red and yellow filters, as I'm not too familiar with digital. I shoot in colour and convert afterwards in the computer

In GIMP, I fix up the levels reasonably well, then use channel mixer for converting to black and white. A good guide for your levels is 70% red, 30% green, and 5% blue, but you can adjust them as needed, the red in particular needs to be reduced and the green raised for skin tones, but you can play around with this until you get where you like.

Duplicate your layer twice, once for burn, and again for soft light, lower the opacity on each to about 15-20%, and play around with the slider; these will give you more control over tones and definition. Your image will have greater definition of shadow and highlight as a result.

You can google any of the terms and it should return a quick start guide to using levels and channel mixer, I hope this helps!




This was my own quick stab at it, it doesnt do much but I think you can work on picking up some detail in the face with the burn layers, which would really help the shot, and the contrast. As it is, its a bit washed out

Sorry if I'm crossing a line here, forum rules or anything I dont know if it is appropriate to post the image.... Apologies in advance OP

conkeroo

FX Meister wrote: »

I find a lot of people here post their flicks just to get other boards users to flatter them. Then when they don't hear what they want they get all annoyed and don't listen to the criticism. You're a good example of this.

And this is the criticism (below) people should listen to....?

FX Meister wrote: »

it's ok. He's no lady killer though. Maybe you have the hots for him or something

Great C&C there.

Fajitas!

FX, have a bit of cop on when someone asks for C&C on their photos.

That applies to more than just FX Meister too. Any more off topic/bitchiness will result in away time.

challengemaster

Well tbh, the OP's opinion did come across as a very biased one, one where the OP may like the person too much to see that its a bad photograph. Thus the comments were made. Coming in and declaring that the person should be a model on their own opinion, while clearly ignoring that the photo doesn't show anything of the sort.. Obviously the comments could have been worded better, but it had to be questioned why the OP thought this.

The comments may have been harsh, but true all the same.

As for comments made, Generally no harm is meant by whats said, but OP, coming on here, wanting praise for a photo instead of proper C&C, and declaring that you think the person should be a model is kind of asking for knee-jerk retorts.

As for the photo and proper C&C given, It's best to try take everything on board you learn here. It's a nice community of both amatuer and not so amatuer photographers, who all help eachother and try improve eachothers photography so they reach their potential. I'm speaking from experience on this one

OP please don't be put off by the first reactions you got here, but in future try to be less.. flaunty/show-off of what you've done, and try get proper C&C. I hope you stick around as you'll really benifit

~CM

Ricky91t

challengemaster wrote: »

Well tbh, the OP's opinion did come across as a very biased one, one where the OP may like the person too much to see that its a bad photograph. Thus the comments were made. Coming in and declaring that the person should be a model on their own opinion, while clearly ignoring that the photo doesn't show anything of the sort.. Obviously the comments could have been worded better, but it had to be questioned why the OP thought this.

The comments may have been harsh, but true all the same.

As for comments made, Generally no harm is meant by whats said, but OP, coming on here, wanting praise for a photo instead of proper C&C, and declaring that you think the person should be a model is kind of asking for knee-jerk retorts.

As for the photo and proper C&C given, It's best to try take everything on board you learn here. It's a nice community of both amatuer and not so amatuer photographers, who all help eachother and try improve eachothers photography so they reach their potential. I'm speaking from experience on this one

OP please don't be put off by the first reactions you got here, but in future try to be less.. flaunty/show-off of what you've done, and try get proper C&C. I hope you stick around as you'll really benifit

~CM

hes basically said what i was thinking but couldn't be bothered typing


I think from now on if you post for c&c just explain why you took the picture if you feel that something could be changed or there is something wrong with it but you can't quiet point it out.Then every comment you read after you post try and read it without thinking how you feel about the picture..Say you think the photo is terrible and someone comments saying "wow this is a great shot" you might think "he/she is just saying that" and if you really like the shot and someone comments saying "this photoisn't very good the dof is all wrong" they aren't saying it cos they hate you or the pic they just want to help you improve..So thats why i think its best you forget what you think and if you love/hate about the photo and read the c&c and ask yourself can you see where the poster is coming from and if the point posted is explaining a new technique you should take note and try and take the shot again till you are happy with the new and iomproved photo and then post it

CO.C

ok,

I don't have any one to show me how to take pictures, the friends I had who are photographers can't help me when I ask for help and I posted the picture there with comments because I don't know what I am doing, hell I don't know how to use my camera properly, I don't know anything about photo editing that's why I don't use ps, I don't have any one going threw anything with me, I just wanted to post a picture that's all, comments are taken on board and I will do my photos different next time.

AnimalRights

Hugh_C wrote: »

Don't see much in the way of C&C in your 1st effort there Animal. Maybe you should have a read of this ...

1st one was tongue in cheek, admittadly my level of SOH tongue in cheek, I was politer later in the thread and did send a nice PM way back.

FX Meister

you can "get" photoshop online. Do you know any students as they get a discount. The only way you'll get to know it is to use it.