After stumbling across this site, i thought id sign up seeing as people here actually arent afraid to make constructive criticism!
As much as Flickr is great, having nice comments 99% of the time is great, but what i really am after is having my shots dissected so i an learn how to do it better!
anyway, for my first shot, i'd thought i use a recent one.
This Red Stag was shot through a fence inside Bedfords Park Nature Reserve, in Essex.
Canon 400D
Canon 100-400L @ 310mm
ISO 400
1/320sec
f7.1
AV Priority
Partial Metering
RAW was processed in Photoshop CS3, overall tones warmed, distance background contrast corrected, and any dead leaves/annoying bits of grass removed from foreground.
Hi Kwok, Welcome and a good first post. The comp suits the "looking into the lens" pose IMHO and it looks nice and sharp where it matters. The grass does look overly saturated though? Other than that looks processed really well. Be good to see more of your images
Welcome to the forum. You've posted a nice portrait; the pose and eye contact work well. My main criticism is that the crop is a bit tight at the top and sides. I also agree with Graeme that the colours look a little off, maybe reduce the saturation a touch.
Hi Kwok, welcome. Hope you'll find the feedback here useful - I have so far.
A nice looking portrait - like the eye contact and pose you've caught. Agree with the other comments that it feels a bit tight around the antlers and that the greens are a bit overcooked on my monitor. Your posting looks fine with good details, a general convention is to add a (c) to the title for captive subjects - look back for a busy thread on this debate last week!!
Hello Kwok
I'll go along with whats been said. definately a bit tight in the frame.Was it a vertical shot ?
If not you could try a horizontal frame? Its always difficult when you haveto chop part of an animals body off in a crop I feel.
Cheers
JohnR
Nicely caught image but the grandeur of the horns is lost in the too tight crop.
Tom
Posted by Dawn Monrose on July 30, 2008 at 4:59 AM
Welcome!
Nice first post. I agree with all the comments so far, and I too can see some of your cloning at the bottom. I really like the eye contact though and the way you are parallel to his antlers/face. Looking forward to seeing more of your work!
right, ive tweaked the saturation in the yellow and green channels and have also reworked the cloning at the bottom (ive been working as a graphic designer for over a decade, and i'll be honest and say cloning is the bane of my life!)
As for the crop, ive given it a touch more room, but when i took the shot, i had a tree stump to the right and fencing to the left, plus tricky task of focusing through a wire fence too!)
anyway, heres the revised shot - i may as well get it right before i print it off!
thx for all the comments, the next shot will be one of my first ones from 12 months ago, which ill post up tonight.
Definitely an improvement and I can understand the frustrations of trying to get some sort of clean background on captive subjects so a good effort.
Robert
All nits mentioned and the second image looks very flat to me. Using the burn tool on the HL's around the antlers hasn't helped much with this. I'm sure there are people on here much better at processing than me but I think it needs a bit more work. I understand your frustrations but wish you luck with all that you are doing and welcome you to the forum. I look forward to seeing more of your work.
The last shot looks the best to me. Must have been an amazing amount of saturation on the first post! Its a nice pose you've caught, looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Hello Kwok and welcome... you seem to be on a journey and have found the right place to progress...
I don't have a problem with the crop, however all the images have an overprocessed look to them... it appears that you are trying to compensate a little for slightly less than ideal conditions in the processing of the RAW which very rarely (if ever) works. Care and moderation is the way forward....
Discussion
19 repliesAfter stumbling across this site, i thought id sign up seeing as people here actually arent afraid to make constructive criticism!
As much as Flickr is great, having nice comments 99% of the time is great, but what i really am after is having my shots dissected so i an learn how to do it better!
anyway, for my first shot, i'd thought i use a recent one.
This Red Stag was shot through a fence inside Bedfords Park Nature Reserve, in Essex.
Canon 400D
Canon 100-400L @ 310mm
ISO 400
1/320sec
f7.1
AV Priority
Partial Metering
RAW was processed in Photoshop CS3, overall tones warmed, distance background contrast corrected, and any dead leaves/annoying bits of grass removed from foreground.
Anyway, is this the way to post?
thx and be as critical as you like.
Welcome to the forum. You've posted a nice portrait; the pose and eye contact work well. My main criticism is that the crop is a bit tight at the top and sides. I also agree with Graeme that the colours look a little off, maybe reduce the saturation a touch.
Cheers,
Dan.
A nice looking portrait - like the eye contact and pose you've caught. Agree with the other comments that it feels a bit tight around the antlers and that the greens are a bit overcooked on my monitor. Your posting looks fine with good details, a general convention is to add a (c) to the title for captive subjects - look back for a busy thread on this debate last week!!
I'll go along with whats been said. definately a bit tight in the frame.Was it a vertical shot ?
If not you could try a horizontal frame? Its always difficult when you haveto chop part of an animals body off in a crop I feel.
Cheers
JohnR
ill relook at the shot tomorrow.
Robert
Paul
Tom
Nice first post. I agree with all the comments so far, and I too can see some of your cloning at the bottom. I really like the eye contact though and the way you are parallel to his antlers/face. Looking forward to seeing more of your work!
No more comments to add, so just wanted to say hello and welcome.
right, ive tweaked the saturation in the yellow and green channels and have also reworked the cloning at the bottom (ive been working as a graphic designer for over a decade, and i'll be honest and say cloning is the bane of my life!)
As for the crop, ive given it a touch more room, but when i took the shot, i had a tree stump to the right and fencing to the left, plus tricky task of focusing through a wire fence too!)
anyway, heres the revised shot - i may as well get it right before i print it off!
thx for all the comments, the next shot will be one of my first ones from 12 months ago, which ill post up tonight.
Robert
Kind regards
Brett
The last shot looks the best to me. Must have been an amazing amount of saturation on the first post! Its a nice pose you've caught, looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Adam
I don't have a problem with the crop, however all the images have an overprocessed look to them... it appears that you are trying to compensate a little for slightly less than ideal conditions in the processing of the RAW which very rarely (if ever) works. Care and moderation is the way forward....