Photography Critique

So what sort of critique are you looking for on these? What are you trying to achieve?

In reply to 02Pilot :

I'm really just trying to create stuff that has a bit of Holga/Diana/Lomo/expired film influence.

I'm not seeing it in most of that set. The look is very inconsistent across the set, but none of them really have the lo fi aesthetic in that that they are all sharp across the frame, no distortion, no color shift, no flare, no light leaks. Some have low contrast that makes them look a bit muddy, which may be what you're messing with, but that alone doesn't get you there. If you want to create a particular look in your photos, or at least in a specific set of photos, you need to develop a relatively regular post-process and apply it consistently. For the lo fi look, though, I can't help but wonder if you want the toy camera feel, why not just shoot a toy camera, or at the very least a toy camera lens? Getting anything shot with modern glass to look like it was shot through a single cheaply-made plastic optical element is challenging, to say the least.

Ah hell, I'll play along. FWIW I used to teach studio lighting one semester a year. LOL I always hated "critiques" because varying views based on preference and/or technical knowledge. I see guys making a living beyond my dreams shooting what I'd call crap. I am not quick to judge because I am not making half a mil a year shooting with an iPhone and a Holga. 

I used to shoot a LOT of offroad and ghost town work. The desert of Nevada and Cali were great for that. It usually paid for gas selling to whatever trail rag I could sell to. 

This is the hangar where Chuck Yaeger trained in Tonopah, NV

Experiments in light painting using a headlamp on the bottom of my drone:

 

I LOVE the concept of the drone light.  Looks a little out of focus on my monitor, but a great shot. Makes me want a drone to play with 

I'll contribute a couple. These were taken over the summer but I just finally got the film developed. Not really sure how to describe what I wanted to achieve beyond "capture the scene", but I'm happy for any and all CC!

Olympus OM-G, 50mm 1.8, Fujifilm Superia 400

000086270004180222_2 by Brian, on Flickr

000086280022180222_2 by Brian, on Flickr

000086270009180222_2 by Brian, on Flickr

I really want to shoot more film but man the costs add up. Anyone on here experiment with DIY processing?

VegasNick, the drone lighting thing is interesting. Not my speed, but anything that creates unusual effects with light is worth exploring. The B&W hangar shot is nicely done, and I think the chain link at the bottom offers a nice counterpoint to the wood textures. Might be a little contrasty for me, but that's a personal thing.

thestig99, you second shot does a good job of creating depth with light, not selective focus (as is generally all the rage these days). The veiling flare nicely reveals some texture in the darker areas. As to processing, I do all my own B&W (which is like 95% of what I shoot), and it's cheap and easy. Color is a bit more work, but it can be done pretty inexpensively as well. If you want to start home processing, though, B&W is the first step.

enjoyable?  sure, it's always nicer to look at photography than have to change another crappy diaper.   

Casual Six said:

I've been back at it again with even more mediocre lo-fi stuff.

 

 

 

Hopefully at least some of you guys find some of it enjoyable.

Thanks for chiming in to 02Pilot's request.  I'll second his comment that you look into finding some older glass to slap on the front of your camera... or looking at finding a cheap older Sony mirrorless, which would probably give you more options to slap '70's glass in front ot.

I think the wheel shot and the hospital shot are the most confusing of this lot... since it "appears" that you simply screwed up your whitebalance, instead of achieving something artistic.  having those in proximity to the radio and lamp shots diminishes those, because it's harder to force my brain to think of those photos as being deliberate (which they clearly are).

the black and whites are good

the "hat"/"desk" picture... probably feels important and archival, now.  and it'll probably have some nostalgia value to you later in life.  but it's also a bit... banal.  college dude has messy desk.  check.  I realize it and the rear-threequarter shot of the G35 are probably "quick grab" shots.  so, I'd challenge you to stop and slow down with those shots in the future.  think about what's compelling you to take that picture, and think about anything you can do to further isolate that compelling thing?  move the car?  change the angle you're shooting the desk?  {shrug}

In reply to VegasNick :

I'll agree with 02Pilot that the hangar shot is the most powerful to me... even before knowing the history behind it.  I'm ok with the higher contrast... but I realize 02Pilot are going to have to agree to disagree on that part 

I like the drone lighting shot too; although I think having the drone in the shot is distracting, in a bad way.  although, I totally understand some of the the decision process for why it's there.  you need a big angle to capture the scene, drones can't lift a big enough light to get out of the frame, etc.  in many ways, it's impressive you got that much light thrown down.

that said, the fact that the front end of the FJcruiser kind of bugs me too... which, again, I say realizing how little time you have to make the shot, and the various controllers you're juggling to pull it off.  I think the key to this shot in the future is watching the shadow of the truck on the ground to setup the position of the drone... that's the telltale of how centered/balanced the lighting is, maybe?

thanks for sharing your photography with us VegasNick!

In reply to thestig99 :

Thanks man. Yeah we had some wind on the lakebed and I think it made it a little fuzzy. 

In reply to sleepyhead :

Thanks man! Yeah, these are deifinately better with a team. Wait till you see the photo I am about to post! I teamed up with another photographer and we pretty much perfected our game. ...I think. 

On the FJ, I shot about ten different shots. Red LED, white LED, Setting the drone in auto-hover, composing, shooting. Was a PITA! :) 

So as I said, I found such an interest in lighting things with the drone, I teamed up with a buddy of mine that is a fantastic photographer and we produced this bit. It is an art installation in the middle of the desert near Vegas. Photo is actually a stack of about 20 shots. We would light each tower with the drone individually. He'd be calling out where he wanted the light and I'd fly it that way. BTW, the light is the biggest LED headlamp that the sold at Lowe's. 

Here are some of the other drone shots from the lakebed:

And this is what I fly for lighting. Not the best video with the GoPro, but fun at any rate. 

I've got a couple city-scape vacation photos.  I'm trying to pick out interesting details, or highlight new-to-me things - not really sure I have the language for my photo-goals apart from "something more interesting that everyone's shot of the space needle and statue of liberty".  I suppose aesthetic feedback, more than technical feedback, although tips for making iphones deal with low light or fast moving subjects are welcome!  I've been trying to improve my toddler shots

These are all shot on an iphone 8+

monknomo, IMO the biggest issue with using a cell phone and differentiating your photos from the average is the default wide field of view. From a traditional photographer's standpoint, the ~28mm FOV of a phone is a major limitation, as it's not an easy focal length to use well. There's a tendency to use it to "get everything in," which it can do, but in doing so renders everything tiny, and it exaggerates distance, making everything feel even further away than it is. If you insist on using a phone, start concentrating on building a foreground to give you some perspective on the overall scene. A better solution is to get a proper camera with a more flexible lens (40mm is a good general purpose focal length, but anything from 35-50mm is workable).

In reply to 02Pilot :

I have a micro 4/3 with an ok selection of lenses, but I don't typically haul it around when I'm traveling.  I use it for more intentional photography, particularly portraits.

I appreciate the phone tips - I expect keeping stuff in the foreground would help, and I feel like the picture with the bushes works because they are right up close framing everything

Yes, the shot with the bushes gives a better sense of depth than the others. To my eye, however, the composition is still problematic. The bush on the left juts into the cranes in the background, and the sky on the left is a big open space that doesn't do much of anything. Shifting your shooting position slightly to the right to center the cranes in the gap between the bushes, and then cropping the top and left side aggressively would give you a better balance between elements without so much dead space.

So here's another one for you. My wife owns a shoe store so no shortage of subjects when she has something new. I'm a huge fan of B&W. Wishing I still had a darkroom. Nothing like good old film! 

Shot with the "fantastic plastic" Canon 50mm 1.8  1/200@1.8 with an off camera flash (AB800) with a beauty dish off to the right and behind where I was shooting from . 

In reply to Casual Six :

Didn't you say you were going to school for photography or media or something? 

If so, I'd start a photo project. As in, a specific subject. Whether it's birds, or landscapes, or guys who sit on street corners, skateboarding or my personal favorite - ladies. 

Pick a subject, and focus on that subject every time you've got the camera. 

It's dangerous, and boring for the viewer, to pick a "style." 

When a photographer or artists picks a subject, they develop great art in honing how they capture that subject. When you see a nice picture of a certain style, it's a combination of the photography using a different "style" to capture their chose "subject". 

Master the subject, then introduce new styles.

Bumping this thread. :)

Took my M3 up into the mountains last month, aiming to capture something about fun cars on fun roads.  Shot a bunch of pictures, this is my favorite.  I sat there behind the car for about 10 minutes trying to get a shot as another car went by -- sheer serendipity that the one that showed up was another black M3!

Technical info:  Canon 7dmk2, 24-105 f/4.  Shot at 50mm, 1/80th & f/5.6 using Lightroom.

Smugmug link here: https://photos.codrus.com/Cars/M3/i-DBqxCKD

So what sort of feedback are you looking for?

Any and all. :)

I'm late to the drone lighting party, but here's one I did with some friends a few years ago.  We parked our cars in a construction site, and dangled a big long LED strip off of my drone.  I think it came out pretty awesome.

codrus said:

Any and all. :)

 

OK, with that in mind, there are a few points that I think bear considering.

- The palette seems washed out, which works against you when the primary subject is black. I think you would benefit from adjusting the curves to deepen the dark and mid-tone areas while preserving the highlights. You probably don't want to completely block out the dark shadow areas, but you've got a fair bit to work with before that happens. You don't want super-high contrast, so you may need to play with the highlights a bit so it doesn't look ridiculously artificial.

- The framing is very loose, which detracts by having a lot of dead space that isn't doing anything. Negative space to isolate a subject can be very useful, but that's not what's happening here; this is clutter. I would play around with some crops to at least get rid of the power line and pull the eye in on the important aspects of the scene. If it were my photo, I'd be looking at very tight crops to really emphasize the details of the foreground car.

Matthew Kennedy said:

I'm late to the drone lighting party, but here's one I did with some friends a few years ago.  We parked our cars in a construction site, and dangled a big long LED strip off of my drone.  I think it came out pretty awesome.

Again, what kind of feedback are you looking for?