Could I get some constructive criticism

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#2
I love your floral photos. I would buy picture #1 off you if I didn't have the stubborn "I can do it myself" kind of mindset, he he.

You have a creative eye for photography. The photo of Blaze in sepia with the beautiful glare is, well, beautiful! If I would offer any criticism, it would be to watch your white balance as some of your pictures have a blue tint where it doesn't quite feel right.

Are you planning on selling prints? Do let me know :p
 

Lizmo

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#3
Yes, I'll be selling prints (I'm not sure which, though, that's why I'm asking here! Lol) in October.

If you're interested in a print, just let me know. :) And thanks for the imput!
 
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#4
I'm not a photographer nor do I have any knowledge of photography, but I'll give my opinion anyway.

I like them all except the portraits to be honest. The only one I would consider buying is the 2nd one. I like that the whole flower is visible in the picture, and I like the crinkliness of the petals. I like your other flower pictures but that's my favorite.

The scenery pictures are nice but I wouldn't buy them because they don't really interest me. The one with Bandit is my favorite.

I like the cemetery one. It's interesting. I wonder how it got broken. I don't like cemeteries though.

The portraits I don't really like. Her eyes look really pretty in the second one, but I don't like that the head is partially cut off. Other than that, they seem to be pretty good candids :) I just am not likely to purchase portraits of people I don't know unless it's something really poignant.

Anyway... there's my uneducated honest opinion. It seems like you have a lot of talent and I bet you could be a really fantastic photographer.
 

Lizmo

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#5
I'm not a photographer nor do I have any knowledge of photography, but I'll give my opinion anyway.

I like them all except the portraits to be honest. The only one I would consider buying is the 2nd one. I like that the whole flower is visible in the picture, and I like the crinkliness of the petals. I like your other flower pictures but that's my favorite.

The scenery pictures are nice but I wouldn't buy them because they don't really interest me. The one with Bandit is my favorite.

I like the cemetery one. It's interesting. I wonder how it got broken. I don't like cemeteries though.

The portraits I don't really like. Her eyes look really pretty in the second one, but I don't like that the head is partially cut off. Other than that, they seem to be pretty good candids :) I just am not likely to purchase portraits of people I don't know unless it's something really poignant.

Anyway... there's my uneducated honest opinion. It seems like you have a lot of talent and I bet you could be a really fantastic photographer.
Any opinion is welcome! :)

I agree with you, I woldn't buy candids of people I don't know. I probably won't sell those - actually I know I won't. But I just wanted to see from others point of view about those pictures.

Uh, I think you mean Blaze? Not Bandit? Hehe.

I'm not sure why the grave was cracked, alot of the older graves were like that.
 

Fran101

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#7
I LOVE THEM ALL :)

but as for which ones i would buy, i wouldnt buy the one of the girl because i dont know her lol but I would definetly buy the flower shots, they are totally beautiful and the colors are vibrant, especially the last one!
 

Beanie

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#8
I personally feel like many of them need some colour correction. The first two are pretty dark and the first two sepia toned ones are too bright. The first landscape shot (the colour one) and the last flower picture have great colour, but like ladymacbeth said, the whole flower isn't caught within the frame of that last photo so that brings it down a little. I completely agree with her that the second one is the only one I would consider buying if you adjusted your levels a little bit. I think I'd like the last one if the flower were more in the frame - the bright pink against the soft white flowers in the background is really appealing.

I like the landscape one, but the road showing on the right side breaks up the nice view. You might be able to crop that one cleverly and salvage it, but it might be hard because of all the greenery on the bottom left... you don't want to crop that and make it poke up into the frame awkwardly, either.

Just MHO. I really like rich colours in my photographs, so take it as you will!
 

Lizmo

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#9
No, thats good advice Beanie. :)

I think I might go back and re-shoot some of the flower ones like you and Ladymacbeth said.
 

Lizmo

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#10
Okay, I editing that one Beanie. What do you think? Better? Worse?



Also, I forgot one picture

 

Laurelin

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#12
I am anoob so bear with me...

As far as the road one, I think it'd be better if you'd gotten the whole road in the picture. I love the first flower picture and the first one of the girl. I think it'd have been better with more of the top of her head in the frame (maybe not all) but it's a great candid. She has gorgeous eyes.
 
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#13
Hey Lizmo,

These are my thoughts on the photos. Keep in mind, I'm being very nit-picky because you are thinking of selling them. And let me say up-front that I really like these, but I'm basing this on what I'd expect out of photos I was going to buy (or attempt to shoot myself to hang on the wall).

Post 1:

1) This is too blue. Adjust the WB so it's warmer. The detail is great but the background is a bit too cluttered. If you're aiming to sell flower shots, try using a black background to isolate the flower and make it stand out.

To fix this, try isolating the the background from the flower and applying gaussen-blur, a marginal tone adjustment and maybe even a slight hue adjustment. You could also de-saturate the background a bit to help it pop.

2) This one is very well done. I think it could use a bit more warmth but you're exposure is perfect.

3) This shot looks like it was done near mid-day. I'd recommend that you work early in the morning or around sunset so you get some reds/golds in there as these colours sell. If you're going to shoot between 10am and 4pm, I'd recommend you get a polarizer to help with the sky.

Another thing with most landscapes is there's a leading line which takes you through the frame. This seems to be divided by the road going one way and a lake kind of complimenting the line but competing for attention. If you're serious about selling landscapes, I'm going to recommend you go to the Singh-ray web-site and check the galleries and blog. You don't need to copy the images there, but use them to inspire what you're doing. One of my personal favorite photographers is Darwin Wigget, who has photos there. Keep in mind, they're selling high-priced filters which you don't need. Look at the composition and colour. You can do most of that in Post-Processing.

I love shooting landscapes and I find myself continually learning from what some of these photographers are producing.

singray.com

4) The sky is blown and the sepia tones and sharp detail of the grasses almost hide the subject. I'd recommend getting closer in this instance (not too close) so that Blaze stands out more but still include some of the environment. Let him take up the better part of 1/4 of the frame. If it's going to be with a super bright sky, consider excluding the sky from the shot.

By getting closer to Blaze in this insance, his dark & white areas will contrast with the background better, whereas he's blending in right now.

5) I love the fact you're not afraid to shoot into the sun. You also have a good exposure. Splitting the frame mid-way is a mistake though. I think if you would have got lower to the ground so the tree on the right was more in the sky's space, that would have worked better. I'd also recommend excluding the soil in the fore-ground and starting the bottom of the frame with the grass. This would put the horizon about 1/3 of the way up, which would work better. You could also try putting the horizon 1/3 of the way down and see where that leads, but the tree on the left gets lost in the details of the grass, so it would be a different shot altogether.

6) Those eyes make the photo. Do that without the chain-link in the background or include more of the ball-diamond in the frame to give the shot context would be the only improvement. You could also try lightening they eyes a bit, but that's such a small thing. Even dark, they grab you.

7) Another beautiful shot. I like the framing of this better than the previous shot but I like the colours in the previous shot better. Those eyes stand out beautifully.

8) Very interesting and great textures here. If you're going to get it mostly centered, pay attention to where you're standing so you get equal space on each side. Otherwise go for the angle more than you have here.

I'm interested in what the stone says :)

9) Great detail and the different coloured flowers in the background help. Again, it's too blue.

In Post 10:
1) I like that you got rid of the road. I think this should would have been better had you got right down to the lake though. Also, I didn't mention this in my previous rambling, but the horizon would have been better a bit higher up in the frame.

2) That blue cast is killing the red and yellow. You've isolated this flower beautifully though. Fix the colour and it's there.


Conclusion:

You have a great deal of potential. I'd say in most cases you're 80% of the way there or further. It's the additional 20% which is going to grab peoples attention when it comes to selling photos though. That's what's going to take you from being a very good photographer to being an excellent photographer.
 

Lizmo

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#14
Thanks Andrew!

How can I get ride of the blue? I assume you mean in Photoshop?
 
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#15
Hi Lizmo,

It's been a while since I've worked in photoshop, and then, only in Elements 6.0. I believe it's under enhance and color (might also be under edit - I honestly can't remember). From there, you should have an option to replace or correct a color. It automatically gives you the dropper tool and you click somewhere on the photo that's supposed to be grey, white or black (neutral). It will then adjust the cast of the whole image.

Alternatively, you can create a solid colour layer...make it orange and then adjust your opacity until your whites look white, or slightly warm.

I'm currently using a couple of different programs, and have been for the last several months, so without photoshop on my computer, I can't even refresh my memory. However, if you want me to have a go at a couple of these through my software, I can post some results as I would generally finish of my photos, and give you a general guideline of what I did. Photoshop will be able to do anything LightZone can (just with different navigation), so it wouldn't be anything a bit of playing around couldn't accomplish in PS.
 

Lizmo

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#16
Yes, I'd be more than happy if you would take one of my pictures and do that!

I'm currently looking into purchasing some type of Photoshop.
 

SmexyPibble

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#18
2, 4, 5 are my favorites. I like the edited version of #3 more than the original. I love the very last one you posted of the flower, it looks amazing. I also love the photography named, "Icefire". You're great at taking pictures, Zoom. Wonderful job...
 

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