Hi All I took these photos back in October 2005 and have just decided to do something with them now. I'd really appreciate your honest critique on these please. Should I crop some more, sharpen more, change frames or just ditch them and try shooting again another time???? Thanks Noeline :)

I mean HER face, lol

Noeline,

the original photos could help;
would you post them pl ?

Carlos.

The original unworked ones? OK, will do as soon as possible .... on dial-up

Hmmm.... I haven't done much of anything here in a long time, so I'll bite. smile As always, my opinions are only that.... opinions.....

Were they mine....

#1 I would toss... not interesting imo... faces turned away... eyes can't be seen.

#2 Not bad.... could be sharper? Hard to tell at this size...

#3 Very nice! Love the expression.... wish the leg were not cut off out of the right side of frame.

Edit.... realized that is the tail.... not the leg that is poking out of the frame on the right side....

Message edited on: 01/07/2006 18:03

Noeline,

#3 is the best ... imo

Carlos.

P.S.- in #2 I would do a different crop; do you mind if I try it ?

For me:

3# is the best one, really quite like it, the cut off back leg is a little unfortunate, but still a nice shot all the same, I have a habit of doing things like that, so tend to make some shots a bit wider, I mount many of my photos so I need a little leeway anyway.

#2 is a lovely shot but looks a little back focused,(mane looks sharper than eyes) hard for me to tell at this size, You may find that this is less apparent in print if the mis-focus is slight.

#1 I actually like this one because the head is turned; it adds a little realism, so subjective if it was a portrait type shot I would agree with Michelle, because I feel you must have eye contact, I see it more of a relaxing natural shot., although could have done with a bit more (or should I say less) DOF

As for sharpening, that depends so much on whether you are using them web or print sized images.
It is all to easy to criticize on here doing up to nose scrutiny, in reality though if mounded and framed on a wall it would be viewed from further away and far less noticeable.

Simon
Edit: Just seen Michelles observation on tail "well spotted!) oh well I missed that too!

Message edited on: 01/07/2006 18:24

Hi Michelle, Really appreciate your comments. Haven't really tried anything like this before and know next to nothing about postwork. Yes that is her tail, would have been nice to have seen it all, but well nevermind, I was happy to have got what I got, but I guess I always want to do better, lol.

Carlos: Sure go ahead, I did wonder about a tighter crop myself Simon: That's actually the tail cut off, lol. It's a while ago so can't remember exactly but I think I would have got more fence in if I had've gotten all the tail. Yes I actually quite liked the compo of #1 but did wonder about the lack of eye contact. Thought it may have been a bit boring. When you say less DOF, you mean change to a highter Fstop? Cam goes up to F8. Really need to read up more on the technical side sigh Thanks guys I really appreciate this :)

Noeline,

... I am working on it already ... :)

... as soon as I have 'my version' ready I shall upload it [ your sincere critic will be very welcomed ]

Carlos.

"When you say less DOF, you mean change to a highter Fstop?"

No I meant a lower f number toy through the background more out of focus.

To be perfectly honest I dont fully understand the differences between how you control DOF on a compact camera in relation to a SLR/DSLR, I do know that with smaller sensors it is more difficult to get a really diffused background.

You can compensate DOF in Photoshop to some degree.

Using the smallest f number with the longest focal length practical will help

High f No ie f22 = deep DOF low f No ie f 4 or lower = shallow DOF

Yeh I spotted Michelles observation on the tail lol

Simon

Message edited on: 01/07/2006 18:50

Noeline it is almost ready ... )

Your #4 is the best of them all = it deserves some enhancement.

Bravo !!!

Carlos.

Thanks for explaining Simon. Guess using a tripod would've helped, given me more possibilities. It's taken me ages to get the exposure right (or relatively right)on my shots (still can't for landscapes) and I pretty much rely on my cams histogram for this

... here you have 'my approach' to your #2

I used Paint Shop Pro and I did some unsharp and balanced light and saturation; I used a different crop also

... I'm waiting for your honest (sincere) opinion ... :)

Carlos.

I think you got honest opinion!

Noeline,

I did not use layers; I used selective unsharp mask in the eyes (first) and in the whole 'face' afterwards; then I balanced highlights and shadows; I also used the 'clarify' PSP's option to bring some more 'life' to it all; I did some selective desaturation on the green background; finally I cropped.

I feel happy you liked what I did with your #2 :)

May I congratulate you for your postwork on #4 ? -----> AMAZING !!!

Carlos.

Noeline..... this last one..... #23 in this thread is perfection. Beautifully done!

I agree on this last one in #25 comment. Superb. Mind you I kind of like them all for one reason or another. I guess you were shooting throug a fence because the right side of it sort of has the effect you zoomed through the wires. I am always amazed how it makes those disappear.

Awwwe so glad you all like the postwork I did on that last one (yes we'll call it #4). Will see if I can improve the others by doing more postwork too. Mmm ... Is there a tutorial on how to do selective sharpening, desaturation etc or would someone mind explaining how to do this.... how embarassing not knowing :( Have Photoshop 7.0. Mind you would have to be VERY simple, as in step-by-step, lol, for me to follow. Where abouts do you do the balancing of the highlights and shadows, let alone clarify? I can see I need to spend some time on learning these things sigh. Doug I took these through a large wired fence so was able to take these relatively easy but had to be careful of the angle I used. Hugz to all :)

Well...it seems you got all the help you could ever ask for so im gonna be brief....and i dont mean the underwear. I think they all look terrific Noeline. If i have to rank them i would rank them 4, 3, 2, 1. But the 4th one in particular look amazing! You sure did some amazing postwork on that one to bring out the very best of it. Great bunch of shots...and i honestly think they all belong in the gallery. The touch of yellow that those tiny flowers provide is just the icing on the cake IMO. Ooops....guess i wasnt as brief as i was planning to be...sigh. Sorry.....

Didnt you get my tutorial on how to do selective coloring Noeline? Just use that one, but instead of masking for selective coloring...you mask for selective sharpening or whatever desired effect youre after. To balance the highlights and shadows you go to: "Image / Adjusting / shadow, highlights"....i think....thats me translating freely from my swedish PS. #:O)

Hi Noeline

I think that last image is spot on - well done :)

All I am adding is some PS tutorials if you want to learn more about postwork. You will need to download them though, so this could take some time on dial up, but they are worth it. They are step by step videos on how to use postshop for photographic images.
I would suggest you perhaps save the tutorials so you can look at them again and again and also you work through them in the order they have been posted, as later ones often refer to techniques used in earlier ones. [Though the last one does cover lions ;) ]

Anyway here is the link if you want to take a look.

Message edited on: 01/08/2006 03:46

Yeah I did get your tutorial Andreas but to be honest I really haven't had the time (or been in the right frame of mood) to give it ago. It's quieter at work at the moment so I'll give it ago in the next few days. Work again tomorrow and I really should be going to bed now. Be prepared for all those questions ... hehe! They probably will all end up in my gallery since I haven't got much else to go in it :)

Ohh we crossed Richard ... thanks for that link, yes I'll definately look at that, between you and Andreas surely I work out how to do this postwork :)