Aflame
by toffle

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Please remember to leave comments when you request a critique. Without them, it's very hard to tell what you were trying for and makes a critique very difficult.

Composition:
There doesn't seem to be any real subject of this shot and what's in focus tends to take my eye out of the image (the round thing on the right). The orange area in the bottom left is also distracting since the rest of the image is this soft peach color.

Camera Work & Technique:
Focus is good. DOF is quite small and doesn't seem to serve a purpose for being so small. The in focus areas don't attract my attention. Lighting looks good with no hot spots.

Post-processing:
It's hard to tell but it looks like the saturation may have been bumped up too much since there seems to be sections where the color changes abruptly in the top left. That may not be true but with the limited DOF it's hard to tell what's going on up there (and without knowing the post-processing steps so please include them in the future).

Suggestions:
You've got this nice diagonal line coming from the top that would be great coming from the top-left corner. Try and keep in focus areas away from the edge of the shot as they lead the eye out of the image. Moving the subject a little to the left in the image would've helped this out a lot. Increasing the DOF some so that we can see the extent of the shape also would've given the subject more interest.

I hope you find this critique helpful. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Regards,
Zeke Smith

Bob no!
by senoj

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Keep in mind, when asking for critiques (the check box when you submit your picture) you should provide comments so the reviewer knows what you were trying to get from your shot.

Composition:
This shot has great potential...the leading lines of the keys draw the eyes into the picture.

Camera Work & Technique:
FOCUS...You'll hear this a thousand times when there's not something in focus in your image. Keep the viewer interested by having something in focus and using OOF areas to keep their eyes where you want them. Try and prevent highlights from blowing out as well.

Suggestions:
Only thing to say here is to get your picture in focus. Abstract challenges are usually won by interesting colors and shapes that don't necessarily make the viewer see a larger picture...just appreciating the image. Good luck. I hope this review has been helpful.

Ceiling light
by riceacigar

Comment:
Ummm...huh? Not really sure what this has to do with. Nice off center placement though...

Greed
by Ice-Tea-1983

Comment:
focus is off

How Much
by cools98

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

In the future, it's very helpful for the critiquer if you comment on your picture (look in the CC forum). It's hard to give suggestions when we don't know what you were shooting for, etc...

Composition:
I like the angle of the subject since it presents diagonal lines leading the eye into the picture.

Lighting and Technique:
I'm confused by the small aperture, long shutter speed, and small DOF. In any case, the lighting on this is a little strange since the reflections on the corners of the shapes draw my attention to the reflection instead of to the subject.

Post-Processing:
Sharpening looks good, brightness and contrast are good.

Suggestions/Improvements:
The small DOF effectively locks my eye to the center of the picture but there's no real interest there. If you had made the DOF a little larger so the OOF areas gradually going out of focus I think this would've worked better.
It's hard to tell what this was lit with (looks like a ring flash or a ceiling fan), but I think bouncing a flash to get a diffused source would've helped prevent the distracting reflections.

I hope this was useful to you, and please feel free to contact me via PM if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Regards,
Zeke Smith

Message edited by author 2006-02-17 11:08:05.

Blinded
by banmorn

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club:

I have to start by saying I'm very surprised this didn't do better in the competition. I think it's a very creative shot with great technical aspects and fits the challenge perfectly. In any case, on with the critique.

Composition:
The positioning of the diagonal lines from the blinds is excellent as they lead the eye to the subject of the shot. The position of the subject at about the golden position is also very good and has a nice balance for the shot. Great job.

Camera Work:
Great work with the multiple exposures to find the one that fits the best...hard to say anything else here since everything is a shadow.

Post-processing:
The level of the shadows is great...it's a little odd that your shadow seems darker than the blinds (must be white blinds that don't totally block the light). Overall brightness is very good except for the slightly hot spots under your chinand above your head. I think bringing down the highlights a little would've helped even that out some.

Looking through the results, it seems that most of the high rated shots involved both the shadows and what cast them. My suggestion for the future would be to put as much interest in the shot as you can...while technically this shot was quite good, I feel it's lacking something to draw the viewer in and keep them interested.

Fear Of Your Own Shadow
by Judi

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club:

Composition:
The subject's placement in the shot is very good. I would've preferred the body of the shadow to be a little more prominent since it's cut off on the side but it works well. Everything leads my eye into the shot and the shadow's arm leads me to you so that worked out very well.

Camera Work:
The lighting is very even and the choice of the wood grain background works out very well. One thing I'm distracted by is the fact that I can see the grain through your body. It does make it look dreamy but I would've liked to see you more solid. This could've been accomplished with 2 flash pulses instead of a well lit long exposure.

Post-processing:
Contrast and brightness look good and the B&W looks very nice. The burning of the shadow looks a little blotchy though. Some areas are almost completely black while others are dark grey.

Overall I like this shot. The emotion displayed on your face really interests me in the shot so you did what you were trying to do. My main comments for improving the shot (and I could easily be wrong) could've been achieved by strobing a flash so that you weren't so transparent. Congratulations on your top 20 finish.

Shadows of Garage Grunge
by fotomann_forever

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club:

Composition:
Overall pretty good...only criticism I have is that the angle of the guitar keeps leading my eye out of the shot. Nice position of the amp and main shadow so that works well.

Camera Work:
Exposure looks good. Lighting is uneven on the background (difficult, but in this case I think distractingly so as I keep getting drawn to the bright region at your back). Focus is on and impressive for a self-portrait.

Post-processing:
I like the sepia tone of the shot as I feel it adds some grunge that with color or pure B&W might not have been there. I actually think you could have successfully added some grain to this shot to make it feel a little grungier as well.

Overall I like the concept and the picture is pretty good. It lacks punch though as nothing is jumping out and making me stare for a long time. Main distractions that would help with making it better for me would be getting rid of the hot spot on the background and repositioning so the neck doesn't lead me out. Otherwise, nice job.

Subway Blur
by ARMY_DOC

Comment:
Motion panning is panning the lens not blurring a moving subject.

Blue Eyes (aka Yet Another Cat Picture)
by Melethia

Comment:
Wow, normally I'm not one for the animal pictures but this cat's eyes are perfect for this. Great shot.