Aggregate ones love to ones life
by Allen1634

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

This is a lovely shot, your model is very fresh-faced, nice little natural smile, and looks like very little pp was done to her - which is a nice change! Even from the borderline risky "nostril shot", it's still an appealing and very pleasant pic. However, even though it's quite pretty as a portrait, it's a little hard to see the Collections aspect of it. There are many literalists on this site, and if you're not bang on, they'll let you know with their voting (though I do think all those sub-4 votes are a little much).

The composition is quite good though yes, that upper right corner does have an unfinished aspect to it. The whites of the flowers are a little close to being blown out. I like that she's looking up and out and not straight at the camera, though some would argue for the eye contact with the camera. I like the capricious and playful nature of her smile and averted eyes, personally. Had I voted on this it would probably have been a 7.

Still, keep in mind that this is a tough site, and you're fairly new here, so don't be discouraged! Please keep on shooting and entering.

Feel free to PM me,

Susan

figures
by saleemfakhoury

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I'm sure I'm not the only one scratching their head as to why this shot didn't do better in voting, as it screams Ninja Turtles. I gave you an 8, as the sewer, the weaponry and poses...just at a bit of a loss for words. But DPC can be a very odd and capricious place at times, and maybe the fact that you did present the Turtles in their environment, as it were, threw people off. Also this site has a very international scope, and to the best of my knowledge Ninja Turtles had a primarily North American following. Maybe the Europeans and others just didn't get it?

Technically your composition is fine and interesting, found myself looking down the tunnel to see a bad guy looming there! More dof may have helped, but your pov (you shot as though almost looking up at them) and lighting are great. Going by the comments you got, a lot of people had fond memories when they saw this.

Anyway, so glad that you did find this site and choose to enter. Please continue to shoot and enter challenges, I for one would like to see more from you.

Feel free to PM me,

Susan

RED
by lola72

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

This is a very pleasing shot to look at, those nice deep reds go over well and that teeny bit of green stem is just enough to break up all that red. Yes the teeny bit of glare does detract, but it's Basic editing and everyone knows you can't selectively use any tools, so there is leeway there. You have the basics of simple clean com down here, stick with it. Yes, the lighting does need work (waxed paper over your light souce might help), but there are plenty of ways to get good lighting without breaking the bank. I do think the focus here is more on the vase than the flower; watch your AF.

Overall not a lot to nitpick, good work on making it to the top 20! Keep it up and keep on entering!

Feel free to PM me,

Susan

Yours forever
by joisteini

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I gave this a 6 in voting because it's pleasing to the eye, nice pov and dof, and a wonderful use of tones, but felt it was a bit busy. I think you could have easily got rid of the bottle/glass on the left (or moved it out of frame so it wasn't in the shot). The lettering and symbols on the bottle are also in focus, which makes them compete with the lettering inside your wedding band.

Either I would have scooched the bottle on the left back a bit, so it was still visible and providing interest, but just out of focus enough to add some mystery. Or remove it altogether - there's nothing wrong with negative (aka 'white' space).

Otherwise your lighting is very good, there are highlights but not glare, and lovely tones which helped you get that tantalizing near-6 score! Might I also suggest a tripod for future still life/studio shots, as you were shooting at 1/400 I would guess you shot handheld. A tripod will free you up to try all kinds of exposures and play with the comp, without worrying about holding still long enough :-)

Feel free to PM me,

Susan

Dolichopodidae
by crack_seed

Comment:
Excellent work, Bryce! And it always pays to pay attention to your insects err, instincts, even if your settings are all wrong. Wow, a shot this close and sharp, shot handheld at 1/30...I can't shoot any slower than 1/40, and that's handheld and usually braced against something. Happy birthday, glad you got a PB and HUGE congrats on your first ribbon!!

Message edited by author 2012-04-04 18:25:02.

Delicacy
by Bobby-Liston

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Very pretty colours and textures, nicely done lighting and you fill the frame, but this looks like a classic case of missed focus, and my guess - from looking at your settings - is that this is handheld; I suspect camera shake here. This site is very big on foreground elements being in focus; you also had a lot of other good things going for the shot which is why you scored relatively well.

For any kind of still life shot, and especially a macro, you really need sharp focus, and unless you are capable of holding really still, you need a tripod. An inexpensive one (try a big-box electronics store) will probably cost you $25 or so. That's all you need at this point.

Hope this critique has been of help, and feel free to PM me.

Susan

Beautiful Blooms
by avillanu

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Very nice, delicate shot, gentle lighting, the touch of green in the upper left offsets the background and colour of the flower perfectly. Your technicals are pretty good and I can understand the need to jack the ISO, but if you have a tripod handy, then you can go for a much slower shutter, which would further help bring out details.

Personally I would really like to see that foremost flower a bit more in focus. I suspect a little bit of camera shake, which again a tripod would eliminate.

Hope this critique has been useful, feel free to PM me with any questions.

Susan

She said she was coming right back...
by Allen1634

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hahaha! Definitely a fun take and cautionary tale for those who are a little too trusting :-) Brilliant use of the videocamera screen, love that you're in focus in the screen and oof out of it. The key's positioning taunting you is too funny. The lighting looks really good, I have no complaints. Very good work for an 11th hour shot. I like the use of b/w, the comp is good and leads the eye through the story as you go around the frame. I almost expect to see this on the evening news.

Truly my only nitpick is the fact that it's not a real handcuff key, but otherwise it's a truly funny shot that did pretty well, so be proud of it. Keep on shooting and entering and learning your lights!

Feel free to PM me,

Susan

sign language
by posthumous

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Definitely a little bit of a head-scratcher here but think I get it. I think most people missed the hand-shaped cutouts in the newspaper; as a Canuck I'd almost think they were partial maple leaves :-)

Do like the environment and sense of being in the moment here. The staircase leading up to the door definitely makes for a nice flow up to and past the guy reading the paper. I almost didn't recognize it as one of yours without the Lensbaby! The back top of the newspaper is a little hot but does offset the handprints.

Overall an unusual and interesting shot, which is why it scored so poorly...but maybe it'll get a Posty...;-)

Feel free to PM me,

Susan

The Glass Collection
by KarenNfld

Comment:
I had this pegged as one of yours right from the start! Huge congrats on the blue, fellow Canuck :-)