unwilling model
by timfythetoo

Comment:
Composition
I like the tall crop but the composition does seem possibly a tiny bit too centred, with the eye almost right in the middle both vertically and horizontally.

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
I love the lighting, leaving one side of the face very dark. The shallow dof gives a very soft look.

Meeting the challenge
Yeah, very nicely lit.

Post-processing
I'm not sure if it was PP work or if it was due to the lighitng, but his chin seems to stand out against his chest more than it should, which makes it a little disjointed.

My personal opinion
I haven't decided if I like this style or not - I'm used to seeing portraits very sharp, and this is much more coft and dreamy. If you achieved that effect through NI I wouldn't like it,but I think I;m growing to love it. His expressin is certainly perfect.

Woody Presley
by tngrndream

Comment:
Firstly, congrats on a new PB with this entry

Composition
I love the composition, with the woody on the edge and his shadow leading across behind him

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
The lightings beautiful, but slightly overexposed on his left arm/right leg. Focus good.
Post-processing
Would like to know your processing steps, it seems a touch overprocessed in places.

Meeting the challenge
Really nice use of a single light source.

My personal opinion
Great clean shot, shame about the little bit of blownoutness, very good score for a Woody pic

Well, she was just seventeen, You know what I mean, And the way she looked was way beyond compare.
by Kelli

Comment:
I think you've already identified the main issues with what you've said in the thread but here goes:

Composition
Nice to be offcenter, looking back across to the viewer.

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
Focus seems a tad soft on the face, but this may be just something to do with the lighting, because if you look along the same plane focus seems ok (ie on back, dress), and shutterspeed wasnt slow enough for blur.
You're already aware of the blownout highlights, must have been difficult lighting to work with. This brings it down a lot, in terms of what I (or others I suspect) would have voted it.

Meeting the challenge
Definitely, a lot of people chose that lyric, although I think I personally would have preferred a less posed photo for the quote, but then again I'm too young to really know the songs well so that may just be me.

Post-processing
You've done as well as you could have to rescue the highlights, but sometimes you just need to get it right (with luck) in-camera. I think the spotlight works to give interest (ignoring the rules here)

My personal opinion
A nice picture for her to keep, but the blownoutness ruins it in a dpc context. Sorry about the DQ though, its easy to misunderstand the rules as they are now, but at least now you know and won't do it again

A Glass of Wine with a Bottle to Go
by chalice

Comment:
Composition
I like the composition with the wine glass in the top right and the bottle acroos at an angel, but it seems a tad unbalanced - maybe composing it so you could crop tighter on the left, or just not cropping so tight on the right may have helped

Technical stuff (exposure, dof,

lighting etcâ€Â¦)
I love how you've captured the glow on both the bottle and liquid in the glass, but the glass seems to have blown highlights. Also, I'm not sure I like how the bottle merges into the black b/g. I guess it was hard to get an even exposure with the single spotlight.
Focus is crisp

Meeting the challenge
Nice still life, fitting th challenge well.

Post-processing
Only thing I'd suggest changing is masking the red bottle top when you applied NeatImage, it just seems a bit too smooth/plastic-ey

My personal opinion
Ironic but the single light source limited the potential imho - could have been much better lit with a moving source, so you didnt get the extremes of lighting. I think the score was reasonably fair (although I wouldn't be particularly surprised if it had been higher)

Back Home Again
by tngrndream

Comment:
Composition
well composed along the rule of thirds, but the fence draws your eye away from the subject to nowhere in particular.

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
Seems very dark, not sure whether this is underexposure or poor monotone conversion.

Meeting the challenge
An interesting take on architecture, but meets it fine.

Post-processing
Seems a little oversharpened / too much contrast, especially on the house and b/g foliage.

My personal opinion
There's something gone wrong either in exposure or postprocessing, and looks v dark and contrastey. Would have probably voted a 4 (sorry :/) Not one of your best

Message edited by author 2006-06-05 06:00:44.

Public Library
by Melethia

Comment:
Composition
At first look the composition seemed a little arbitrary, but looking again i like the shapes and shadows, but would prefer a slightly less angled viewpoint. Although this may not have fitted architecture so well, I would like to see a tighter crop on the 2 sphere things, which are beautifully lit.

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
considering its such a bright scene, you've done well to expose well, and keep good strong colours.

Meeting the challenge
Yes, nice to see a closer study of shapes/lines etc within local architecture.

Post-processing
You've got the sky very well exposed in relation to the rest, so looks like whatever you did to it worked well

My personal opinion
Nice interplay of shapes and shadows, but I'm not convinced abou the composition.

Enjoying my ultimate success.
by timfythetoo

Comment:
Composition
I like how the subject is in the corner, but I think there is too much negative space - or at least not the right negative space - could have been better had you for example been on a hill, with a simple b/g, just grass and sky.

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
I like the dappled natural light, especially on your son, although theres a bit that seems a litte blown on his face

Message/atmosphere portrayed
Gives a nice happy, summery kinda feel, which fits the subject

Meeting the challenge
Yes, interesting take on the theme.

Other
Muddy soles of feet bug me :P

My personal opinion
The b/g is too distracting, but other than that its good. I think it scored reasonably fairly

Architectural Colors
by chalice

Comment:
Composition
Very nice shapes/angles, maybe would have suited a slightly tighter crop on the righthand side, so the transition wasnt right in the middle. Whilst I love all the lines and shapes and colours, the angle does make the righthand side a little busy (aat 640*480ish at least) just because there is so much detail.

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
Exposure and lighting seem good, I like the brightness of the reds against the duller blue glass.

Post-processing
n/a, all is fine and dandy imo

Message/atmosphere portrayed
very nice study of shapes and colours, with the juxtaposition of different styles of architecture

Meeting the challenge
Nice take on architecture - a real study of details rather than "a picture of an impressive building" (for example)

My personal opinion
This was underrated by far - I didn't vote on this challenge, but would probably have voted 7/8

Failure: Another Loser DPC Score!
by chalice

Comment:
Composition
composition is good, in terms of the "baghead" in the upper left third, and the laptop in the bottom right. The home/offic-ey environment makes it a more cluttered composition though, especially with the detail in the blinds.

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
wb seems a little off, but exposure and focus seem good. You may have been able to isolate the subject from the b/g more with a shallower dof though

Post-processing
I'd like to see a little more contrast in it, to make it pop more and be less snapshotty

Message/atmosphere portrayed
Well, you did kinda bring it upon yourself with that title! :P Although the paper bag fits, another way of "hiding" from your score may have been better, so as to make your expression visible and give more emotion.

Meeting the challenge
Yeah, sure

My personal opinion
I wouldn't have expected this to score very high, just because its quite a familiar idea - not necessarily exactly that idea, but in terms of comments on scores/people at laptops etc. Would have needed an extra creative something to bring it further

Message edited by author 2006-06-05 05:16:46.

total success
by DanSig

Comment:
First off, congrats on the personal best :)

Composition
Lovely. The only thing I would change slightly is leaving a tiny bit more space on the left, so that the spotlight is more centralized.

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
Lighting is beautiful, but seem to be blown highlighs on her face/arms/chest. Focus is fine.

Post-processing
only basic rules, so not much to say really. In advanced I would clone out that distreacting bit on the right.

Message/atmosphere portrayed
Has a very elegant feel to it, and the crispness & clean composition make it seem very professional, which really suits the subject matter.

Meeting the challenge
I'm in 2 minds about this, tbh - it does fit the challenge, but to me says more about "performance" or "perfection" than success.

My personal opinion
Beautiful image, worthy of its place in the challenge. Well done!