Round and Round
by levyj413

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

This is an exceptional staircase image. There is enough variation in pattern, lighting, and texture to entice the viewer to look around and fully explore the depth this image offers. The composition of this image is strong enough to be in the top twenty of this challenge. So why didn't it score higher? I think it might be the overall coloration of the image. To my eyes the whole image has a copper cast to it from the chandelier. If you desaturate the red channel just a touch, the image appears to gain a significant amount of contrast and pop. Another option, desaturate the red channel and convert to B&W. This is has a lot of potential and I encourage you to play around a bit in post processing to see how many versions you can come up with.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

Kiss
by riot

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

Let me start off by saying you achieved one of the hardest things to accomplish when using non-professional models, the model looks relaxed and natural. There are two items that probably hurt your score the most on this entry, the background and the shadow on her face. One of the DPC rules when using a white background is that it should to be a clean looking white or shows an intentional gradient with a clean looking white focal point. Filler light on the background or a contrasting background would have helped here tremendously. As for the shadow, there are a couple of solutions to this problem. One would be have the lighting on the opposite side of the raised hand or to reverse the hands holding the wand and the bottle. The other would be to use a reflector to fill in the shadows. For this shot I think I would prefer that the model switch hands and blow bubbles in the other direction. I like the contrast achieved with the side lighting you set up and using a reflector would have diminished that effect.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

Cumulus
by olbol

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

You did a wonderful job of post processing for the cloud, as it really has tremendous detail. However, the overall look of the image is flat with little depth to it. Part of that is related to the sky and ground having nearly the same contrast. Masking for the ground and giving it a slightly different contrast than the sky would have helped with this issue. Another contributor is the cropping of the image. As presented, the cloud looks like it is coming straight down instead of towards the horizon. You might want to crop the top of the image through the thickest part of the cloud. To me this would provide a stronger perception that the cloud is floating over your head and not hanging in front of your face.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

Lost in the Moment
by Tim

Comment:
I gave this image a 10 during voting and I'm adding it to my favorites. I really love how the horn player is separated from the rest of the band just by the angle of his body. The way the light brings out the features on his face and the serene look of the closed eyes truly conveys that he is lost in the moment. Exceptional capture.

...And Even The Insects Salute The Troops!
by Mochrie99

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

It's not very often I get assigned an image to critique that is very similar to a ribbon winner. So what is different between your image and the 2nd place image? First, I would have to say the lighting. Your image was obviously taken mid-day compared to the early morning light of the ribbon winner. You definitely had harsher lighting conditions to shoot under, which in turn made it tougher to capture the details of the grasshopper. Compositionally, I think your image is almost as good, as the angle of the other grasshopper provides a bit more depth to the photo. Background, I score this a tie, as neither background has and distractions of note.

What left is in the overall look of the grasshopper itself. Your image looks flatter than the second place image. Part of this can be attributed to the lighting but part is a result of the post processing. I see by your post processing comments that you used clarify, which is part of Paint Shop Pro. I would encourage you to revisit your post processing steps and play around with levels or curves. I think you will find that if you decrease the gamma in levels (the middle slider for input) and boost the contrast, the grasshopper will gain a lot more depth. The same can be done with just curves but is harder to explain in writing the curve shape that is required. If you have problems getting levels to do what you want, I would be more than happy to tweak it and send a screen shot of the levels settings. I really like this image and with a little more post processing it can become something special.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

There's a Storm a Brewin'
by Mr_Bond

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

Not being a paying member I didn't vote on this challenge, so this is my first hard look at your image. My first impressions are that you've captured a very pleasant looking scene but it has that snapshot kind of look to it. Compositionally, the image is really strong. The placement of the log adds interest and the balance between the sky, land, and water is very nice. What is weak about this image is that it lacks any kind of depth, as the sky, water, and shore have the same saturation and brightness. In your notes you state that you did very little editing on this image. I'm not sure what photo-processing program you own but even using AutoBalance in Microsoft Photo Editor gives this image a tremendous boost. I can only imaging what could be achieved with Levels or Curves and using different adjustment layers for the sky and shore. I highly encourage you to revisit this image and play around some with post processing. This image has a lot of potential that hasn't been tapped and would serve well as a learning tool to sharpen your post processing skills.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

Water Colors
by Dr.Confuser

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

Not being a paying member I didn't vote on this challenge, so this is my first hard look at your image. My first impressions are that you've captured a very pleasant looking scene but the trees look a bit over saturated or bright for the cloud cover in the image (It makes the picture look unbalanced). Compositionally, the image is really strong. The curve of the shoreline provides a wonderful leading line and the balance between the clouds, land, and water is very nice. What is weak about this image is the subject matter. Although pleasant to look at, this shot has nothing that really holds the viewer's attention. The clouds add interest to the background but don't work as a main subject. The trees haven't changed color enough to be the main subject. The shoreline shows no activity and has very little color (mostly white boats and covers). And the reflection in the water isn't strong enough to be the main subject either. So, is this a bad image? No. It is very nice and one that I would be proud to have in my portfolio. However, it doesn't have enough of that DPC look to score in the 6's, especially in a free study challenge with over 600 entries.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

purple kabuki
by silverfoxx

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

Congratulations on a solid score for your first challenge entry. As you can tell from the comments you received during the challenge, large borders are a love it or hate thing at DPC. The real disadvantage of such a large border is that it reduces the viewable size of the image for the voter. The smaller the image, the less time the voters are willing to spend looking at the image.

As for what could be done to improve your score. I think you achieved your intent for this image very well. It has a very artistic feel to it, with the desaturated colors and the film grain look. However, both of these effects generally don't score that well at DPC. It seems that the majority of voters like saturated colors and sharp images. So what do you do, stay true to your style or change for a better score? I encourage you stay true to your style, as images like this are appreciated by many members of this site. Just remember not to take the scores personally, as they will not reflect the true quality of your work. Thanks for submitting this image.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

Elephant Ears
by BlindBat

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

Congratulations on a new personal best and for placing in the top twenty in this challenge. It wasn't that difficult to determine that this was a studio shot. But it was so well executed that I had to give it an 8. This image really shows a lot of motion, with the water flowing from one leaf to the other and the shadows from the falling drops. Although the catch lights on some of the drops are kind of neat, I bet you wish you could have cloned them out, as they do compete with the leaves for the viewer's attention. You came up with a solid idea and executed it to near perfection. Nice job!

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

Message edited by author 2006-10-10 08:00:24.

30 Seconds
by Pixelstate

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

Wow, 22nd place out of 600+ entries and a 6.68 score. Being just a registered member I couldn't vote on this challenge but after reviewing the results, your image is a good as any of those in the top ten. Looking at your profile, I expect to see a ribbon on your page in the very near future.

This image suits my personal preference well, as I'm not a big fan of the hyper saturated look. About the only suggestion I could make for improvement would be to clone out or burn the bright spot on the rock along the bottom edge. My eyes were initially drawn there instead of to the wonderful birds sitting on the rocks.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim