Friends

[fongi]

1. in what area is critique to be sought?
the composition and the exposure... no PP was done to it. it's taken straight from the cam.

2. what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
i was hoping to associate friendship with a sunny day, cos when friends are around, it's always warm, sunny and happy.

3. under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
i was actually lying down on the floor and tellin them to huddle a bit , as i was tryin to frame them with the sun slightly peekin just out of the top of the head to get the sun flare...den they started laughing... i oni took 1 shot. i did not use flash for fill as i was hopin to get the shot as natural as possible... i slightly expose it as i wanted to maintain the skin tone (cos gettin a correct exposure will cause a silhouette)... will it be better if i took a readin from the background and flash fill?

4. what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
i personally like the emotion... but feel dat the pic on the whole is rather wash. if PP is to be done, in wat area shd i pay more attention to? and how do i go about doin it?

thank you all for your valuable comments and feedback. cheers

 

[fongi]

anybody???

 

[Lokomotiv]

Ok Fongi, I am the first one. First, you can feel you have captured 2 friends with good time, no doubt. From composition, I would add more space to the right as there is not much interesting left side of photo which could be partly cropped. Photo is 'sunny', however, w/out PP there is not much contrast, as you say rather wash. You have used filter as there are light spots or how you call them with good England. As you have taken against sun flash may have helped to bring details up. Well, I am very new in portraits which I want to learn, too.

 

[eedwinn]

Overexposed. Maybe you should spot meter on their faces before taking the shot?

 

[Complex13717421]

You're going to need to clone stamp out that blue water bottle cap.

 

[fongi]

tks all for the valuable comments... really does help me to see a clearer pic of where i go wrong... next time when i have the opportunity to take the same shots, will remember all the advise given here. btw, for this pic, how will u guys go about editing it in PS to enhance it further?... possible to show a simple example?

 

[Complex13717421]

This is rather sloppy PP work. took 2-3 mins.
Adjust your levels.
Adjust contrast (or use curves if you're picky)
Adjust color balance.

Then i added a cloud layer and just merged them ( very sloppy u can see the white blouse turn blue cause i just added both layers together)

Properly done, should be out cut out the 2 girls then past into the cloud layer. haiz but u see the hair.. can cry when editing.

I also removed the bottle cap. i found it super distracting, but u can also see the sloppy work there. fast work la. pai seh .lol

This is just my basic basic noob PP work. Expert advice would be much better !!

 

[dw8888]

What i see first, is the spotted light, then the spotted light on top of the lady and then the smiling face of the lady on the right next back to the lady in the center.
If you are photographing the ladies then it is a failure to me. The sunlight really out shine the 2 person.
I think it all about moving, You need to move your camera.

 

[Shen siung]

IMO, this 1st photo is over exposed.
The 2nd photo look much better. Maybe more time spend on PP will result in better work.

I like the composition and the mood of the photo.

 

[fongi]

wow.... tks for the example shown here... really shed like light as to wat can be done. and really tks all for the advise... i'll pay more attention to my composition and exposure. cheers

 

[cabbySHE]

The trick of using lensflare in enhancing the photo is to let the flare comes in at a diagonal and pass thro some dark area/colour.

The approach from the ground up is unique, however you did not give clear enough instruction for your both friends to turn say to two o'clock from their current position. B'coz they somtimes do not know what you are trying to achieve. So make it a point to explain your intention to your models/subject before the shoot will make things go smoother.

 

[fongi]

noted... tks for the advise... as i m stil new to photography, sometime i oso dunnoe how to give instruction to them. and most of the time, end up with me running around them to shoot at various angle. will try to communicate with them from now on liao. tks

 

[cabbySHE]

So for a starter, do this in tandem, pick up more info on portraiture posing...individual, pair and couple, parent and children, groups gathering, candid etc, at the same time practice on still life subject/object on composition-lighting ( natural and artificial ) -angles -backgrd etc.
All these knowledge and technique will comes in handy when you need them.

 

[redmonsoon]

I do like the ist overexposed look before then the 2nd. There are tonnes of commercial photos like that, if it suits ur purpose & interest.

But I do not like the lens flare 'dot' by side of her head and imho, the bag + cap can definately be taken out. Will be nice if the lady in shades can be slightly lower as well..

 

[soonkueh]

I do like the ist overexposed look before then the 2nd. There are tonnes of commercial photos like that, if it suits ur purpose & interest.

But I do not like the lens flare 'dot' by side of her head and imho, the bag + cap can definately be taken out. Will be nice if the lady in shades can be slightly lower as well..

similarly i also like the first overexposed photo much better than the second. i think its ok to sometimes over expose or under expose certain photos, composition is great, it tells a good story.

 

[night86mare]

This is just my basic basic noob PP work. Expert advice would be much better !!

you have made one of the girls' nose blue.

 

[night86mare]

never mind about the light or pp or what,

the subject is the girls, the scene is far too busy, far too cluttered, there is no sense of arrangement , it is as if you decided to snap a fun shot, and post it up for critique.

that's fine, no one's stopping you from fun shots, but personal value counts for naught when it comes to others viewing your work.

 

[fongi]

tks all for the tips... will improve on it. cheers