Photo critique for Mike
http://mikekingdonphotography.blogspot.co.uk/
Dear Christian
Thank you very much for producing all your great videos on YouTube and for producing a great website. As being quite new to photographer I find these videos very useful.
I especially like the video you did on composition which is an area I am working hard to improve on. I found your video very informative and well presented, probably the best video on YouTube about composition.
I watched a video by another photographer I follow on YouTube Matt Granger and he recommended that in order to make a good start in 2014 I should go through all my photos from 2013 and evaluate my strength and weaknesses so I can set goals to improve my photography in 2014.
Please find attached 3 photos that I think are amongst my best from 2013. I have tried to critique them myself and I would be grateful if you could also critique them.
………………………..
Mike,
Thank you for your submission. I appreciate the fact you have done your own ratings and I hope it gave you a better experience as intended. Let’s have alook and compare notes
Olivia
My first shoot I did in a studio, the model was a friend of mine Olivia.
This is my favourite photo from the shoot. I would give this
(7+7+8)/3 = 7 in total
………….
Content : 7.5 out of 10
As a man I am inclined to give you a 10, I cannot help looking at beautiful women, especially in a sexy presentation, however on the same note, I feel the need to give you a 5 for the fact this will sell in any magazine and the subject is overused. So let’s stick in the middle…
Composition 8 out of 10
I believe this is a very good composition and it is artistic enough, a classic boudoir position very well executed. I am not sure if this can be much better than that. I see good balance, tension of being up side down, face following the rule of thirds, subject breathes well in the image.
Image quality : 7.5 out of 10
I see the quality i would expect, it is a nice image, well lit. I think black and white work OK, it is a good image. It is missing hte wow factor though…maybe a bit more depth of field ?! maybe?
TRS Rating: 7.6
Stranger in a train
I was on a train in Manchester where I kept seeing this guy looking at me from over the seats
I don’t think it is the best composed photo as I took it quickly but I like the subject. I like how he is looking directly at the camera whilst other people are talking amongst themselves. I like how you can’t see his face either.
(8+5+5)/3 = 6
………………………
Content 4 out of 10
Anyone in any condition will look at you if you point a camera towards them. I do not see anything special in this image. This is close to un-interesting. I do no relate to this is any shape or form.
Composition 3 out of 10
I do not see a composition, here, if you say this is centrality or symmetry of the subject, I will not believe you. This is a random image, for something that attracted you only.
Image quality 5 out of 10
Image is well exposed and that is about it…
TRS Rating : 4 out of 10
Running through the night
I took this at a light show in Manchester. Hundreds of joggers ran over Manchester with LEDs light of them. This is a long exposure of the joggers running across a bridge. Composition could be better but I like the colour.
(7+5+7)/3 = 6.3
…………………….
Content 8.5 out of 10
I have never seen this idea, and your combination of night photography, long exposure and a street event is brilliant, in my opinion. I really love this approach and I believe this is one of the best ideas I have seen for such a simple event
Composition 7 out of 10
I am going to ignore the lack of your trust in yourself as this is a very well composed image, far abve the 5 mark in my view. This is about the light trails and they are about right in terms of the view, and dominance in the imahe. ALso the converge to one point nicely that follw the rule of third on vertical..maybe this point should be in the top third and have less sky?
Image quality 8 out of 10
the image is graphic, it looks appealing, I love it.
TRS rating 7.8
Mike, I think you underrate yourself a little bit. I did have a look on your website which unfortunately is not vey convincing at this stage.I am concerned that these 3 images, (maybe the 2 without the stranger in the train), are not enough to prove your skills. I would love to see some more or your work in the future…..
………………………………………………………
![Photo critique for Mike http://mikekingdonphotography.blogspot.co.uk/ Dear Christian Thank you very much for producing all your great videos on YouTube and for producing a great website. As being quite new to […]](https://academy-of-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Olivia-465x190.jpg "Olivia, running through the night, stranger on the train – photo critique")
Ok photography, nothing grand , however, as a photographer do we not set our expectations way up there? Missing WOW factor, I think for the boudoir color might have added the pop this image needs.
Olivia
CONTENT: 7/10
As a guy, who wouldn’t find the content good! Even though the content is seen pretty much everywhere these days it’s still good.
COMPOSITION: 8/10
The composition is excellent. The rule of thirds is applied and it’s balanced well. I can’t really see anything right now to improve the composition. Nice work!
IMAGE QUALITY: 7/10
I believe the B&W works well with this subject matter more than a color version. For me, it’s balanced nice throughout the picture, but I want to see some brighter areas. The picture is missing that striking factor that one would expect with B&W. I would shoot it at 2.8 and focus on the eyes to see how that looked. I would also add some tone curve adjustments to bring highlights in the picture. The picture needs some brights to make it more striking.
TRS SCORE: 7.3
Stranger in a train
CONTENT: 3/10
I find the content non-interesting. It almost seems as though you were shooting test pics to see the exposure before shooting actual photographs.
COMPOSITION: 3/10
BAM, guy’s head is the focal point seems like and he’s directly in the center, not good. I don’t see any thought to composition in this one.
IMAGE QUALITY: 5/10
Image quality is average, nothing special. One could put it on the green box and take this picture.
TRS SCORE: 3.6
Running through the night
CONTENT: 8/10
Content is excellent as it’s not your average subject matter.
COMPOSITION: 8/10
Composed really well. I would move the horizon up to show less sky. This will make the light trails more prominent! The sky is dull anyway so you don’t want to see much of it. Nice composition!
IMAGE QUALITY: 7.5/10
Image and exposure looks good. Only thing I don’t care for is the sky color, but that’s a personal taste though.
TRS SCORE: 7.8
Mike,
Thank you for submitting your photographs! I hope you take my thoughts and opinions being constructive and apply them on future shots. My favorite shot of the three would be Olivia if it had some more POP to it. All it needs is some highlights/whites bumped up a tad, nothing major. I look forward to seeing future work of yours.
Kevin Hays
Website
Facebook
Image Title : Olivia
Author : Mike
Photo Critique by : Robert Chircop.
Content: TRS mark 6/10
This is an attractive boudoir portrait with some attention to the surroundings. The traditional iron frame bed and the old telephone on the table in the background compliment the image. The young model’s pose lying facing up, in black lingerie creates excitement and glamour. The certain nonchalance to this image is arresting.
Composition: TRS mark 7/10
I think that you have composed the image fairly well. You have observed the ‘rule of thirds’ and the viewer is instantly compelled to engage eye contact with the model. Afterwards the rest of the image is ‘discovered’. I like the simple side lighting, if not too specular in places. The elements in the scene relate to each other and interact quite well. Props were also used to good effect.
Revealing the model’s fingers in full view, rather than having the index finger hidden (chopped off) might have added more ‘photographic’ value to this otherwise beautiful boudoir image.
Image quality: TRS mark 7/10
The black and white treatment has been used to good effect, as in this case, colour might have distracted the viewer from the main theme – an vintage feel boudoir image. Exposure is moderately controlled albeit some blown out highlights rendering the affected areas without detail.
In post-processing, the model’s face could do with some sharpening mainly the eyes and lips. Eyes would have ‘sparkled’ if catchlights were accentuated. In post-processing you could have removed stray hairs from the face and shoulders as these are distracting as are, in my opinion, the tufts of hair on the model’s forehead.
On a more technical note, you may have stopped down the lens to achieve more depth of field and reduce image quality degradation. . Also keep in mind that lenses are not sharp at either end of their aperture scale. Shooting wide open also makes it difficult to focus.
In conclusion, I think that this is a very good image.
Final TRS mark: 7- out of 10
Image Title : Stranger in a train
Author : Mike
Photo Critique by : Robert Chircop.
Content: TRS mark 2/10
I don’t see a subject or a theme albeit chopped off heads. Sorry! The seat up front is very distracting. This is a commonplace snapshot with very little or no appeal.
Composition: TRS mark 1/10
I cannot really see any thoughts regarding composition. If it is about the guy peering over his seat, you could have zoomed in close. This is bull’s eye photography which is not up to good photographic standards.
Image quality: TRS mark 2/10
The exposure is OK but at this stage, the photograph is devoid of interest.
Remarks: I’m sure that you can do much better as you have demonstrated with your photo ‘Olivia’ and ‘Running through the night’. Put this image behind you and move on.
Final TRS mark: 1+ out of 10
Image Title : Running through the night
Author : Mike
Photo Critique by : Robert Chircop.
Content: TRS mark 6/10
I really like the effect of the moving lights you captured using ‘long exposure’. Nice light trail colour too.
Composition: TRS mark 7/10
This is creative. Hadn’t you explained what the lights were, I wouldn’t have guessed. The trails receding to a vanishing point is really effective. It gave depth to the image.
I might have cropped the image to make the light trails, the main subject, fill the frame more. I’m not too keen about the sky’s level of brightness. A darker shade might have worked better as it would make those beautiful light trails stand out further.
Image quality: TRS mark 7/10
The light trails are pleasantly captured. You must have had the camera steadied or mounted on a tripod. Shooting at your wide angle lens’s sweet spot f/8 resulted in quite a sharp image with good depth of field. Setting the camera as you did, in its base ISO is also commendable as it ensued a noise-free image.
Well done in venturing into your dslr’s manual mode. As demonstrated, you had maximum control over this shot.
Final TRS mark: 7- out of 10
Mike,
Thank you for your submission, Today we hope that the advise and feedback we give will help you with your work.
Olivia
………….
Content : 7.5 out of 10
Boudoir photography is ever on the increase It can be difficult to find Models at times as well as well having the right content This is a great example of Boudoir in my opinion
Composition 8.5 out of 10
I like the composition of this image it is stylist and tasteful, there is a nice bokeh in the background, with a side table that provides a good eye enhancement.
Image quality : 7.5 out of 10
This image shows great lighting and is in good focus especially around the eyes which is the most important to have in focus. I Love B&W images and by using B&W here has made this image what it is a very good quality photograph. I think maybe a little more blurred/Bokeh in the background would have been a nicer touch however just a small detail over a already great image, well done.
TRS Rating: 8
Stranger in a train
………………………
Content 3 out of 10
Not one for album certainly there is little content that stands out here I to have recently travelled on a train and I to was looking around for images to take, the most I could get was a aisle shot, train interiors are not always the best options especially when you point a camera at someone, i’m sure some people may take offence
Composition 3 out of 10
I to cant see a composition here even though it is a random taken shot,but there is no clear definition to been see here.
Image quality 5 out of 10
The image has a nice hint of foreground bokeh on the seat but it is all i see overall here
TRS Rating : 3.5 out of 10
Running through the night
Content 7.5 out of 10
This is a ever popular subject type of photography I to have tried this technique was the effect of the waves due to the bridge bouncing slightly I.e the millennium bridge ?? as normally you would have straight lines, however the content is sound with great effect
Composition 7 out of 10
I like the general composition it is placed as a good composition would be, I may have had a bit more of the image to the left with a little less sky overall good effect.
Image quality 8 out of 10
This is generally a nice image, I would of liked to have seen a darker setting sky which would have bumped the colours more dramatically, Do you use post processing at all as using some simple techniques would transfer this already good image into something with a little more kick.
TRS rating 7.8
Mike You have some great images here I think the boudoir has sold me here as im sure it would Christian as well i can see that you have the creative eye indeed, but need to now concentrate and move forward to the next level, and become even more creative, I can see more of your work becoming very good throughout this year, well done.