Photo a Day: Wherein You Read The OP, Like A Smart Person

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > The Dorkroom > Photo a Day: Wherein You Read The OP, Like A Smart Person

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

You may have done this already somewhere else, but could you post a before and after shot? It might help with opinions regarding the post processing.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2012 07:17

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# ¿ May 1, 2024 06:11

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

I think the post is quite good. You're taking average, sort of meh pictures of animals and turning them into some of the most talked about photos in the dork room. The fact that they look studio lit makes them look fake (who can get a tiger to pose for a studio production?) and I think that's what makes them remarkable. Additionally, when they come in groups or when I consider the many many shots with similar post you've produced over the last year or whatever, I think they all go together really well and that adds to the awesomeness of the whole thing. I've heard it said a half dozen times but all of your shots together in a photo book would be spectacular.

e:

_MG_0181 by spf3million, on Flickr

spf3million fucked around with this message at 17:41 on Jan 27, 2012

# ¿ Jan 27, 2012 16:00

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

Dradien posted:

Now, last time I posted here was with a picture that was not color corrected, kind of crappy with a nasty shadow on it, too narrow focus, etc etc.

My wife and I went out shooting today on the route we walk every morning. Nothing too exciting, but we pass this farm quite often and I figured it would make a nice picture. So...what are your thoughts?

IMG_1164.jpg by Dradien, on Flickr

Don't be afraid to post larger links. It's tough to critique a medium flickr photo. The sky looks pretty nicely exposed, no issues there. Hate to be the one to roll out the "rules" but your photo is rather boring because the subject is dead smack in the center and the horizon is right in the middle as well. The rule of thirds is a rule because photos with the subject on the thirds generally look better then when they're in the center. Also, the barn is too small, getting lost in the surroundings. Your foreground is pretty flat, it could use some more punch. Try increasing the contrast on the foreground or add a curves layer. I think the grass on the right isn't doing you any good. Try cropping out all of the grass leaving only corn, the barn, and sky. That'll move your subject closer to the lower right third and it'll be more dynamic because the barn will look like it's lost in miles of corn rows. Like you were wondering through the corn and stumbled upon a barn. Everything would probably look better if you went out earlier, maybe caught some morning mist/fog. Yeah some low lying fog would definitely add to this photo. Just a bunch of random thoughts that come to mind. Some might be useful, some might not. Keep shooting.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2012 07:40

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

Chidona posted:

DSC02058.jpg by chidona, on Flickr

This one is kinda cool. At first I was going to suggest cropping out some of the black at the bottom but after looking at it a little more, I decided I liked it. I wish there was just a bit more punch to the sky.

Chidona posted:

DSC02017.jpg by chidona, on Flickr

Sorry but this doesn't do anything for me.

Chidona posted:

DSC02152.jpg by chidona, on Flickr

This is my favorite of the 3. It looks just enough like an ocean horizon to give the mind something to grab onto but it is abstract enough to make me wonder weather it was taken on a beach or not.

Cacator posted:

Artistically Placed Tree by Cacator, on Flickr

I like this crop. Love the mountains in the background.

dukeku posted:

Completely agree that this looks like an illustration in a children's book. I like this better than the other you posted.

dukeku posted:

I wish there was something else there instead of a dumpster.

VomitOnLino posted:

Really like this photo. The colors and the light work well together to give it a nice pop. I think a flare would have made it just another hipster pic of a bike. Or maybe not, who knows.

Visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jersualem (supposedly where Jesus was crucified and was resurrected).

_MG_2202-150 by spf3million, on Flickr

What's left of the J-man's tomb.

_MG_2215-153 by spf3million, on Flickr

# ¿ May 12, 2012 17:45

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

torgeaux posted:

Start of the Race2 by torgeaux, on Flickr

That old guy up front with all the kids is pretty great. I can imagine him pushing kids out of the way up to the front of the line so he could start in front. I think it would be better if you cropped out the top and sides so it was a little closer up on the runners and you couldn't see how many people there are actually are. It'd make it looks more impressive I think.

guidoanselmi posted:

Gotta agree about the eye :downs:

doctor 7 posted:

These are both loving stellar. I honestly don't know what to say other than drat fine work. Composition works, exposure is spot on, colour looks a bit dulled (I don't know if you did anything in regards to it) but it looks just right for the photos. Really well done.

I'm trying to expand from shooting people and whatnot so I went on a bit of a hike today and took a few photos. This is the only one I like. I've never tried taking pictures of poo poo I see in the woods, or processing greenery before, so any tips would be appreciated no matter how basic.

IMG_4906 by Aidan R, on Flickr

Thanks. For yours I'd start by posting bigger photos, tough to critique what you can't see. That goes for a bunch of you. There's a ton of great detail on that stump but I can't see it when you share a medium flickr link. I think the whole right side doesn't do much for you. I'm looking at the original size on flickr and when the stump takes up about half of the screen, it looks interesting. Maybe try a tighter crop?

HookShot posted:

Pantheon by hookshot88, on Flickr

I'll see your God ray

_MG_2229-151 by spf3million, on Flickr

I spent a ton of time editing out a thing in the middle of the room. Could you tell if I hadn't said anything?

_MG_2229 by spf3million, on Flickr

# ¿ May 13, 2012 17:45

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

Turd Nelson posted:

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I went ahead and removed the bench at the bottom (which I hadn't noticed until it was mentioned).

Japanese Garden by Jenseales, on Flickr

Here's another shot from the Japanese gardens. I was trying to emulate the look of Alien Cowboy's stuff. How do the colors come off? Too green?

Untitled by Jenseales, on Flickr

More love for the first one, however I think it would look really cool with more of the main branch on the bottom left (assuming you could include it in the frame while maintaining the total cover of yellow leaves in the background). Right now it's sort of cut off, half in, half out. Either that or just crop it out altogether. Love the second one too. The DOF is just right so that the middle tree really stands out but the trees on the left and right aren't too out of focus that you can't tell what they are. The three slowly come into focus, left, right, middle. The black borders work well.

Something I'm working on for the photo contest.

_MG_2363-161-162 by spf3million, on Flickr

# ¿ May 19, 2012 07:16

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

Wafflecopper posted:

Wellington 2 by euannz, on Flickr

Wellington 3 by euannz, on Flickr

mr. mephistopheles posted:

I really like these.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2012 17:45

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

HookShot posted:

Iceland by hookshot88, on Flickr

Have you tried cloning out the flag pole and whatever the silver/metal thing is to the right of the church? I really like the photo but those two things are distracting me.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2012 13:41

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

guidoanselmi posted:

Not sure what this is (airplane trails?) but I like it. Not a big fan of the tree tops though.

# ¿ Jun 17, 2012 04:16

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

bakahentai posted:

And the one shot from the trip that I really wanted to turn out, but I'm just not sure how to make it work:

Buy Me by pageod, on Flickr

I think this could have been better if you would have positioned yourself behind the cow so it could be in the foreground with the audience in the background. Use a depth of field such that the cow was in focus and the audience was still discernible but clearly not the subject of the photo.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2012 19:38

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

RazalasSol posted:

Untitled by razalas_solrac, on Flickr

This second one is totally awesome. I like that there is an identifiable subject but the rest is left up to the imagination.

rio posted:

DSC01472 by Paul Hofreiter, on Flickr

This is nice but it feels a little cool (obviously it's cold outside but the skin tones look kinda bluish).

Deadreak posted:

Mobile Graffiti by deadreak, on Flickr

It's an interesting subject but there's no action or story to go with it. Could you have taken it from a different angle to make the background more interesting?

e: saw your comment later, oh well.

Dalax posted:

Untitled by M Walts, on Flickr

This is kinda cool. I'd like it more if the line separating the sky and building were right down the center. Make it look almost like a diptych. Did you try the Lens Correction > Manual sliders in LR to get the windows and building all squared off? Basically this:

Whitezombi posted:

The second. Shooting straight lines is difficult. An image like this has to be 100% perfect. Every line must be perfectly straight. Every shape equal. You must have symmetry. As it is it does not work.

phootnote posted:

IMG_7177 by Wilson!!!!, on Flickr

Awkward Davies posted:

Sometimes I want to give critique like "You took a picture of something boring. Why did you do that?".

krooj posted:

The snow on the bottom right isn't interesting at all. The trees and mysterious light on the bottom left is very interesting. Try re-framing to get more of the mysterious trees and less of the boring snow with a million footprints.

Shampoo posted:

In my playing with Lightroom, I decided to bite the bullet and import most of my old photos and see if I could re-process them into something nicer.

DSC_0091 by jpitha, on Flickr
I'm trying for an old-timey postcard here.

flagpole focus by jpitha, on Flickr
I like the colors, but I think the vignette is too strong. Maybe?

The first one is too green to see anything other than GREEN. The second one is kinda nice in a cross-processed type of way. I like it.

App13 posted:

Untitled by App134, on Flickr

This has some good potential. The highlights look a little yellow/orange/brown to me and I think it could use a little bump in exposure. There is plenty of black but not enough white.

Santa is strapped posted:

I was out shooting with a friend and had some nice light show up (10mins later it was gone).

Really like the colors.

Whitezombi posted:

boys & bones by natebol, on Flickr

This is the strongest of the three. My biggest gripe is that the subjects get lost in all the contrast.

slardel posted:

What's going on with that bridge/dam in the background? I want to see more of that.
I actually kind of like the 3rd although it seems a little noisy for some reason. It would be worlds better if the sky were more interesting. As it is now, it is just blah gray. When they sky looks like this, I find it best to try to eliminate the sky from the composition altogether.

Casu Marzu posted:

These two are completely baller. Really love how you can see the movement in the falling snow. The 1st could possibly use a little exposure bump since there aren't really any pure whites unlike the 2nd where there are definitely blacks and whites.

Druckman posted:

Into the Sun by AllLightIsGood, on Flickr
I was trying to get the sun and the trees to form a balanced triangle that plays off the curved line of the hill. I'm not sure I fully pull it off since the sun is such a strong pull to the eye.

I like your intention with the triangle and rolling hill. Did you use a polarizer? I wonder if that would have softened the sun a bit. I really like the colors and exposure. Pulling off good exposure with a shot like this can be tough, good work.

xenilk posted:

annie by avoyer, on Flickr

IMG_6135 by avoyer, on Flickr

These are cute, the 1st is much stronger in my opinion. She has a more playful look in her eye and the flowers in the 2nd grab too much attention away from here eyes which should be the focal point. I like the ring she is wearing in the first as well. It adds a second point of interest but is not too distracting like the flowers are in the 2nd.

I can't decide which version of this I like best. Is either one worth the effort to clone out all of those drat scratches on the right wall?

_MG_5121 by spf3million, on Flickr

_MG_5120 by spf3million, on Flickr

# ¿ Jan 30, 2013 17:14

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

I like the way the shadows fall and the framing provided by the dark and light walls on either side. I prefer the pose in the 1st but like the exposure of the 2nd more. Maybe a vertical would be better though, decisions decisions.

e:

Primo Itch posted:

Maybe somewhere in the middle? I think that bumping up a little bit the exposure in the first one should do the trick. I also like the model pose in it better than the 2nd, where she feels a little bit stiff.

I think you're right, I'll give it a shot.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2013 17:28

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# ¿ May 1, 2024 06:11

spf3million: Sep 27, 2007; hit 'em with the rhythm

For good star trails you are probably best off with 15 or 30 second exposures continuously. If you are using an intervelometer (which you basically have to for star trails), you'll set the wait time between photos to be the smallest possible, that will minimized the gaps.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2013 10:18

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > The Dorkroom > Photo a Day: Wherein You Read The OP, Like A Smart Person