Critique Journal. Entry 1

A few months ago I had an idea to critique my own work and post it here on this blog.  I figured that it would help not only myself but also the viewer in learning from mistakes or even how to make something better next time.  I learned the most effective way of doing this is dependent on time.  Even with editing I dont edit all of a picture at once.  I will do what needs to be done and go onto another picture.  I will go back to that one image and I will see what I could do better which I wouldn't have been able to do before.  Dont spend too much time on one photograph, spread it out and you will have better results.







For my first critique I want to focus on a recent shoot for The Suicide Denial.  These guys are going out on the warped tour this month and I thought we should do a shoot before they head out.  They also have a new album which you will see some of my shots in the artwork.









This shoot would have gone much smoother if I had an assistant with me to manage the lights.  I was running back and forth trying to get all of the lights in the right spot and the right intensity.  My other problem was that for the group shots I had to use my 10-24 wide angle lens.  I dont like using this lens for group shots, its better for landscapes.  I dont have an alternative, but I think the 24-70 2.8 is going to be the solution for this problem in the near future.

We had to climb over a lot of rusty pipes which was another issue, all in all a great day and a great shoot.

I have very few issues with this picture other than I wish I had a better lens.  I would like to have some rim light coming from the back to separate them a little bit from the background.

Im real happy with how this shot came out.  I was using my 85 1.8 which is an awesome portrait lens.  I used a single strobe shot through an umbrella softbox.  I love how this set up lights the shot.  I get the feeling of a painting you would see in an old mansion.  I tried to get a good balance on his face in the post processing stage and I had an issue with getting the highlights to look right.

I want some more emphasis on the eyes here so I will eventually go back and clear up the eyes to draw you in a bit more.

Same exact light setup here just a different feel since Chad has a picture of a giraffe.  I also used a different style of post processing.  This was the smoke custom preset that I made which you can find how I did in a previous blog.  The image above is using the "dark style" custom action that I built, there is a video of this on youtube.

I'd like more emphasis on the eyes here, maybe some rim light.

This is the shot I had to work on the most due to the low quality of my lens.  You really have to use a closed down aperture to make sure everything is in focus and I didn't really have that option here unless I boosted my ISO a whole lot.  I still think it came out great.  I used Lightzone to give some HDR detail and then I just overlaid that image on the original, then used a layer mask to take away what I didn't want.

What I would do different is bring out the highlights on the light above so it doesn't look so dull.  I would also add a darker vignette on the upper left.




Im happy with this shot. (it looks better full-size).  I would have added a reflector for the right size of the face (camera left).  that would brighten it up a bit so the shadow isnt as distracting.

I would have also changed the position of the rim light and brighten up a few other spots.

This shot was fun to edit but I over did it.  This is where I could have benefited from going onto another shot instead of spending too much on one picture.  A handy trick is to glance at the picture for 2 seconds and you will automatically see what is wrong or missing about the picture.  A reflector for his right side (camera left) would have helped a lot and a lot more emphasis on his eyes would make this better.  Ill be re-editing this shot for sure.


















Alright, thats it for this shoot.  I am still happy with the shots but I will be re-editing a few of them.  The clients are happy and you will see a few of these on the new CD coming out soon.

The biggest lesson is to not spend too much time on a shot.  Take that initial quick glance and see what needs to be done.  If you are able to satisfy this sub-conscious glance then someone just glancing over your image will notice it.  If someone is online and scrolling through pictures, you want it to stick out in that first second or two.

Critique is vital to making yourself into a better photographer.