Sylvias;5081932; said:
Looks really great!
I know i keep trying to get better compositions but i just like my reptile portraits centered.....
Here, I will be more specific. I am a harsh judge of photography so don't be offended, I am just trying to point out what I would change and what I think would help.
Here are my critiques for the images:
#1) Off balance. My eye stays on the right side of the image and the left side is just distracting.
#2) I would like to see more of the subject. The OOF areas are distracting and more interesting than the intended subject here.
#3) This has a nice diagonal composition to it (even though the subject is centered) and it works nicely but it seems a little soft. I would try sharpening it in post processing to see if it helps.
#4) There is nothing interesting about the subject of this photograph. It is just a solid yellow blob to most people. I think the fact that you are seeing it as an interesting animal makes you find this an interesting photograph but to non herpers, I think they will find that it lacks something. Also visibly dirty glass is never good and a poor use of your on camera flash (harsh shadows and outlines).
#5) Colors are dull (probably from dirty glass again) so I would adjust the white/black point to see if that helps. Also this is a floating head shot. It looks disembodied from the composition. Again- on camera flash should not be used in 99% of photos because of the very harsh shadows it gives.
#6) I like this one but I would have edited it some more or at least differently. I took the liberty of doing a quick and dirty edit on it. Hope you dont mind.
The original:
The Edit:
You should be able to see that the igg is much more imposing and seems more separated from the background now. It took me less than a minute to make the changes and I am sure that if you took the time to play with it some more, it would be a really good shot. I also cropped it to follow the rule of thirds.
#7) The rock on the left is distracting and the eye is closed. Also harsh shadows from what looks like your flash again.
#8) I like this one but it needs to be sharper and cropped differently. The edge of the frog is "kissing" the right of the frame which you should avoid. I would fix it by cropping further in and taking a little off the top. This one also needs to be sharpened.
#9) Out of Focus and a harsh flash again. You need to start thinking before you take the picture "what is it that makes this interesting to me?" Is it the colors? because they look a little dull here. I don't think that this one is salvageable since it is quite soft.
#10) Not bad but the green blob on the right is distracting to me. I would either re-shoot and try to get the frog in a clear area or try to clone that out in photoshop.
#11) You need to show more of the snakes body.
#12) I would stop up to a smaller aperture (around f/4 or 5.6) to get the front of the snake in focus. In this shot I am only looking at the eye and the rest makes my eyes flow off of the image or wonder around aimlessly not sure what to look at.
#13) The dirty glass makes the image look soft. I know it is difficult to control environmental factors like that but if you adjust the color and contrast and sharpen the image, it will make it less noticeable.
#14) On camera flash again. Also, the area to the left is distracting me from the subject
#15) The subject is partially hidden here. It ruins the shot for me. Also there is too much room on the bottom, crop some of that off.
#16) I also edited this one to remove the blob in the lower left.
The original:
The Edit:
And that was just a quick and dirty edit. If you were to take more time with it, you could make that area blend right in without any problems. The eyes are a little out of focus so I sharpened it to try and help it some. Again with the on camera flash though... Since you like to use it so much, I would suggest getting something like this to diffuse the harsh shadows:
http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/532047610.htm
You can also make one using a note card.
#17) Not bad. I would crop some off the top and bottom and a smidge off the left and if you could re-shoot, close your aperture some to get the body in focus too.
#18) Did you stretch this one? It seems skewed and disproportional. You also cut off a part of the head which I do not like.
#19) Good use of centered composition but bring some detail back into the shadows and re-shoot for a sharper image. Also try getting rid of the brown blob on the right.
#20) Not too much wrong here but I would do a simple tone, contrast and level adjustment to make it pop.
