Constructive Criticism Friday
OK - Here is my original shot (right at the top) and all my edits of it following. This is the daughter of some close friends of ours - isn't she beautiful! I spent hours on this and am actually quite pleased with the results, BUT there are always things that can be made better, so I'd like to hear what you think and what you would do to make these even better. Is there something I am missing?
Most of my editing is done in Picnik, with a little in Paint.net (eyes mainly) & Gimp.
Camera - Canon Powershot S3 IS - EXIF....
I have NO idea why I was shooting on 400 ISO - I was in a really light conservatory area! I think I just forgot to turning it down again. I was to-ing and fro-ing between this conservatory and a much darker indoor space. It was hard to stay in manual mode, but I did and for the most part succeeded in getting some great shots :D Despite the high ISO I do actually quite like the brightness of the face and photo as a whole. Obviously the glass behind E is a problem, and even more so the 'mess' behind her, hence the replacement of the background with something more fitting - which took me an age to get right - so fiddly! Is it any less fiddly with PS (which I do not have and won't have any time soon!)?There will be lots to learn this Friday over at I ♥ Faces I am sure,
so make sure you go have a look what's happening on other people's
'Constructive Criticism Friday' posts :D
3 comments:
It works! I was here earlier and wasn't able to bring up the comment box.
I agree with you. You did a great job editing and getting rid of the less desirable aspects in the background. My thoughts about the original is that it was a bit overexposed and lacking some sharpness. You seemed to take care of both these issues in the edits.
Caroline, I am happy to come back! I tried a couple times to leave a comment on Friday. I know you must have been disappointed! Okay, your photography is funky and fun, from what I saw displayed on your blog. The SOOC shot is lacking in contrast and appears washed out. Nothing really attracts the eye. The second conversion, with You are Such a Joy on it, is by far my favorite. Your conversions have a lot more contrast, which adds depth and strength to the image. The choice of crop and rotation work beautifully. I don't care for the final image, the saturated color, as it makes her skin tone odd. If you could add a layer mask to that layer, then reduce the opacity on her face, I think that would enhance the picture. Definitely a fun, rich image, though, when you finished editing!
A couple quick comments before I rouse my kiddos and get them breakfast...
Your SOOC shot is a little bit overexposed (the 400iso is fine, if it were much lower you might experience camera shake). Probably a shutter speed of 1/250 sec would have worked better. In any case, processing can fix some stuff. I would decrease the exposure a bit, and certainly add a little bit of contrast and a little bit of sharpening. Edit #1 - it's probably just me, but I'm not a fan of the new background, and I don't actually mind the diner behind her. You could actually keep the diner, but intentionally blur it (masking over her face, to keep it sharp, and *maybe* clone out the strawberry treat.) With such blurring, the background would become a nice neutral backdrop to this sweet girl's pretty face.
I like edits 2 & 3. I think edit 4 is cropped too closely (I don't like the chopped off chin and there's just not enough "negative space" around her).
The last edit is fun and funky, but I don't prefer it to 2 & 3.
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