Photo Critique Club

[Goats N Cluckers]

It's a PR shoot. Stuff for print and social media for the PGA kids camps. Action shots, and "promoting the brand"

I love the concentration you caught on her face. For a PR shot, I'd like to see the whole child as well as the entire golf club and the ball she's looking at. Or if it's going to be in a collage, you could get away with cropping it further from the bottom and right side to center her more. If you're shooting for a mom, she's going to want to see her daughter's face in detail, but for promotional use, that isn't necessary. I would also sharpen up the logo on the cap. Anytime a client's logo is in a promotional image, it should be very sharp.

Just for general photography's sake, I'd set her up either with a clean background, or use gear/equipment as part of the photo by moving it closer to the subject. It doesn't have to be in focus, but it could be close the focal plane so we get a sense of purpose.

For a professional look, place your subject with the sun at their back(s) and use a reflector or OCF to brighten her face. It'll provide you with details otherwise lost to shadows, allow a slower ss so you can also use a wider aperture (with OCF), your subject(s) won't be squinting, and you have a better chance of getting catch lights.

 

[azurbanclucker]

I monkeyed with it a bit.

Here's the original

Here's my edit.

I used the generative AI in photoshop (I used beta because the adobe docs said to but I notice it's in current CC too, I think) to extend the left edge, which it did pretty seamlessly. Then I cropped slightly to center her more, did a couple of selective gradients to bring her face up a bit and to sharpen the hat.

 

[mdees88]

I monkeyed with it a bit.

Here's the original
View attachment 3551790

Here's my edit.
View attachment 3551789

I used the generative AI in photoshop (I used beta because the adobe docs said to but I notice it's in current CC too, I think) to extend the left edge, which it did pretty seamlessly. Then I cropped slightly to center her more, did a couple of selective gradients to bring her face up a bit and to sharpen the hat.

That AI did an amazing job. The only thing I don't like is how it generated her leg sticking outward. It's almost like she's sitting on a chair. I would make her leg follow the contour of her body. Or if that's too hard maybe just crop a little off the bottom...

 

[azurbanclucker]

That AI did an amazing job. The only thing I don't like is how it generated her leg sticking outward. It's almost like she's sitting on a chair. I would make her leg follow the contour of her body. Or if that's too hard maybe just crop a little off the bottom...

View attachment 3551945

I took a bit off the bottom, because it was bugging me too.

 

[azurbanclucker]

I don't want to chop them up too much though, so as to give the graphic designer team room to work with the images to fit their marketing layouts.

 

[Goats N Cluckers]

It looks a lot better now! The leg can be removed easily without more cropping. Great job!

 

[Tolkienfanatic03]

I think this is a type of Aracari though I'm not sure. These pictures were taken through glass does that affect how clear the picture is even if the glass is clean? Any and all critiques welcome!

 

[Goats N Cluckers]

Gorgeous bird and great color in your photo. Yes, another layer of glass, no matter how clean will have an effect on the image. Even clear UV filters made of quality optical glass will have some detrimental effects.

That said, your photos turned out very sharp for being taken through a window, especially the top one. You could maybe lighten it up a little so we get more detail in his feathers and eye. If I were editing it, I'd mask the bird from the background and lighten it alone, making it really stand out. This is where even the best cellphone camera and 'real' camera can differ. The dynamic range of a dslr or mirrorless camera has a much better dynamic range, consequently the highlights and shadows contain more details that can be retrieved through post processing.

His eye is almost dead center in the photo, which is a little awkward compositionally. If you were to imagine a tic-tac-toe grid over the photo, I'd place his eye at the upper right junction of the lines, giving more room to the left for movement as he's facing that direction. Some cameras have this grid as an option in the viewfinder to make composition easier.

 

[azurbanclucker]

In addition to that, the image is a little noisy if you zoom it. I'm presuming you had a higher ISO because of the low light. Might clean that up with a denoise routine in (insert favorite software here). Since the background is pretty uniform in color, it should clean up nicely.

 

[ButtonHoarder]

What do you think is the best out of these? I know they’re kinda weird and not good, it was a pretty spider web, I didn’t get to see the artist though unfortunately.
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