Photo Critique Club

[Riverbend Farms]

Can anyone critique these photos? They are for my county fair. Also please help me decide between 6a and 6b
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6a.

6b.

7.

8.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Can anyone critique these photos? They are for my county fair. Also please help me decide between 6a and 6b
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6a.

6b.

7.

8.

#1: Angle and lighting. I would even out the length below the flower with the length above the flower (centering it). The picture is dark, which taking this picture while the sun is out might have added to the lighting and colors.

#2: In my opinion, this picture is perfect. If I was to recommend changes on this, I would recommend the same as #1 by that big flower on the left.

#3: The colors are unique on this one. Putting it in landscape probably would have been better here.

#4: I like this one as well. Putting in landscape so the back of the hen isn't cut off might be helpful. The b/w hides any colors that may be unwanted in this picture (though it may be robbing wanted colors as well).

#5: I absolutely love this picture. For change, I would put it in landscape, put more space in front of the hen than behind, and remove the waterer because it can be a distraction.

#6a and b: For entering these in a contest, I'd be concerned about all the bird's shaft. I'd say he's coming out of a molt and he's not looking his "best" yet. (This is nothing against how the photos were taken!) On b, the look he has in his eye adds character to his picture, but I think a is a better picture.

#7: Remove the background distractions. The tote and the light-colored thing will automatically take away from the picture for not being "natural." The orange leaves are also distracting.

#8: This picture is also good. I would almost recommend coming up (in angle) a little, but isn't a huge concern. The b/w is good, but for the lighting, it almost makes the dog's eyes blend into the fur.

You did really good on these pictures. This is just my personal thoughts on these pictures and I would be interested in hearing what others have to say.

 

[azurbanclucker]

Can anyone critique these photos? They are for my county fair. Also please help me decide between 6a and 6b
1.

You've got a lot of negative space in this vertically. I would square crop it and put that bloom dead center. There's some lovely soft lighting here and if you give it just a bit of green all around it will pop.

2.

The focus is too soft on this. Your sharpest feature is the dead leaves on the left edge (really the whole left side). Make sure you have everything in focus and watch your depth of field.

3.

I like this one, but again you have a lot of vertical space that could be cropped down here.

4.

Your front hen seems to be nicely in focus and the very shallow DOF works here. The busy yard in the background is a distraction but there isn't a lot you can do about it unless you really go after it with some gaussian blurring or other post-processing.

5.

The hardware cloth yo'ure shooting through is a distraction for this one. You've got the focus nailed on your clucker, that's solid!

6a.

This one is better. That sunflower in the background looks shaky and my eye is drawn to it. Can you clone it out? Same with the paneling under it.

6b.

Not a fan of this angle.

7.

Nailed the focus again. The hadrware cloth is still a distraction.

8.

This last one is Tough. It's a solid shot and I like it. The contrast is very hard and there's not a lot of room for midtone textures in the face because of the lighting. You might play with some other B/W filters (red channel or IR for example) and see if you can put some more midtones into the face.

 

[bill3607]

My photos got 1sts and 2nds (4 1sts 5 2nds)

 

[casportpony]

My photos got 1sts and 2nds (4 1sts 5 2nds)

Congrats!

 

[The Coop Crew]

Just entered these into the calendar contest! I have two entries remaining! Any tips I should use for my next two entries?? I haven’t taken the last two so I’ll wait for feedback before I do! Thanks so much

 

[R2elk]

Just entered these into the calendar contest! I have two entries remaining! Any tips I should use for my next two entries?? I haven’t taken the last two so I’ll wait for feedback before I do! Thanks so much

Number one tip, read the rules and follow them. The calendar contest requires entries to be Landscape. Square or portrait entries will be disqualified.

Learn the Rule of Thirds.

Keep your background uncluttered.

 

[The Coop Crew]

Number one tip, read the rules and follow them. The calendar contest requires entries to be Landscape. Square or portrait entries will be disqualified.

Learn the Rule of Thirds.

Keep your background uncluttered.

I did read the rules and I thought these were landscape? Apparently not..lol
Also just looked up the Rule of Thirds.
Thanks!

 

[R2elk]

I thought these were landscape? Apparently not..lol

1809x2000 pixels = Portrait

1814x2000 pixels = Portrait

The first numbers are always the width and the second numbers are the height. Landscape is wider than tall.

 

[azurbanclucker]

Just entered these into the calendar contest! I have two entries remaining! Any tips I should use for my next two entries?? I haven’t taken the last two so I’ll wait for feedback before I do! Thanks so much

Number one tip, read the rules and follow them. The calendar contest requires entries to be Landscape, square or portrait entries will be disqualified.

Learn the Rule of Thirds.

Keep your background uncluttered.

Additionally:

First image is very soft. I can't tell where the focus is at, but it's not cleanly focused on the bird's face and eye. The background is very busy and very off-angle from the chicken. As a past judge, I can tell you that technical precision and strong composition both matter. Fuzzy and slightly off-focus shots can and will score lower.

The second image has better focus, but it's just flat. There's not anything standing out in the overall composition.

Compositionally, neither of these really jump out or are very exciting. There's no action, there's no drama, there's no dramatic lighting or pastoral background. They're lovely looking birds just kinda sitting around.

Also, both of these images, while decently sized, are low quality. They're 72 DPI which is far too low for print. If you zoom them you can see large chunky noise which is a combination of image compression and the lighting conditions. If they were to be chosen you'd need to be able to provide high-quality high res images for print, and these won't do.

Take a look at the past calendar shoots and the winning images for ideas and inspiration. Generally speaking start by asking yourself "if I was paying money for a calendar, would I pay for this image to be in it?" And do it objectively, without taking into account your emotional attachment to a given bird or a given shot. If you don't think you'd pay money for it, keep trying. We want the best of the best and this is one of the most critically and harshly judged contests at BYC. Bring your "A" game, because everyone else is too.