Twenty images taken at night were put in front of Lee and Patrick to rate. There was a lot of disagreement.
Congratulations to Mads Peter Iversen for submitting the image that earned the highest rating by the rest of the community. We'd also like to congratulate Alan White for being the random entrant to win a tutorial. We'll be in touch with you to claim your prize.
This episode contained some very controversial images. Lee and Patrick disagreed heavily on several of them and Lee giving out a rare 5 star rating. Do you think Lee or Patrick was more wrong in their ratings?
If you missed your chance to participate in this episode, our next Critique the Community will offer a brand new twist. Lee Morris and Mike Kelley will be critiquing your logos. We invite you to submit your logo on top of your favorite image now.
Ok, who was wrong in this critique; Patrick or me?
I agree with Patrick on that glowing dancing girl, car and Venice. Venice shot looks muddy because of lost shadows. That building is not best and the street lamp is distracting in the car shot (highlights on a car look cheap-ish too). And yes, too much dead space for the girl at night. I see why Patrick gives those 2s, and I agree. Car is a 2 to me as well. Lee, I was most surprised with 3 star for Venice. I'm with Lee on London photo though. Too sloppy for portfolio and close to 1 without London letters.
Well well well, look at what we got here :)
The London shot is the one you argued the hardest and he agreed with me on that one.
I Think you were right in most of them but the London shot I have to agree with Patrick..
The London photo without the 'London' is defiantly a 2. Patrick is completely right here, it's by your definition cannot be a 2 star. Other matters are arguable.
I can't see a 'Girl in the bed' photo a 5 star. 5 is unforgettable, and I will forget about it tomorrow.
I"m listening to this commentary right now and yes, Lee was absolutely out of his mind on this one!
The "girl in bed" photo was EPIC! Conveyed such mood.
by heaps of miles, the best ever critique! Hilarious!
Car shot - 4 - don't like the lamp as well but if i'd seen this at first glance on an add, my eyes would be on the car before looking at details! awesome.
London shot - 3 - could be seen on an add (cheap one) but if it sells, then it's worth having in your portfolio.
I used to shoot stock photography. My highest selling image is a picture of my moms hand signing a sheet of paper. That will never be in my port.
the question is, can you see a cheap local tourism company using that pic to promote london? i can.
I would not rate it 3, but from the moment it has potential to be sold (and i do see that) then it could make your portfolio.
Is it a strong picture? hell no. Could it sell? possibly yes. ;) that is my point of view.
I'm with you Lee on the car, its a great photo and even with the car highlights a bit hot they are nice and even and not jumping around like you would expect if it was light painted. (or a lot of time was spent on photoshop) I do agree the light post and the crap on the left needs to go. I have to go with patrick on the london shot, as it cannot be a 1 even without the London part. Its definitely not a 3 though. I would put it in the 2.25-2.5 area!
In my opinion, Lee was more right about the car photo. I'm an automotive photographer so this subject is actually something I can talk about with a little knowledge. With the voting system the way it is, I would give this a 4. If I could be more specific with my vote, it would be between 3.5 and 4. The pole is not a problem. If it was behind the car where it looked like it was growing out of the roof, then it would be an issue. In this photo, it actually helps frame the car. The junk on the far left should probably be removed and the lights under the car should be made to match the rest of the photo. This photo works.
I'm now officially kicking myself for not entering this one! Love all your opinions, great insight!
Nice images and nice critique!
Every time, I stay awake to watch the critique as soon as is comes out, as it is a great series!
But I would like to discuss a few things further, without meaning to offend anyone :)
Why couldn't picture number 2 not be a portfolio image?
Because it's street photography, not staged, not perfectly sharp everywhere? Not every good image has to be an advertisement. It can be art or simply a good image.
To be honest, I would love to see more of such images in our community! But the community set-up a certain style, other pictures are getting compared to. That's a normal thing. I believe there's something like an fstoppers-style as much as there is an instagram-style.
And that image compared to you give the picture of the guy on the mountain's edge a 4, although the main subject is not sharp as well and the highlights are clipped? I find that a bit strange comparing two nicely composed images on sharpness and composition, but then giving one of them 2 and the other 4, just because the one with 4 is more staged and less spontaneous? Or what is the reason?
Usually, I'm quite harsh on Lee, - for sure not for the sake of it -, but he couldn't be more right with "You owe this photographer and the model an apology". I don't think that every photograph has to be tweeked 10 hours in Photoshop, compositing a star night sky or whatsoever. I think, less is more. There are just many photographers established in the fstoppers community that other photographers trying different things have to be compared with as the non-plus-ultra image. It's natural that such trends happen, but still considering the technical challenges of this image, I find the result great as the scene is lit enough to line out that it is in the mountains (even above the clouds) which is a fantastic scenery. And having the surroundings darker, adds more mystic to it than any other element (flash from the front or crazy composites). And the sky looks simply natural for that time of the day and not over-dramatised :)
I think that Patrick has a point that the flare in the car picture looks distracting, while Lee is having a point about the light post not bothering that much. So I think, it is definitely solid and people can make money with it, as the car looks super poppy and nicely retouched, to create not only a light but also a strong colour contrast.
The London picture, Patrick...
That's not a portfolio shot and Lee is absolutely right, that it is not a 3. But on the other hand, it is not a snapshopt either, as the lines are straight and you pitched a tripod to take that shot. So there was for sure a thought process. So it should be a 2, not a 1.
And one last thing: "We saw 1* star pictures in this critique, where things are blurry or not in focus. That has to be by definition a 2"...So then, what about the image where the guy as the main subject stands on the cliff's edge with clipped highlights and who is out of focus? Didn't you give that a 4? :P
Btw, is it possible to apply for critiquing? :D