Hi every one im in the b&w contest but both are only 2 stars on both. do you have any idea what I could do to improve them
Hi every one im in the b&w contest but both are only 2 stars on both. do you have any idea what I could do to improve them
A good question. I went back to see how I scored your photos and I saw that I gave you more stars than two. But this time I also noticed an another thing when I saw all my voted photographs, that if I had voted today, my given stars would be completely different compering to yesterday. So I think it's all about emotions. What mood is the viewer when he / she sees your black and white photos?
So, why did I not give five stars? Both pictures are well done!
For me, the first picture conveys a feeling of aggressivity, it make me to feel uncomfortable. If the light had come a little more from the front, it would have given more softness to the face and I would have seen more details in his / her eye.
The second picture is also well done but because we see so much of similar motives, I would have liked something happening in you picture. Another way to raise interest for it would have been to edit it in a more minimalistic style.
So I gave both pictures higher points, but my feelings prevented me from giving even more. I hope the answer is helpful. If I'm unclear, I'll blame Google Translate :)
Kind regards
Carl
I find a good YouTube video about B&W: https://youtu.be/XPp6JGClOcE
thanks allot for your help carl
Hi Jeremy,
Having three stars means an image is fit for a professional portfolio, that you can get work as a professional photographer because of that image.
Most of the times an image means more to the photographer or to the person beeing portrayed and relatives than to anyone else because it brings memories and emotions that others have no idea.
In this case for the first image it's a fine art portrait, I see it submissive more than agressive. You see, two critics, two different reactions.
How could you make it better? I'm not sure of the goal but you can play with the crop (try to remove a bit of the chin or change the angle?), remove some of the white negative space, put more light on the subject or less if you want a total silhouette effect? Those are things you can try. It may or not improve this image but fine art is fine art.
The second one could use some clean up, remove the white speckle on the boardwalk and the lights we see through the rail on the left? A panoramic crop could give a different perspective too. I feel the black and white could use more dodging and burning. When shooting try different angles either lower or higher, I like to carry a step ladder when I do this sort of work, especially with a fisheye lens.
Hope this help,
Marc
Thanks Marc for your info . My current editor is a free one because I am only 13 and I don't want to spend all my money on a photo editor. I edited this on light room but my trial is over. do you know any good editors which are free or cheep and do a decent job? thanks again for your help
Jeremy
Yes! Try Gimp, it's basically an older version of photoshop.
The first image is a silhouette. I can see it is a face but I can't see much more than that. It doesn't tell me anything about what the person is doing or feeling so it is ultimately uninteresting.
The second image is similar. It is the classic leading lines guiding the eye into the image but when they get there..... nothing. The pier itself isn't particularly interesting and the leading lines don't lead to anything interesting so again I am unfulfilled.
Two technically well executed images that have no message.
Thanks Dan I will try to redo them and keep that in mind.
Greetings, What I will tell you might surprise you. It is important to create technically "correct" images that are exposed properly. However photography is an art and it is important to create images that express what you want to create. As I looked at your images I viewed your art. There is no right or wrong when it comes to art. If you are asking for advise on expose, cropping or something that is technical in nature, then asking for advise makes sense. But don't ever let anyone tell you that your art is "wrong". Experiment constantly, look at other artists (not just photographers) that inspire you and envision your finished images before you pickup a camera. For what it is worth, I think your images are cool - Especially the first one - suggestion try using a snoot to light the eye. If you are unfamiliar with snoots or other light modifiers, do a search on youtube for making and using a snoot. I hope this helps, good luck to you.