Please critique

lynnb said:
My brief impressions of your work (and also the way you've displayed it, as this is also useful to consider):

- some excellent shots (4am Taxi Ride comes immediately to mind), but I'd suggest some ruthless editing to keep the standard uniformly high. Your people shots gallery leads with Gritty street, which doesn't seem gritty to me. Impact and meaning mean more to me than technical excellence (it's easy to produce very boring, technically excellent work). Looking at a page of thumbnails is a good way to see which images jump out at you. Most processing software allows you to compare a bunch of images this way. Work to your strengths. Editing can be very challenging, and I'm certainly no expert.
- try to keep image size to allow the whole image to be viewed in its entirety without scrolling. I had to scroll vertically for many, and there was no white space at the sides. Some space around each image makes it easier to view on a web page. I suggest max 800px wide and about max 700px high. Not everyone has a big, wide screen.
- there is noticeable processing variability both in bw and colour. As far as possible, try to have a consistent "look" to your images, this becomes part of your style. I accept that some subjects are high contrast and others not, and colour saturation and balance can be tricky. Over-processed images get tiresome and draw attention to the processing rather than the content. I'd suggest comparing your strong work with examples from recognised photographers you admire, and use those examples when working on your post processing skills. It might also be an idea to separate colour film from colour digital, as they are very different looks. Also, in some images the focus of attention is too underexposed e.g. the people in Sunday walk - we are programmed to look at faces, so always pay close attention to how they are rendered in pp.
- Some colour images just might have more impact in bw (e.g. Nice guy) - worth experimenting before you upload?
- Give careful thought to titles. Some titles seem trite e.g. Zzzzz, Old man (is that really how you'd define him?) or too generalised e.g. Buildings (what are you saying with that image?), or confusing e.g. Bridge (my eye is drawn to the Hagia Sophia and to the fishing rods, not the actual bridge), and, funnily enough, Confused. NB there are two different images with the same title of Bridge. If you wanted to sell your photos, or just want to avoid confusion, they need a unique title or identifier. Also, in two instances the same image is displayed twice with two different titles - Old man, and mmm..., as well as London and London View - confusing!
- About me page doesn't tell me enough about you and your photography.

Pictures that I liked: Top Pics: 4am Taxi Ride and Feeling Sad. Other galleries: Make up, Striking tattoo II, Nice guy, East End boy, Life is..., Sunshine in Brockwell Park, Tokyo fish market II, Traveller, Lost in Translation, Zebra man.

Asking for critique is always fraught with difficulty - you will inevitably get conflicting opinions. And unqualified ones. And everything in between. Keith's advice about number of views is a very good indicator!

Thanks for sharing your pictures. I did enjoy looking at them.

cheers,
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I agree with a lot of this, and it's probably better-said that I might have attempted on my own :D
 
Fabio,
I looked at your "My Top Pics" photos. If I were viewing these in a gallery I would pick the following as favorites:

Human Stampede
Man and Dog
Feeling Sad
Tranquil
Siesta Time
Pensive
Traveler
4am Taxi Ride

The others weren't picked because of the composition or the heavy grain (didn't seem to fit the subject). This is very subjective on my part.

There are two that that almost were favorites:
Fresh fruit ( IMHO could use a little more "pop")
Macchiato (the background is a little too busy and detracts from the cup)

Thanks for sharing,
Mike
 
boomguy57 said:
I looked through "My Top Pics" and I have to say that there doesn't seem to be a consistent visual thread, or theme, to tie them all together. I have to admit that I struggle with this as well when putting together my own site.
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I don't think that's the point of a top images page.

He has set pages, after all. When someone presents their best, it's the individual shots that they think are the strongest. What they are asking for is much more likely to be a picture by picture evaluation. that is most doable if you simply allow yourself to operate outside of the narrow "sets" or "does it tell a story" or "only this style is good" type of thinking.
 
Well there's an image of Barcelona where I live so I like that! MY feeling is that your work is heavy on style and low on content. Your images are by and large well composed by rely perhaps too much on visual gimmicks. Keep on shooting!
 
Fabio: First of all, kudos for opening yourself to this sort of free-for-all critique. I think it takes guts. I am just going to pretend that you don't have feelings that could be hurt by a candid assessment. I think there is some really good stuff on your website -- the best work shows that you have a good photographic eye, that you have looked at enough photography over the years to know a good photograph when it presents itself and that you understand technically what needs to be done with film. Well done. But I do think you need to jettison a majority of the pics on your website and be tougher on yourself to get to the next level. So don your asbestos undies: critique follows.

I think you have a problem that many of us face: our best shots are as good as _anything_ out there, but we are not always at our best. I think this is true of the work you are showing on your website. For example on "Top Pics" you show "Human Stampede" and then "London Jubilee celebrations" back-to-back. I really like the stampede shot -- it is full of action, has a strong graphic element (converging lines on either side of the picture), and has a human focus. [On the technical side: see Note 1 below]. The jubilee photo by contrast has no obvious point of attention (the vertical pole?). I am sure it is technically excellent, but it doesn't have any "heart" because there is no obvious point of focus -- no subject, if you will. It is neither comprehensive enough to show everything about the street all dolled up for this celebration nor focused enough to put one design element in front of us and make it stand in for the whole. In the final analysis, it is a snapshot. Out it goes.

Which gets me to my main (and no doubt painful) advice. My own brutal edit for your site would be to delete all the the landscape photos, all photos where there is no obvious subject, all photos where the viewer is forced to focus on the back or back 3/4 of a human subject without some other redeeming graphical feature [See Note 2 below], all photos of sleeping homeless people and all pictures with a hint of an idea, but no strong follow through (sorry, Zebra man). I would also lose the color pictures, except for the portraits. I know color film was the recording medium, but you aren't really "using" color -- you aren't even experimenting with it. As such it adds nothing. Your B&W images are stronger -- stick with them until you are as good in color as you have shown yourself to be with your best B&W. If you want to keep prints of these images in a box at home, fine. But don't show them to the world. You want the world to think you are a superstar with a can't-miss eye, not someone who was afraid to take control of his subject.

So: your web site shows strong content. Only show your best stuff. Be your own harshest critic.

Best of luck - Ben Marks

[Note 1: Despite liking the stampede photo do this now: Run to your website and take it down now. Done? Good. There is a great image there, but you are shooting yourself in the foot by showing a picture with dust spots, water marks and a cock-eyed horizon. These things are technical defects that distract the viewer from what could be an otherwise strong picture. "But I like the picture as it is" you say. Fine. Print it as is and put it in a box. But for presentation, show the world that you understand photography's grammar. Like it or not those are the visual rules of the medium. Spotting prints/digital files is not sexy -- it is boring and when you are done (if you have done a good job) it looks like nothing happened. But failing to do it signals that you are not serious about your work -- it can only hurt you.]

[Note 2: "Tranquil works," "Pensive" doesn't. "Tranquil" works because you observed a genuine moment with complex elements and recorded it. "Pensive" doesn't work because it looks like you snuck a shot of a woman at a street light. My own work is full of exactly this sort of failure. You are going to have to be more assertive with your street photography. Similarly "Traveller" works because of the strong graphic element of the train station roof; "Confused" doesn't - you just didn't have the guts to take the three steps necessary to engage with your subject. Quell the fear, seize the day, don't let a failure of courage ruin what could be strong pictures.]
 
Very nice feedback, Benjamin.

Only I would single out the "TV shoot at the Barcelona olympic swimming pool" as one of the more solid color offerings. Very modern and brilliantly framed.

In general, most of your picture have very good framing and composition. My favorites include (Hang in there, Tokyo hotel view, Perspective, what the fog! But, as recommended there are some that are not as strong in theme (e.g. Life is...) and sometimes even in technique (Confused, Friends, Thinking Time)
 
Fabio, congratulations on an overall impressive presentation. I credit you with great enthusiasm, a willingness to visualize and experiment, and the courage to share. My main issue is that there's just too much to review, and I think it would be far more helpful if you used the gallery function here to present a limited number of images for which you have specific concerns or just want quick responses. Otherwise, where do I start? I like MANY of your shots, and then there are many I'd offer constructive criticism. Once I start...where do I stop? But congratulations, over and over, and PLEASE keep shooting, and please keep sharing. Especially what you're doing with film!
 
Hey guys, I am so grateful to everyone who has taken the time to comment on my work. Every comment, as harsh or positive it may sound at first sight, has been incredibly useful.

One fact I omitted is that I only started taking photos vs snaps not more than a year ago. And I started shooting film and caring about the whole photographic process including wet printing, not more than 8 months ago.

To have had positive about some of my pics from such experienced crowd is really motivating and encouraging.

If I had to summarise the main points of feedback which I am planning to put into practice from now, they are:

- be harsh with myself and final pic selection process
- don't over process. but equally don't upload half baked pics
- favour image overall impact versus technical precision
- favour compositions where there is a strong relationship with the subject and foreground
- tell a story with each image
- leave colour aside until mastering b/w

I won't be becoming HCB in 2 weeks but surely these tips will help

thanks everyone again!

Fabio
 
Fabio: It sounds like you are well on your way. The selection of images is particularly impressive if you have produced them in only a year! I would tweak an impression I may have left with my advice: If you are going to use color then USE it -- I don't think you have to stop until you have mastered B&W. We all have our own biases: I like the color photographs of Ernst Haas. See if you can find one of his books and you will see what I mean: his world explodes with intense, rich colors. Keep on shooting.


Ben Marks
 
Hi guys,

It is a few months since I got very valuable feedback on this forum about my work. It really helped. And while photography is a journey rather than a destination in itself, I feel my work has become a bit more consistent than it used to be.

So thanks to everyone who provided useful tips and also to those who started following me on tumblr (I recognise a few names..)

here's the latest including shots taken in Buenos Aires last December:

http://fabioruffet.tumblr.com/

thanks again

Fabio
 
Fabio Ruffet said:
Hi guys,

It is a few months since I got very valuable feedback on this forum about my work. It really helped. And while photography is a journey rather than a destination in itself, I feel my work has become a bit more consistent than it used to be.

So thanks to everyone who provided useful tips and also to those who started following me on tumblr (I recognise a few names..)

here's the latest including shots taken in Buenos Aires last December:

http://fabioruffet.tumblr.com/

thanks again

Fabio
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link doesnt work for me
 
I have enjoyed many photos. The impression is, you have passion and a keen eye, There are some original images here.
Now the critique:
1) Decide what you like more: colour or B&W ? It is difficult to be good at both at the same time. Perhaps decide if you want to limit one or the other to a specific field: e.g. colour for female portraits only, or B&W for street photography only.
2) Forget the titles, you will put the titles, when MOMA will buy your photos one day... A photo has to show clearly what it wants to show without any caption, this way you will think harder about what actually is the subject of each photograph
3) You have taken photos of very different subject matter in various styles. Put the prints on the floor, walk around, and chose the ones you really care for. Are they showing any tendency ? Can you see some pattern emerge? Go more in depth in that direction. Try to react more to what you see, not to what you think you see.
4) B&W style and technique: apart from a couple of shots with gritty pushed night scenes, where high contrast and big grain are not unwelcome, I find your photos too grainy and too contrasty. Try Tri X at EI 250 in D76 or HC110 for the street.
5) Your eye for situations is better than your compositions, study more the masters, HCB would be a good start, perhaps you could find this site helpful:http://www.adammarelliphoto.com/category/great-compositions/
 
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