critique for hire?

After taking a super quick look at your Flickr site I would say that your work is decent but lacks content. I would suggest working on a project of your shoosing for an extended period and use that as an opportunity to work on your storytelling.

That having been said perhaps a break is in order. Take some time off and you may well come back with your batteries recharged. Best of luck! You are a passionate photographer and I am sure you will get past this block...
 
Spot on critique!

I have to agree with that, talking about them is a good start.

this actual photo ...

5363456412_179ff0de02_z.jpg



Subject: the narrative seems to me to revolve round the exchange of the cup and the chaps expression so ones attention is split between two centres of interest

5363456796_79091fb591_z.jpg



Composition: the main construction lines run along the left hand figures arm and hand and the 1/4 profile of the right hand figure, and is tied together by the shelving in the background ...

5362845663_3ae76e81ba_z.jpg



... unfortunately most of the movement and all of the subject is in the right of the image leaving a large area of negative space on the left ...

5363456552_66e76f4c1a_z.jpg



... which leaves my eye wandering around the racking and cables on the left, well away from the "subject" area on the right

5362845295_aca7df7a0a_z.jpg
 
Narrow down the members in this forum who's work you really like. Then put together at least 25 photos of yours that you feel strongly about and privately send it to them for feedback.

I was told by my photography guru to stay as far as I can from photography teachers, photography classes, free critiques and worst of it all paid critiques... Those who can no longer do creative work, teach, those who're not happy with their own work critique other's work and those who have given up on their own ambition cannot stand ambition in others. These are just some of the darker facts of every creative endeavor. Human nature proceeds art most of the time... Just my two cents. And I don't wish to get into an argument over it.
 
Colberg has a narrow point of view but I guess they all do.

Best bang for buck might be joining FotoVisura at the $60 level and they'll give you a good hour long review over Skype, I found it useful.
 
After taking a super quick look at your Flickr site I would say that your work is decent but lacks content. I would suggest working on a project of your shoosing for an extended period and use that as an opportunity to work on your storytelling.

That having been said perhaps a break is in order. Take some time off and you may well come back with your batteries recharged. Best of luck! You are a passionate photographer and I am sure you will get past this block...

could you talk a bit more about what 'content' means?

i have been shooting the local farmer's market and the area that it is located in for many years...it became a project but not by design originally.

the market shots are mostly about the interaction between vendor and buyer...shooting the local area is about showing that area to the world.

perhaps i need to concentrate the focus more, narrow the story?
 
I have to agree with that, talking about them is a good start.

this actual photo ...

5363456412_179ff0de02_z.jpg



Subject: the narrative seems to me to revolve round the exchange of the cup and the chaps expression so ones attention is split between two centres of interest

5363456796_79091fb591_z.jpg



Composition: the main construction lines run along the left hand figures arm and hand and the 1/4 profile of the right hand figure, and is tied together by the shelving in the background ...

5362845663_3ae76e81ba_z.jpg



... unfortunately most of the movement and all of the subject is in the right of the image leaving a large area of negative space on the left ...

5363456552_66e76f4c1a_z.jpg



... which leaves my eye wandering around the racking and cables on the left, well away from the "subject" area on the right

5362845295_aca7df7a0a_z.jpg


much thanks stewart!

is it possible to have more than one subject in an image?
like a main subject and a sub subject?

i agree that the exchange between the vendor and the seller is what i most wanted to capture but i also like to show the environment in which the subjects exist. is that reaching too far?
 
"Why Should I Care"

"Why Should I Care"

Here's a flickr comment from photographer Ben Roberts, which I've often pondered. In the comment, he gives one simple question that will help you critique your own work: "why should I care?"

http://www.flickr.com/groups/onthestreet/discuss/72157602138459053/page6/#comment72157602991461387

i had a tutor at college, a bloody good tutor. he runs a magazine online called 'Seesaw'. some of you might have come across it.

seesawmagazine.com/

when we had critiques at college (of bodies of work, not individual shots) he would sometimes ask a question that we dreaded..

'why should i care'?

we used to get a bit s#itty when he asked that question. we thought, what a rubbish question, so unfair.

but as i've continued in my photographic life, i've come to realise that it is in fact quite a good question. if you can answer it with words then you're one step closer to convincing people of the standard of your work. if noone asks you that question, and your work stands alone by itself, if it makes the viewer care - then you've probably produced something pretty decent...
 
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i also like to show the environment in which the subjects exist. is that reaching too far?

It's not reaching too far. However, the environment is already displayed, with subtlety, between the two people. The left hand of the image is overpowering the people.

Think of a rock song... it's fine if there's a guitar solo in the middle, but if the first half of the song is one big guitar solo, then that's too much!
 
It's not reaching too far. However, the environment is already displayed, with subtlety, between the two people. The left hand of the image is overpowering the people.

Think of a rock song... it's fine if there's a guitar solo in the middle, but if the first half of the song is one big guitar solo, then that's too much!

that makes sense to me.
 
Lots of great info. in this thread, but I don't think anyone has directly answered Joe's original question.

For me and the others who commented on the photo he later submitted, we were diverging into composition tips or how to crop, etc.

And to those who gave links or suggestions on portfolio consultants, well that implies you have selected and assembled a portfolio already?

I'm curious if anyone else read Rangefinder magazine a few years back where they reviewed the online opportunities where for a small fee, they would select what they thought were your best photos, and then edit a couple??
 
much thanks stewart!

is it possible to have more than one subject in an image?
like a main subject and a sub subject?

Anything that works with the composition is good thing, in this case it both tells the story of the photo and provides movement for the viewers eye, this line ...

5367779644_d5d8ea95eb_z.jpg


... it also helps that the light sleeve on the LH figure forms a strong connection between the main areas of interest, this

5367169023_5587bbc248_z.jpg



i agree that the exchange between the vendor and the seller is what i most wanted to capture but i also like to show the environment in which the subjects exist. is that reaching too far?

The only way I can see to include more context without it being lost outside the main area of graphic interest would have been to use a wider lens at a closer distance so more of the surroundings was visible between the two figures.

Of course that wouldn't have been possible without missing the shot, or destroying the spontaneity of the moment
 
PS, negative space and stuff one missed at the time is the bane of every photographer ... that and the inevitable technical stuff-up that happens with the really good shots, I have a shed full!!
 
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