Trooper
Well-known
The images I asked everyone to critique are the first two.
and
The common issue was that they were too bright. I've got a feeling this is because I'm using an uncalibrated laptop monitor. They look great on my screen, but that is one monitor out of millions.
The lens flare with Rachel bothered most people. I'm ambivalent to the flare, but a few years ago I hated it. I think I'm accepting it because it is popular and it is getting me more business. I'm just a lemming. The window frames growing from Elizabeth's head bothered most people, but were sufficiently blurred with a shallow DoF for others. There wasn't much I could do to compose the photo without them, and I just accepted that this would be an issue when I took the photo.
The rut that I feel I'm in is probably more of a composition and posing problem. All of my work is a straightforward portrait. I really suck at posing people. But today, with an experienced model, and the suggestions from all of you, I created this:
It isn't perfect, but it is different that what I've done recently. This one feels more like an oil painting than a photograph to me.
and
The common issue was that they were too bright. I've got a feeling this is because I'm using an uncalibrated laptop monitor. They look great on my screen, but that is one monitor out of millions.
The lens flare with Rachel bothered most people. I'm ambivalent to the flare, but a few years ago I hated it. I think I'm accepting it because it is popular and it is getting me more business. I'm just a lemming. The window frames growing from Elizabeth's head bothered most people, but were sufficiently blurred with a shallow DoF for others. There wasn't much I could do to compose the photo without them, and I just accepted that this would be an issue when I took the photo.
The rut that I feel I'm in is probably more of a composition and posing problem. All of my work is a straightforward portrait. I really suck at posing people. But today, with an experienced model, and the suggestions from all of you, I created this:
It isn't perfect, but it is different that what I've done recently. This one feels more like an oil painting than a photograph to me.