Photo Critique #98

Photo Critique #98

on Aug 19th 2011 with 10 comments

Friday Photo Critique is our weekly community project, where we publish a photograph submitted by one of our wonderful readers, then ask you all to offer constructive feedback on the image. It’s a great way to learn more about photography, express your viewpoint, and have your own image critiqued! This week we also have a special announcement leading up to our 100th photo critique!

Special 100th Photo Critique

We’ve been showcasing photos for open critiques for over two years. To celebrate, we’re offering a special contest and critique in two weeks! Instead of one photo, we’ll post five photos. In addition to critiques in the comments, our team of writers will also submit their critiques of each image. The makers of each of the five photos chosen for our 100th critique will each receive a free three-month Premium membership to the site. You have one week to submit your images for this critique in order to give our writers time to review them.

Phototuts+ would like to extend a special thanks to all of you who have submitted their images for review over the past two years and to all people who have offered their opinions and help! You have made Photo Critique Fridays fun and exciting.

Now on to this week’s image:

Quick Ground Rules

  1. Play nice! We’ve deliberately chosen photographs that aren’t perfect, so please be constructive with any criticism.
  2. Feel free to offer any type of advice – composition, lighting, post-processing etc.
  3. You can also link to photographs that you feel offer a great example of this type of image shot exceptionally well.

Without further ado, here is this week’s candidate for Friday Photo Critique!

The Photograph

Photo Critique

Photo Details & Inspiration

  • Pentax K-x
  • 18mm lens
  • f/11
  • ISO 400
  • Auto white balance
  • Aperture priority mode

I am an amateur photographer hoping to continue learning. I’ve never had any direction in my photography and would like any criticism I can get. I’ve read a lot of the reviews offered and think that they are right on point. I would really appreciate any expert advise I can get.

Photographer: Jessica Preston

Please let us know what you think in the comments – how would you have approached the scene or taken the photo differently? A massive thank you to everyone who commented last week.

The most constructive and helpful comments will be featured on the site. Interested in submitting your own photo? You can do so here!

 

 
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Rollover to read this author's bio or click through to see a full list of posts by this author.

I was raised in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio. After high school, I left for Western Kentucky University where I obtained degrees in photojournalism and cultural anthropology. I am currently employed by CityBeat, an arts and entertainment weekly in Cincinnati. The work I am doing here is very rewarding and I suspect it will continue to be. I am available for freelance work in all areas of photography.  

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  • writersbloc

    Nice car! Don’t really like the crop- I think you could have got the whole car in, along with some more sky + building to give the shot more context.

    Time of day = Harsh light. I assume you were just walking down the street and took this, but if this was a planned shoot definitely do it during golden hour. You might not have to deal with the building reflections then either.

    Might be a nice shot to play with the processing a bit, go for retro look.

  • pinedafx

    Beautiful subject + beautiful day = great picture right? Not so much.
    I believe the intentions of the photographer was to capture the essence of the car thus,
    cropping out the sky and landscape. Although this happened in the spur of the moment
    much could of been done to accomplish the overall shot.

    1) For starters, in order to highlight the dual color paint job, chrome, and white polished rims the ideal shot would of been on the other side of the car where the light hits. Not where the shadow reflects.

    2) Secondly, taking 10 steps backwards would have captured the subject proportionately. It also provide the subject with space so that it doesn’t feel claustrophobic. What he have here is that the most attractive feature of the car (the hood) is being cut out.

    3) Finally, I find it easier to work with overexposed shots because you can accurately dim and filter the picture on your computer when you get home. However, waiting to come back later in the day would have been better.

    Overall this is a great subject and good attempt. I’ve assumed you didn’t have filters or other lenses in your bag and that perhaps you were just out to capture random unique shots in which you did. Thank you for sharing and now have some fun doing some modifications on your computer.

    How can one submit their photos for review?

  • ross

    There are a lot of small things in this shot that are not needed, or distract the viewer. The left has an easel and what appears to be part of a man’s left, the top right has the bottom of some signs, and a tree appears to be growing out of the roof. The reflections include some overweight people sitting at a table.

    Eyes are drawn to the bright chrome at the front, yet it does not show interesting detail. The side of the car, what i presume to be the feature, is lifeless.

    In short, there is very little to hold this image together, and plenty that distracts rather than complements the main subject.

    Cars do well with detail shots, emphasizing characteristic lines, or paintwork if it is exceptional. This is a nice car, but have you captured what makes it unique? Or maybe focus on one part that is unique or special.

    PS: I don’t care about the camera, ISO, f-stop. City, state, and car model would be better.

  • Larraine

    Reading over the critiques, gave me an idea of what to say here. I’m a fledgling photographer so my opinion is probably not as relevant as others here. For a start, I actually LIKED that angle. That is a big old car, and the picture exaggerates it in a way that I find interesting. As far as taking the photo in the “golden hour,” in theory that’s great. But who knows if the car would have been there when you came back. You could always have gone back later perhaps. If you could, then do it. But, sometimes you just have to say “carpe diem!” I use Photoshop Elements 9 which offers a bunch of different “actions.” I agree with the comment that this picture would be a good one to modify with some retro actions. I don’t how you cropped it, but the leg in the corner DOES take away a bit. Good luck with your photography!

  • https://randombashes.blogspot.com Ajith R

    Nice pic. But the only headlight visible grabs most attention at first. I think a sense of balance could be achieved by cropping such that only a half of that headlight is visible.

  • Nitin Vyas

    The picture should have been taken either in early morning or in the evening to avoid the shadow which is distracting in the image. the composition is fine.

  • Brian

    Nice to see another Pentaxian submitting! I, too, am a beginner photographer and am learning lot’s from this and other sites. As such take my comments with a grain of salt!

    I would have shot from the sunny side as the colours would have stood out better. From this side you’re left with the shadow which is partially cropped out and detail is lost in the wheels. Also, low ISO is generally best and the other side would have allowed ISO 100.

    I like the angle as these old cars have long swooping lines and heavy bulbous bumpers and headlights. Great for this angle.

    Another thing you might have tried is a wider aperture. It also would have allowed a lower ISO but would have given a depth of field you might have found interesting. A lower DOF might have de-emphasized some of the distracting detail from the building behind which I don’t think adds much to the shot.

    I’m going to try some old car shots so I’ll get a chance to apply my own advice!

  • http://www.unbrokenhorse.com Sunira

    The two things that bother me most are the crop and the yellow color cast coming from the left side of the photo.

    IMHO, including the entire car as well as incorporating a shallower depth of field would do a lot for this photo.

    Also, the harsh lighting leads to blown out highlights. This picture would probably have been a good candidate for some exposure blending.

  • Codyp

    I would slightly lower the cooler colors and heavily dull down the warmer colors. Give the photo a dark edge by emphasizing detail with exposure blending. Try and get the couple in the reflection to be a primary focus.

    This is how I would rework the image. The other suggestions are very good too and I agree. I just rather like the angle. I’m by no means a professional; I’m barely even a photographer.

    Keep at it, I dig the flavor.