>>> LPS#13 Feedback Thread

[Shay Stephens]

I will be posting my feedback shortly. Most of the judges mentioned they had a very good time judging this round. I agree, the playfulness of using light or shadow made for some very nice work to view. A couple of judges found it very difficult to get their list down to only 10. So good work everybody

[richtersl]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

I will be posting my feedback shortly. Most of the judges mentioned they had a very good time judging this round. I agree, the playfulness of using light or shadow made for some very nice work to view. A couple of judges found it very difficult to get their list down to only 10. So good work everybody

Thanks for the update, Shay!

For the unofficial feedback thread, it was also VERY tough to keep the list down to just 10. This was truly an exceptional round.

[Shay Stephens]

I have a ton of processing I have to do, so I will be doing the feedback in stages, first stage post 2 - 20.

2 - Povertybarn - Absolutely no idea
I like the concept, (no light, no idea), and the cool color balance works well too. The framing seems odd though, not far enough in or far enough out and it feels like an oversight.


3 - VisualXpressions - Safe Haven
Same here, the colors and contrast look great along with that glint of light, but it isn't tight enough to exclude the house, and not far enough out to include it. So it feels like the house is intruding and it is there as an oversight.


4 - MarkTodd - Sorcery 101
Love the green, very wicked witch of the west feel to it ;-) But something about the hand doesn't feel right. Almost like the hand is going to grab the ball instead of twist it to perform some evil deed. More acting in the hand, more senister emotion.


5 - rwells - Day's End...
The viewer wants to dream the fire the cowboy is enjoying. Adding the campfire would have added the context needed to complete the story I think. I can just make out grass, so I don't think he is looking at a boiler or a house fire, I can only assume a camp fire. Add a few more visual elements to make it feel complete for the viewer.


6 - mpaulie - Looking for the answers
This has a nice ethereal and emotional feel to it for me. But something is just not clicking for me. It might be the lack of a face to help cement the emotion, maybe if the left hand were on the window instead it might read left to right and feel better, I don't know. I am really unsure what it is that is holding me back.


7 - SciurusNiger - Evening Sentinel
I like the sunbeam and it has potential if the squirrel were better placed in it, and the framing could use a bit more pizazz too. The head square in the middle leaves a lot of unused space that could be put to better use. Most of the left side of the frame doesn't add much to the photo.


8 - MrsCue - "The Living Dead"
The lighting is used well to get across a horror type look, but it just isn't grabbing me. Maybe I am reading the title too seriously, but I feel a disconnect and am not getting a good response to the parody.


9 - jkenzie - Night Pool
Beautiful! And I think I would love it even more if the image were panned down a bit to exclude the black top and include a bit more of the reflection below. Love the simple composition and that blue line. Gorgeous!


10 - hurricanesteve - September Morning
Very atmospheric, it is nice when the light has a medium to radiate through like this shot shows.


11 - imax - Out Of The Shadows
Very scary! I love the dense shadows here. So dense you could almost swim in it.


12 - Travis - Cavalier
Very pretty! I am surprised more lights are not on in the building. The moon is a nice touch and I appreciate seeing that detail. Could maybe use a bit more brightness, you don't want it looking like day, but giving the light a pinch more impact might help.


13 - The Curious Camel - Lonely Rays
Wow, the light here is really the subject, and the trees are just supporting props. Beautiful!


14 - Strikeslip - Just another rock in space
I am not really seeing the theme here. There is shadow, but it is so small, a closeup of the craters at the terminator would be highlighting the shadows wonderfully. And there is light, but it is pretty flat and surrounded by black and I just can't get a good feel for it one way or the other. Light as a subject is just not grabbing me even though light is needed in order to see the moon.


15 - schmooo - Firestarter
Love it!


16 - quark - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Very cool illustration. The amount of black space is appropriate here too since you are trying to get across the idea of a beginning. I like it.


17 - Tentacion - It's A Small World....
Beautiful scene. I am not seeing "light" as the light is pretty diffuse and does not stand out as lighting per se. And I am not picking up much of an idea of shadow either. Kind of a no mans land from a theme perspective. But the photo is pretty.


18 - Nikolai - The path of the righteous man
This is a great combination of themes for me. I get strong light and shadow messages from this photo, and they are both very complimentary to each other. Love the pattern repetition too. Beautiful!


19 - pemmett - The mind of a child
Try this as an option, crop the left side away and keep the right side and see what you think. The asymmetry I think helps the photo a lot. The double light bulb reflections look odd to me, and by cutting down the middle of the nose, you only include one light bulb which seems less artificial.


20 - HarleyPugs - The Poker Player
Some posing help here might, I hope, be beneficial. The right hand is cut off by the table, so having it rest on the table or even holding the drink would give it something to do. The ashtray could probably be assumed and not shown just for the sake of visual simplicity, or at least move it farther out of the frame so it takes up less space. And either load it with ashes or clean it out 100%. A hint of background might also help provide some visual separation between the shoulders and the background, it almost looks like a floating head and arms only ;-)

More to come later...

[pemmett]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

19 - pemmett - The mind of a child
Try this as an option, crop the left side away and keep the right side and see what you think. The asymmetry I think helps the photo a lot. The double light bulb reflections look odd to me, and by cutting down the middle of the nose, you only include one light bulb which seems less artificial.

Shay, Thanks again for the great feedback. Is this the kind of crop you were referring too? Thanks.

[rwells]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

5 - rwells - Day's End...
The viewer wants to dream the fire the cowboy is enjoying. Adding the campfire would have added the context needed to complete the story I think. I can just make out grass, so I don't think he is looking at a boiler or a house fire, I can only assume a camp fire. Add a few more visual elements to make it feel complete for the viewer.

Shay,

Thank you for taking the time to post feedback on our photographs. It helps to see where and why the picture(s) come up short for the judges.

In my case, I liked the photograph, but thought it lacked the "elements" to make it a solid entry. I really wanted a bedroll and the fire in the photo, but certain constraints didn't allow it. At least it did partially draw you in, just couldn't complete the sale...

Sometimes you just gotta go with what you got

[The Curious Camel]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens
13 - The Curious Camel - Lonely Rays
Wow, the light here is really the subject, and the trees are just supporting props. Beautiful!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, soooo many beautiful shots I wasn't sure if I'd make it in

[Shay Stephens]

Originally Posted by pemmett

Shay, Thanks again for the great feedback. Is this the kind of crop you were referring too? Thanks.

Ya, that is what I was thinking. But, what do you think? How do you feel about the photo pre and post crop? Would you do something different?

[richtersl]

Originally Posted by pemmett

Shay, Thanks again for the great feedback. Is this the kind of crop you were referring too? Thanks.

I love that crop!

[pemmett]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

Ya, that is what I was thinking. But, what do you think? How do you feel about the photo pre and post crop? Would you do something different?

Thank you so much for your input, it's really helpful

I had toyed with this crop before which i really like, but I fell in to the trap of loving my daughter's face too much I think that this kind of crop really works well on close ups of faces.

I had also tried this close crop


which I also liked as it felt that she was almost trying to peek out of the photo.

In the end I probably could have done anything and I would have liked the result, which is probably not what I should be aiming for. How would you suggest I approach this situation? Don't take pictures of the family for the LPS? Get others input when using a family shot?

Cheers/Peter
(From a very wet Philippines)

[Shay Stephens]

Originally Posted by pemmett

In the end I probably could have done anything and I would have liked the result, which is probably not what I should be aiming for. How would you suggest I approach this situation? Don't take pictures of the family for the LPS? Get others input when using a family shot?

Learning self critique can be a big help. Sit back and critique the photo. What message is it communicating as opposed to what you want it to convey? When you can begin treating the photo as tool of communication, it helps to disassociate you from the personal attachment.

Sometimes just accepting the photo as a base and seeing where else you can take it helps too. Exploring the bounds of what the photo can convey can help you zero in on its strengths and weaknesses because you are actively looking for them. Even if you wind up not using any of the alternatives, you will have a better understanding of what the photo is actually doing and if that meshes with what you wanted or help you to reformulate the idea and reshoot a photo that communicates that idea stronger.

Those are some ideas anyway that would still let you shoot family hehehe.

[pemmett]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

Those are some ideas anyway that would still let you shoot family hehehe.

That's cruel Thanks again for the awesome feedback and the great job you do helping all of us out here.

[Shay Stephens]

21 - Shamguess - Luna Park
Beautiful night shot, I love when lights can be reflected in water. The composition feels off a bit to me. The dock may be doing it. It might be skewing the balance without anything to counter act it. An alternate possibility would be to shoot the same scene with the dock centered. Would it point to the ferris wheel? It's an idea.


22 - ultravox - Go!
I am reminded of the movie Abyss and that water creature thingy. Very nice and that little drop with the sparkle in it is cool too. I get strong ideas of shape, but I am not feeling light or shadow so much. Maybe if the light were more directional?


23 - tsk1979 - Vibgyor
Ahhhhh, peaceful and lovely. And the subject is light itself. Beautiful!


24 - davev - Behind Door #1
Wow! Those shadows are magnificent! And I love the inclusion of the figure climbing the stairs. Marvey!


25 - RogersDA - Facing the Day
There is a lot of light, but maybe too much to the point where it swamps out the message. Like when the volume on a radio is too high and the melody is lost.


26 - photoj - Little White Church
I have to admit, I don't understand the photo. I see the light beams in the back hitting a wall and a shadow across the model, but I don't know why the model is there or what it is sitting on. Is it a bench, a porch? It looks small, but how small? The top of the steeple is cut off. Is that an oversight? Is the church model a toy or part of something larger like a play set or is it a souvenir from a trip? I don't understand, and so I just go to the next photo.


27 - Mitchell - Garage portrait au natural
Beautiful portrait. Diffused loop lighting is very attractive, but for me at least it doesn't hit the theme button strongly enough for me to see the lighting over the subject. But great portrait!


28 - Greensquared - Night Vision
This is wicked cool as they say in Boston. It reminds me of a pandoras box scene or something. Could maybe use a touch more contrast to darken shadows, but that would probably depend on the photos usage too.


29 - pkramone - Lost Religion
A bit too symmetrical? I could see a vertical crop that cuts out the left up to and including the shutters. But the title has me confused as to the subject. Does the title imply the viewer has lost their religion or that the subject in the photo has lost it or that this is the building of some long lost religion? I don't get it.


30 - photogmomma - No running in the street!
Sweet!


31 - chertioga - compass
I like that. The photo does rely pretty heavily on the title, so make sure it always accompanies it. And I like the crop, very complimentary to the subjects length. They work great together.


32 - hamster - A Rough Night
The left side of the frame is drawing the photo down for me and diluting the impact of the fallen cart. A vertical crop might get the message across stronger. The sickly color cast is also effective I think.


33 - ulrikft - Dawn at the shoreline
Beautiful scene. The sky is not doing much to enhance the scene though. So you might consider a 10:4 pano crop to tighten it up and focus attention on those beautiful rocks and water and the small amount of sky that looks interesting.


34 - Rockporters - Nature Remembers
Nice shadow. The full width of the grave marker feels too much, a crop to cut into the right side of it puts more emphasis on the shadow of the flower and down plays the marker just enough to swap attention more to the flower shadow for me.


35 - ifocus - The rise of the Urubu
Sweet! The shadows on the birds make them look extra menacing.


36 - JohnTheBear - Entrance to the DuPont Metro Station, Washington, DC
I am not too sure what is not working here for me. It might be just that the transition from light to shadow is so abrupt, from pure white to low detail shadow, so most of the photo is not readily discernible. I mean I see the escalator, and I know exactly what I am looking at, but there is just something that is just not clicking and I can't put my finger on it.


37 - sherstone - 120
Simple and elegant, almost abstract. I like it.


38 - fashiznitsngrins - Eureka!
I like the idea and execution aside from one thing, the face is not believable. If you could have gotten an expression that looked like real inspiration I think this would have worked much better. Maybe even not looking at the camera, but that depends on the usage for the photo too I think. Now that I think about it, the bulb looks screwed into the head. So maybe a bit of separation also might help.


39 - samsplace - Reflections
Deeper water might make the water darker and the reflections more pronounced. They are a little weak here to carry the show. And while it takes light to see a shadow, it doesn't really say light to me as far as the theme goes.


40 - Nomanizan - The Peace Keeper
The lighting is very cool and the shadow across the face is quite dramatic. But the image quality is really terrible with the streaks and blotches. If you could clean that up or use a photo that had a better exposure it would help the photo a lot.


41 - pyroPrints.com - Night and Day
I am not really getting the photo, so please excuse the following brain storm. If I were to try and guess what you where trying to do, use the stem to divide between light and dark, it isn't working so well for me as the stem has just fallen into darkness. But I see another option that may be close, that is putting the stem in the darkness and the leaf in the light, so you would have a transition of thin stem to exploding leaf once it hits the light. Maybe on an alien planet or something I don't know.


42 - kisi - sunset in the city
I like that you included some ground in the shot. But that reflecting water is really nice and if possible, seeing more of it might help to balance the sky a bit more. And when it comes to sunsets, don't be afraid to pump the colors a bit. Putting some zaz into a sunset seems appropriate.


43 - Jzazzi - Six Thirty
Beautiful!


44 - DaveK - Waiting
I am not seeing the light or shadow theme here much. I do like the crop though, it looks great with the subject and the stairs. Maybe the over-bright look is making me loose the theme. Too much of a good thing?


45 - HiSPL - Grupo Estrella, Cumbia!
I see both themes here, but in diluted form. If you could single out one or the other it might be a stronger match to the theme. A silhouetted figure with a touch of rim lighting, or the performer enveloped by light and fog machine.


46 - Leonardo - darkness for the cure
I don't understand the title or the relation of the medicine to the other items, so I am handicapped here a bit. I like the composition and the B&W treatment. The whole piece has a bit of a surreal feel to it, probably because I don't understand it. Very attractive and well balanced.


47 - richtersl - Beacon of Resurrection
Awesome!


48 - dlscott56 - Glass
Very nice, maybe a bit too reflection feeling, but the stark shadows put it over the top to be relevant for me. Nice.


49 - bfjr - Come up to My Lair
A riot of detail, but the shadows do help define the scene. Those stepping shadows across the stairs are very interesting too, I am trying to figure out how they are made and come up short. The lighting here is very mysterious. I like that. Almost disorienting.


50 - Llywellyn - Vacancy
I like the angle and composition. Is it just me or is it too dark though? That may be intentional, but I keep trying to find a brighter angle to view the photo.

More to come later

[sherstone]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

37 - sherstone - 120
Simple and elegant, almost abstract. I like it.

Thank you very much Shay!


I must take this opportunity to say something about your avatar.
Every time I see that laughing face of yours, I cannot help but see a fuzzy cat paw tickling you under your chin. Almost like Garfield (the cartoon cat), trying to make you laugh. Squint if you do not see it.

I know its just the way the background is but you know what it's like once you get an image in your brain.

[Nomanizan]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

40 - Nomanizan - The Peace Keeper
The lighting is very cool and the shadow across the face is quite dramatic. But the image quality is really terrible with the streaks and blotches. If you could clean that up or use a photo that had a better exposure it would help the photo a lot.

Gah! I over processed the image...

Hmmm still grainy...

This would have been a better choice:


Thanks for the feedback! Congrats to the LPS#13 Semifinalists!!

Rob

[Jzazzi]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

43 - Jzazzi - Six Thirty
Beautiful!

Considering you gave one-word replies to the photos I really enjoyed, I'll take that as a big compliment! And by the way, thanks for all your time on this contest, I'm really having a blast.

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

42 - kisi - sunset in the city
I like that you included some ground in the shot. But that reflecting water is really nice and if possible, seeing more of it might help to balance the sky a bit more. And when it comes to sunsets, don't be afraid to pump the colors a bit. Putting some zaz into a sunset seems appropriate.

By steepening the B curve in LAB, I was able to push a lot of color into the yellow sunrise and blue sky in my photo, Six Thirty (the original looked much more grey and un-interesting). Sunrises and sunsets are fun.

I was trying to capture an image very similar to yours kisi with the San Francisco skyline at sunrise, but couldn't quite make it happen. I enjoy your execution.

[richtersl]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

47 - richtersl - Beacon of Resurrection
Awesome!

Thanks! That single-word feedback means a lot to me.

[Llywellyn]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

50 - Llywellyn - Vacancy
I like the angle and composition. Is it just me or is it too dark though? That may be intentional, but I keep trying to find a brighter angle to view the photo.

Hm, can one get away with telling Shay, "it's just you?" Thank you so much for the feedback! Setting aside the fact that my personal taste does run toward darker pictures, I did play with this a bit to see it lighter and darker, but too bright removed the glow of the spotlight on the bench seat (made it too much a general wash of light). Too dark lost it altogether. So I ended up close to the actual exposure I shot it at.

Thanks again for all the time and effort you give here. You rock. Come back to DC so you can convince me wedding photography isn't evil and frightening.

[Shay Stephens]

Originally Posted by Llywellyn

Hm, can one get away with telling Shay, "it's just you?"

Yes, absolutely. I am just a guy who says stuff about photos every once in a while. I figured the darkness was probably intentional since the rest of the photo was carefully composed and such. I just kept trying to see a bit more, so I figured I would mention that. But there is no obligation on anyones part to take anything I say with more than a grain of salt of they don't agree and want to do their own thing

[HarleyPugs]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

20 - HarleyPugs - The Poker Player
Some posing help here might, I hope, be beneficial. The right hand is cut off by the table, so having it rest on the table or even holding the drink would give it something to do. The ashtray could probably be assumed and not shown just for the sake of visual simplicity, or at least move it farther out of the frame so it takes up less space. And either load it with ashes or clean it out 100%. A hint of background might also help provide some visual separation between the shoulders and the background, it almost looks like a floating head and arms only ;-)

More to come later...

Thanks! All very good suggestions. I have to admit this wasn't a planned keeper...it was more of a test to see if my lighting was the way I wanted it. The shot after this one was the planned keeper...and I really "smoked" it up and made the shot look murky and out of focus. The other one had me holding the cards I believe. I was really going for a back room, dark, dingy poker setting. I think I achieved the look I wanted so the posing tips are well received.

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Jon

[kisi]

Originally Posted by Shay Stephens

42 - kisi - sunset in the city
I like that you included some ground in the shot. But that reflecting water is really nice and if possible, seeing more of it might help to balance the sky a bit more. And when it comes to sunsets, don't be afraid to pump the colors a bit. Putting some zaz into a sunset seems appropriate.

thanks for the feedback, shay! it's really nice of you to do this thread and it is much appreciated. unfortunately that was pretty much all the water i could get... in fact i cloned in a bit more at the bottom to get rid of some buildings on the other side of the river hehe. i did bump up the colors from the original but i tend to be conservative... good to know i can take it a bit further!

also thanks jzazzi, i thought yours was beautiful and i liked the depth of composition. hmm those rocks look pretty craggy