Please Critique the E-Pic

[lemonjenny]

Hi everyone!

I'm a long-time graphic designer and only a fairly-new photographer, and am horrible at analyzing my own work. I think I look at my stuff so long, I can no longer tell if it's good or not!

I'd like so honest to goodness critique and feedback on this shot. It'll give me an idea of what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. Keep in mind, the quality of this shot has been "flickrized" and isn't quite as crisp as it is in it's natural state, but I think you'll get a general idea.

[Trader]

It looks over exposed and the sky is totally blown out. That makes it very distracting.

[natek313]

Yeah, I agree with Trader on this. The photo is overexposed, which made the sky and parts of the females arms blown out.

The lighting is good, though. You don't have any harsh, unappealing shadows on their faces. The white balance looks good, too.

[ttosifa]

Ok, so the red channel is a bit blown. So what? The picture is a bit overexposed. So what?

What do you look at when you look at the picture? Do you look at the happy couple looking at each other? I do. So what if certain parts of the image are overexposed? Is it a good picture? My vote is yes. I think you did a great job and balanced exposure of the subjects and the ambient nicely.

[lemonjenny]

Yeah the bit of overexposure was on purpose... This is a post-processing style I've been liking... but that's why I want a critique! Do YOU like it?

[Haj533]

Originally Posted by ttosifa

Ok, so the red channel is a bit blown. So what? The picture is a bit overexposed. So what?

What do you look at when you look at the picture? Do you look at the happy couple looking at each other? I do. So what if certain parts of the image are overexposed? Is it a good picture? My vote is yes. I think you did a great job and balanced exposure of the subjects and the ambient nicely.

I completely agree. Granted, it is blown out, you can see an amazing connection between two beautiful people.

[Samanax]

To imbed a picture from Flickr, go to the picture you want to use from Flickr and click on "All Sizes" (above your picture). Select the Medium size and then look below the picture for the #2 box that says "Grab the photo's URL:". Highlight and select it. Right click on your selection and hit Cut (or Copy). Now go back to the DPS post you want to imbed the image in. Click on the yellow icon above the message box (the one that looks like a mini-landscape). In the box that pops up, paste the URL in box (make sure you only have 1 "http://" in the URL line before you hit the Ok button). Hit the Ok button. Click on the "Preview Post" button to see if your picture is imbedded in the post. If it is, click the Submit button.

[lemonjenny]

Originally Posted by Samanax

To imbed a picture from Flickr, go to the picture you want to use from Flickr and click on "All Sizes" (above your picture).

Yes thanks, I'm aware of this. I'm surprised DPS doesn't allow for slightly larger photos, especially when reviewing quality? Ah well... I'll fix it.

[daddyoproductions]

I have seen the pp type before, and some people love it. I think it does make photos pop off the wall when they're framed under glass, too. But I love high contrast and hdr too, and some people hate it. It's all a matter of taste, and the important thing is...did the clients love it?

[lemonjenny]

Yes, they adored it. I happen to love both HDR and this high-contrast over-exposed PP styles. It's just all about knowing when to stop, because it can so easily be overdone!