Critical comments, what they are and what they are not.

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Critical comments, what they are and what they are not.

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Started 1 year ago by msmoto
Latest reply from spraynpray
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msmoto

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This is uncanny. After posting, I edited the photo like I thought I could to bring it to what I would say is close to what I like and here it is:

I desaturated some areas, the lips being one. Lightened the eyes. Added color tint and changed background to drop out some of the brightness. Darkened the skin. Actually blurred the forehead and did some fiddling to drop out the veins. This is almost exactly what she looked like. A dark skinned Florida girl. Best viewed at large size on Flicker by clicking on the photo.
The lens, 135mm, f/2.0 is incredible. Thanks for participating. I think it is amazing how we all think so similarly. Oh, I cropped very slightly to bring the subject to the left side.

The shoot was Grampapalooza which is on my website as a link, a tribute to a musician friend in St Augustine, Florida. The project was to look like a series of "snapshots" and if one goes to the site and looks, some are rather interesting. Hope the reference to my site is not a violation of policy, but is done to show more photos. And it was done with no fees being charged.

Posted 1 year ago #
elvishefer

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Msmoto - Do you trust your monitor's color calibration/brightness/contrast? I ask because your words and the photo don't sync up on mine. Can you check the image on a second (and different make/model/location) screen? Maybe my monitor is out of whack. Something isn't right.

Posted 1 year ago #
msmoto

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elvishefer said:
Msmoto - Do you trust your monitor's color calibration/brightness/contrast? I ask because your words and the photo don't sync up on mine. Can you check the image on a second (and different make/model/location) screen? Maybe my monitor is out of whack. Something isn't right.

Oh, shucks, I forgot to say I darkened the entire photo to bring it in line with the actual skin tone. What this did was to make the changes difficult to see. If one opens two windows on this thread and compare the two side by side, then the subtle changes in saturation might appear. I will admit I have not calibrated the monitor on my new Macbook and need to do this. The skin tone on this gal was almost green. On Flicker enlarged it is close, but may need a bit more magenta to be more pleasing. And this is exactly what this thread is so very good for, a discussion of the technical struggles.

I will do a third revision, now with the suggestions in hand, and in a few minutes... we will see. Thanks

Posted 1 year ago #
msmoto

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Third revision

Note, the makeup was the model, simply a participant in the Grampapapoolza.

Posted 1 year ago #
rbrylawski

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msmoto, I thought the original was a great picture, but the edited version is even nicer. To me, toning down the background made a big difference.

Posted 1 year ago #
jonnyapple

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Rx4Photo said:
Personally, I've had mixed emotions about posting comments about others' photos on the PAD thread. In my eye, everyone's photo shows effort, desire to shoot, and provides for all of us a tiny window into the lives (and eyes) of the poster. The pics don't have to be Nat Geo or Sports Illustrated caliber - they just have to be something we thought was cool, or interesting enough to share with others. Often the poster him or herself seems to be the only person that sees the pic as neat and doesn't get a pat on the back for a post - but I'll bet somebody out there is learning something from that picture. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to imitate some of the talent I've seen here. From any of the pics I think we all learn and hone our skills.

+1

Posted 1 year ago #
msmoto

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Well, folks, this photo was a real dilemma as to editing because of many factors. The model had on unusual makeup. The lighting was just available w/o flash. But, the lens.... one of my favorites. See PAD for the cropped eye. I really think I must be nuts to be getting a new camera as the 135mm f/2.0 on the D90 is very sweet. This shot above could be edited even more for reproduction such as reducing the overall contrast and dropping exposure... none of this is about the photo, however, just so we can all think about things without getting our feelings hurt.

The intent of this thread was just to allow some learning time. And I will stick up another in a day or so in order that more comments can be made. The next one may be something with more room for editing. And if possible, I will figure out how it can be pulled off Flicker to one's Desktop, edited and posted here. Maybe even some examples of in camera editing with the new toy!

All this until the administrators jerk the thread. But, this photo is SO NIKON!

Posted 1 year ago #
msmoto

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One more time....

If you want to play this silly game, edit this photo as you would like to see it in final, PM me with an email address and I will send a 3.5 Mb file to you. You can edit and post on this thread. The image was shot with a D200, 12-24mm f/4.0 Nikkor, at f/4.0 0.4 sec on a tripod. ISO 160. It has had some editing I think as the file I changed to JPEG was about 35Mb as DNG. Here it is, I all also fiddle with it and post my version in a day or so. The point is to see what the Nikon equipment can record which can be brought out through editing.

Posted 1 year ago #
msmoto

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Well, no one wants to play, so here is what I did with it....

Posted 1 year ago #
msmoto

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I took the unedited photo down as it was and just too ghastly on Flicker

Posted 1 year ago #
jonnyapple

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Msmoto, I saw this and thought about this thread (not because the criticism applied to your photo!).

from xkcd

Posted 1 year ago #
msmoto

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jonnyapple said:
Msmoto, I saw this and thought about this thread (not because the criticism applied to your photo!).

from xkcd

Love it!

Posted 1 year ago #
msmoto

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Heck, I started this thread, so I thought I would bring it back up just to make some observations. As I was in the business of "hurt feelings" and dealt with a lot of folks who are emotionally over invested in such things as photos, DIY projects, almost anything in which one puts a lot of "self" into, it came to mind to throw out a few comments and reassurances.

When we comment on a photo, it is always from a personal, experiential perspective. Some of us may have more experience, but the comments are, hopefully, made in the context of adding new information to the "knowledge base" of the photo's creator, so as to potentially improve future photos. And those making comments should be guided by this idea, adding more information.

For those new on NRF, some of us will give very helpful information and we all hope this is taken as an attempt to assist in one's progress toward being a better photographer. And, that the feedback is done so in a positive context and should be construed in that way.

We also appreciate some humor in the comments....as from Jonnyapple above, ha, ha, ha.

Posted 11 months ago #
spraynpray

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Wow that editing software makes the image look somehow unreal.....

Posted 11 months ago #

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Critical comments, what they are and what they are not.

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