WNY Models

grsphoto · by **grsphoto** on April 5th, 2004, 8:11 pm

As a photographer, some of the most important words I here are "it sucks"

1 "that image doesn't work... and here is way" is worth 10 "great image".

If I remember correctly one of the complaints about the old forum was that negative opinions were not really welcomed. So is this forum going to embrace constructive ( not destructive) opinions?

To open this up, here is an image I took that isn't quite there... what would you change?

Glenn

KHatch · by **KHatch** on April 5th, 2004, 9:03 pm

Some people can accept/dismiss criticism and others can't. I tend to pick a little nugget, put it in my pocket and save it for later.

.. what would you change?

I'm viewing this on an uncalibrated laptop screen so...
1. Not sure if it needs all the weight of the black and shadow on the left.
I like how the directional lines on the left lead you to the model.
2. Maybe a little more light on the model, some snap?
Nice color. The lips are a nice touch too.
3. Clone out the triangular shadow in the lower, right corner.
With some cropping and slight ccw rotation, I think you have a strong image.

My humble, and hopefully diplomatic observations.

Max · by **Max** on April 6th, 2004, 9:30 am

What I used to hear about my images all the time was, What are you selling?

I am confused by this image...

It's in a stable... which I didn't realized until I scrolled over to see the horse... The girl is in a schoolgirl outfit... and then the doors...

At first I thought it was just doors with the girl then to see the snow... and then the horse

I think this misses all the strength that so many of your images provide. Nope, it's not a favorite...

What would I change? Tell me the concept first because otherwise I have no clue...

BTW, to EVERYONE please resize your images so that 1. they load faster and two so that they can be viewed on a 800x600 screen without scrolling... ???

Tiana · by **Tiana** on April 6th, 2004, 12:07 pm

i agree with max. i also do not like the styling, or the makeup. the model looks a little dark as keith mentioned. i do like the shadow a lot. i feel that is you would have had the image kinda backlit with the horse, then had an outfit that suited, it would have been better. i also am not crazy about the composition. i understand that sometimes open space is good, but i don't feel that it works here.

model is maria-nyc

wnymodels · by **wnymodels** on April 6th, 2004, 6:27 pm

I think you have it backwards when you say

one of the complaints about the old forum was that negative opinions were not really welcomed".

The complaint was that there were no complaints. The term "MAS or Mutual Admiration Society" came up alot.

Many people knew each other in person from working together, workshops, etc.. and may have had a hard time being honest. Which realy does not help anyone.

The other problem was that some people just do not know how to criticize a photo. "It Sucks" doesn't really help anyone improve. Part of the purpose of this forum is not just to advertise each other and get contacts, but to improve ourselves.

People can do a crit without trying to hurt someone's feelings on pupose (i.e.: what are you @#$%^ blind? you're a moron, your stuff sucks), but at the same time they need to not "butter it up either" (a photo that looks like it's in 16 color mode that's skewed should not have people posting, "nice work" and "good job"... ).

I say point out the good first and then what you would suggest be done differently. With the Internet, you can't see the persons body language or facial expressions. A lot of times, it's hard to tell if someone it being nice, mean, joking, etc... and while many people pick on smilies, they can set the tone of the email.

Everyone in this thread had at least one thing positive to say (whether it was about the photo or not, it totally sets up the post as being helpful, not destructive)...

With the new forum, any image posted is up for a crit, whether it's welcome or not. The main restriction on the crits is that only the posters involvement can be critiqued. i.e.: if a photographer posts a photo, don't crit the model, and vice versa.

<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>of course, there are those rare goofballs that just cannot take a polite crit or even afterwards be helped no matter what you suggest... but that's their issue not ours</span>

oh... and here's my crit: what are you @#$%^ blind? you're a moron, your stuff sucks

just kidding :p

Edited By wnymodels on 1081295186

grsphoto · by **grsphoto** on April 6th, 2004, 7:05 pm

wnymodels wrote:oh... and here's my crit: what are you @#$%^ blind? you're a moron, your stuff sucks

just kidding :p

This is not one of my favourite images, and I posted it because I feel there are serious issues with it... and that people can learn from realiistic discussions of images.

Max I don't know about limiting the size... I like big images but I will try and keep within your criteria... I just grab the link to the first image that was in focus, properly exposed and that didn't work as an image... as to what I am trying to sell, in this set is was the clothes... and I failed.

The purpose of this shoot was to push myself to shoot outside my comfort zone... and I learned more from the images that didn't work then those that did.

Glenn

grsphoto · by **grsphoto** on April 6th, 2004, 7:27 pm

From the same shoot, an image I am happier with... should be smaller for Max

Max · by **Max** on April 6th, 2004, 8:36 pm

Regarding image size... I originally read your post on my laptop which is set to 1024x768 and couldn't see the horse except if I scrolled... On my desktop tonite (1280x1024) I see the whole image. I believe that most computers are either set to 800x600 or 1024x768 (most of the new LCD panels are 1024x768)... Also the larger the image, the longer it takes to load to my screen... but hey, maybe it's just me!

Regarding the experiment... I totally get it now... You are right, it didn't work! LOL! But you are doing what many won't or can't, that being trying something new. Pushing yourself into a unfamiliar area and working on it. I did the same just recently by shooting on location in Hamilton with my friend Cam. I didn't get what I wanted, but I did get a lot of good testing and experimenting!

Glenn, it's great to have you around again!

wnymodels · by **wnymodels** on April 7th, 2004, 6:35 am

Max wrote:Regarding image size... I originally read your post on my laptop which is set to 1024x768 and couldn't see the horse except if I scrolled... On my desktop tonite (1280x1024) I see the whole image. I believe that most computers are either set to 800x600 or 1024x768 (most of the new LCD panels are 1024x768)... Also the larger the image, the longer it takes to load to my screen... but hey, maybe it's just me!

Same here.. when I first saw this, I was on my notebook, set at 1024x768. (my PC's are all set to 1280x1024)..

Based on a little over 1,000,000 visits in 2003 here are their screen resolutions:
800x600 41.15%
1024x768 37.74%
1280x1024 12.93%
(The small remainder were at higher settings).

So according to the above, almost 8 out of 10 people viewing this thread had to scroll left and right to see the image. As I am posting this, this thread has already had 215 views, so statistically people had to scroll left and right 172 times to see your image.

The other thing is that I heard some people still use modems. I know, I know, hard to believe, but it's true. A 156K photo would take them a bit to even see the thread, and if 5 other people are posting images in the same topic they'd probably give up.

So while I understand you want it to look good on your end, you have to think about what everyone else is seeing.

Thanks,
Aaron

Edited By wnymodels on 1081337777

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