Photo feedback and Critique

Great work Max,

I agree with Gamblor, you could try croping it down to take out the sun on the right and then I think I would chop of a bit of the top part of the sky.  Being a HDR I feel like there hill has alot of dark areas that could be a little more clear.

The plus sides of the photo is that because the ground is so busy the calm sky helps to balance the photo.

As for you 50mm 1.4f it will work in some action shots but the DOF can be to much for some shots.  Keep it in your bag for the chalet and portraits! (If you have room)

cant wait to see more!

I think that the fact there is not much of subject is definitely a problem with this shot.  The photo was taken as kind of snow report for some locals to show them the condition of the place so I guess thats why it turned out like that.  The sky was particularly blue but this is probably over saturated due to using polarizer perhaps and the HDR effect.  HDR seems to be a pretty difficult thing to get the hang of! 

I’ll try cropping out the sun also, now that i look at it, it is quite unpleasant

Sounds like a wide angle is the go for the boarding shots, i’ll have to get onto it before we get some decent snow

Thanks for the feedback guys

Look forward to seeing some of your shots in the SoHe comp!

what type of action shots do you expect to get with a wide angle? You realize that with a wide angle you will need to get closer to the rider, and since more of the background will be in the shot you will need to make sure your views look good.
Most action is shot with zoom lenses btw (70-200)

I think it will mainly be rails/boxes and that kind of stuff so I was expecting to get in closer and try and get all of the rail and landing in etc.

then you’ll be fine.

too bad his shadow is cut and he could have a more stylish body position. what’cha think?

Another good one Gamblor,

Most people would never notice the shadow being cut off…It actually takes a bit of time to notice the shadow at all.  Its a great angle the only thing really that I would change is trying to fill some light on his face a bit more other then that I’d say submit it to a mag and get some cash!

Great shot Gamblor.

I like the way that the distortion from the wide angle kind of blends in with the curve on the bowl or whatever it is.  Just out of interest, what angle lens was used for this?  I don’t think the shadow is a problem really as its not that pronounced although if there was a darker shadow that was in the frame it would give more depth to the shot.

Overall a professional looking image i’d say!

Righto, so HDR photoshopped stuff can get a little tiring so I have a couple photo’s that are less tainted by post processing for you.

These are from the north coast of Tas at a little rocky point break:

This one I think is let down by the fact that there isn’t a wave in the background but i still like the simplicity of it.

I took these with the 50mm(80mm on my body) so I was standing right on the water line to take this, still had to crop it quite considerably so i think its lost a bit of sharpness from this.  A lot of text I have read suggests filling the frame with your subject, but does this apply in this sort of situation?  I think the surfer is a little dark but i guess he is wearing a black wetty so can’t do too much about this.  The DOF used seems to have made parts of the wave quite blurry also, i was trying to get a fast shutter speed to get a freeze frame effect, probably should have used a higher iso as i dont get alot of noise from high iso shots anyway..

Can anyone recommend a not too expensive telephoto for surfing and the like shots?

The lens used in my shot is the nikon 10.5 fisheye.

What is the shutter speed and aperture used in your 2nd surfing shot?

Here’s a tip: resize your photos so that the longest edge is 700 pixels, and then it will nicely on the screen. and in case you didn’t know, 72 dpi is the resolution you need.

Are you a Canon shooter? If so, I don’t know what the suitable lenses are. If you’re on Nikon I’d suggest an older 70-300, but pros are using 400plus lenses. Before you go dropping lots of cash on lenses you should think about what type of shooter you want to become. If you plan to always be a casual shooter then cheaper lenses are a good idea. If you’re thinking about becoming pro/semi-pro or submit to mags then breaking the bank for pro lenses might be a better idea.

For your shots:
the first one - unless it has sentimental value, this should be an incamera delete. Like you said, no waves and the surfers body position isn’t very interesting. It’s not like he’s running out to catch some big sets, or he’s a soulful surfer being one with the ocean. It’s 90% sky but the sky isn’t very interesting.

2nd one - shooting surfing with a 50 is very difficult. Since you’re cropping anyways, crop the surfer into the left third. If you use adobe lightroom, lightening the darks with the ‘fill light’ slider would help you with the dark wetty

they’re some cool pictures, good work guys

ah k cheers regarding the resizing i was going to ask about that sorry if they are a bit large!

I have a canon 550d. I plan to take it fairly seriously, you never know, it may save me from the office life.

First shot - yes its a sentimental shot as its a mate of mine and i see your point, its good to get the feedback from a stranger as people that know the guy might be a bit biased.  These people liked it but were also moderately full of beer upon viewing it.

Second shot - was f2.8 @ 1/2500

sorry if my crits are harsh but that’s the way to learn. It makes you think twice before posting stuff up, and it makes you think 4 times before taking a shot
Also, most crits deal with common problems which, before long, you’ll be able to figure out for yourself.

Ok, so if you’re serious about photography, one school of thought says that buying cheap lenses you increase the amount you will actually pay, since you’ll end up buying the pro lenses anyways
It’s up to you and your budget though. I would def buy used though as you will save quite a bundle.

f2.8 at 1/2500???? just shoot at 1\1000.

That’s alright, nothing wrong with a bit of constructive criticism.  I think i’m becoming more and more critical of photo’s by the day.

Well I think thats probably a valid philosphy for purchasing lenses myself, had to send my 18-55mm back so i now only have a 50mm to play with so i better find something as the turn around time will probably be a while!!

Cheers re the shutter speed, hadn’t figured out what was sufficient for action shots as of yet.

I really like the 18-55 when I had it. Now I use a 17-55 F2.8 which is a lot heavier.
With only a 50, you’ll have trouble shooting snow action. I would suggest getting the telephoto before getting the wide.