Critique requested

[muzza4ever]

I've started to post some of my images that I'm reasonably happy with to my Flickr photostream - still feel I have lots to learn but would welcome some advice/critique of what I've done thus far.

If any of the other snappers on here would be kind enough to spare 5 mins or so could you have a look at my Flickr photostream and provide some feedback on the motorsport stuff there please?

[badgerbaiter]

from what i can see, i like most of it

can you post a couple of specific pictures that you arent sure about and i'll gladly rip into them..err i mean give some constructive feedback

all i will say, is that if you take a photo and you like it then you've completed your task. Unless you are selling your photos or publishing them then it doesnt matter what anyone else thinks.

[muzza4ever]

Cheers Badgerbaiter

Well out of the ones I've posted these 2 stand out for me as perhaps being a little short of what I hoped for:



I think I didn't allow enough room at the front of the image but was trying to fill my frame. The D200's motordrive and buffer really helped out here.



This one's a little too dark, I think, but I'm also a little unsure about how much can be cut off when composing images.

I suppose I'm looking for tips, pointers etc as to how the rest of you guys view composition, framing etc.

Cheers

[badgerbaiter]

the thing about the first one, is that its a one-time shot.. i.e. you didnt know it was going to go off the track, so you didnt have any time to prepare the image in your mind and set the camera up appropraitely. So in my opinion you cant really critisize it because you didnt know the car was going to go off the track. If you had been able to prepare then i'd like to have seen a little slower shutter speed to give an impression of speed into the gravel.

the second photo is something different, because it looks prepared. in shots where you cant see the wheels i like to blur the background out by having the aperture wide open. The only problem with this, is that it increases the shutter speed (in good light) and looses the motion of the car. in photos where you cant see the wheels then this isnt such a problem
was it a dark day or a sunny day? if it was sunny then it looks as if the sun could have been behind the car and reflecting into the camera, thus confusing it into exposing it for less time. you can compensate for this with either 'exposure bias' or manually setting the exposure. Either way, that takes a little experimenting.
you can also compensate by changing the way the camera meters the light.

as for cropping the image, i say just crop it how you like.. if you like it then thats all that matters. There are so many so called rules about how a photo should be, but IMHO if you like it then its right.

[gungadan]

Originally Posted by muzza4ever

I've started to post some of my images that I'm reasonably happy with to my Flickr photostream - still feel I have lots to learn but would welcome some advice/critique of what I've done thus far.

If any of the other snappers on here would be kind enough to spare 5 mins or so could you have a look at my Flickr photostream and provide some feedback on the motorsport stuff there please?

Most of them look a little dark/under exposed but maybe that's just me. Other than that I think you've got some decent shots although I'm not a huge fan of the tilted camera technique. It works occasionally but should be used sparingly IMO.

Of the two photos you picked out, the first doesn't do much for me. I like the idea of the different crop in the second pic but something's not quite right about it (apart from the darkness/exposure). Hmm, hope that doesn't sound too negative, because on the whole, I like them.

[muzza4ever]

Hi Gungadan

-ve is good providing we can get to the bottom of what they don't do for you - that is the key to understanding what to do differently in future, I think.

My latest images haven't been angle cropped - and any cropping will be done with an 8x10 aspect ratio in future, where needed.

Cheers for your response already though

[gungadan]

Originally Posted by muzza4ever

Hi Gungadan

-ve is good providing we can get to the bottom of what they don't do for you - that is the key to understanding what to do differently in future, I think.

My latest images haven't been angle cropped - and any cropping will be done with an 8x10 aspect ratio in future, where needed.

Cheers for your response already though

Well it's all subjective anyway and that first pic is a decent enough capture, it's just that I thought there were better ones in your galleries. Of it's type (an 'off') to my mind it's not spectacular enough to make it better than some of the other, technically superior (in terms of composition and shutter speed) photos in your collection.

Not sure about the second one, I think I'd like it more if it were a tighter crop.

As for the tilted ones, definately subjective.

Having said all that, I agree with badger Baiter, if you're happy with them, who cares what anyone else thinks?

[muzza4ever]

Gungadan - yeah true I suppose, I just feel I'm very much finding my feet in the subject and was looking to see whether what I'd done had started to measure up.

I strongly believe you should be your own fiercest critic and I'm pretty hard on myself - as I want to really capture the sport. Hence the reson for the Unsung heroes set on my photostream about the marshals. I intend to try and capture more behind the scenes stuff as well, because it's not all about what goes on on the track.

Have to say looking at a company who actually sell their images some of my latest lot are comparable if not slightly better than the images they offer for sale so maybe I'm on the right lines.

Thanks for your input guys.

[mcurtis26]

Some of them do seem a touch dark, but a lot of that can be down to luck with the weather. I always seem to have a similar problem at Silverstone. The panned images are nice and get a good impression of speed. Panning is a cas of trial and error and seeing how low you can drop the shutter speed. The Silverstone images suffer a bit from a lack of zoom, unfortunately Silverstone does need relatively long glass on much of the track. On the whole, they're good. Everyones images improve with time and it can be a case of getting used to what works for you.

[David L]

Originally Posted by muzza4ever

Have to say looking at a company who actually sell their images some of my latest lot are comparable if not slightly better than the images they offer for sale so maybe I'm on the right lines.

Oh, come on.. Don't be coy, name names man...

[muzza4ever]

No I couldn't and I have to admit my vanity got the better of me

Too early into a potential freelance career to offend potential helpers/rivals

With regard to comments about some images appearing too dark - I wonder whether I've been abusing the curves?

Also how many of the others here use colour calibration? I do but I wonder whether, as I suspect, most people don't and thus my end results should not be colour calibrated. Any opinions?