Please rate my photos individually for competition by points as our Camera Club does.?

Question

Please rate left to right, top to bottom.
5pts. = Below Average
6 = Average
7 = Above Average
8 = Excellent
9 = Superior

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenphotographer

Any additional comments or critiques would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Answer 1

10 out of ten,

they are oustanding, inspiring and just brilliant

i hope you hang around here i have alot to learn from you,

the exposures are brilliant, sharp as tacks, compositions to die for - your the full package

1000 thanks for the peak, they are outstanding, theres no critique i can give they are faultless

EDIT: like Dr the blues do seem a bit rich, but i like it, you have a talent to do it and the images still dont appear cold

the ruins appeal to me the most

EDIT2: ok im over the gushing stage now, i have a tendancy to come back to questions like this......watch this space

the portraits while clean they are a little sterile and almost to perfect if thats possible?? .....will be back after more looking

ok here we go:

P1010023-1 - theres an issue with the horizon - there seems to be alot of purple? - its an overcasr day with the levels tuned up by the looks - its a look i dont go for, this one is a 8.5

the owl - theres a slight sharpness issue, motion blur has caused a lack of a strong focal point, or it might be from a long lens? the texture is effected, however its a winner, the texture still pleases, post work looks very sharp

TA1- strong shot - two strobes? the thing you have done with the hair is very clever, not sure if i like it but its damm fine work.

IMG_7830 - fantastic composition, the exposure/brightness is about 1/3 - 1/2 stop to much for me, the image leads in, is simple with complexity, the person adds the required comunication of the scale, a winner, 9.9 for me - im a fan of ancient places

ok thats enough, many thanks

a

Answer 2

I rarely respond to this type of question, but, in this case, I will. These are personal opinions only and because of how images display on different screens and because of processing for the web, I have little to say about color or saturation.

Photo #1 - 7
Good composition weakened by the crowding of the subject within the frame from top.

Photo #2 - 8
Very good shot, but weakened like the first by the non use of negative space as a compositional element.

The flash highlight adds a surreal quality to the image that just doesn't work for me. They take away from the subject. If this had been an intentional effect instead of coming from the shooting conditions, I would have rated the picture lower.

Photo #3 - 9
No comment required.

Photo #4 - 6
Negative space again. I want to like this one, but I can't help feeling something should have been done with it to move it beyond good, but common. I don't feel much was put into it, that it was explored.

Photo #5 - 9
Murder by numbers. Excellent.

Photo #6 - 8
The foot being cut off keeps me from rating this higher.

Photo #7 - 9

Photo #8 - 9

Photo #9 - 7
A slightly wider shot with a bit more area to the left would have made the white building a stronger compositional element and kept the eyes more in the frame. As it is, there is a nice sweep up to the building, but my eyes get 'caught' there and tend to look off for a boundary or more detail. My feeling is that the eyes should be free (and even encouraged) to wander over a scenic, but not go outside. An old technique that might serve is to darken the edges. It was the last step Ansel Adams used.

Photo #10 - 9
I had some doubt about giving this one a 9. The perspective distortion creates a feeling that the pillars are falling. This is type of distortion comes with the territory for those of us without a view camera, so the option is to use it creatively. That's what I wonder about, here. Could something have been done with the geometry to create more of a dynamic feeling? It looks like the elements are there, but I wasn't, so I can't say.

Photo #11 - 8

Photo #12 - 9

Photo #13 - 8

Photo #14 - 8
This would have been a 9, but for the hair.

Photo #15 - 9
I love the graphic quality to this shot, but that has nothing to do with the rating. It's solidly carried out and everything clicks.

Answer 3

It's "only" one page of images to review, but they are SO GOOD that I would want to spend 5 minutes on each one as if it was real competition and I just can't do that.

A couple of them are just oversaturated for my taste, but I wasn't there so I don't know what they really look like. The cathedral would rate better for me if it was more natural in appearance, but it looks like you were trying to save an image of nothing but a hazy day. The demarcation along the treeline is pretty bad, if I judge by YOUR standards. Many people would get no comment on this, but seeing the quality of your other images raises you to a higher standard.

You do love your blues, don't you? Maybe it's my monitor or maybe it's yours or maybe it's just your taste, but there's a lot of blue in some images that seems out of place.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenphotographer/2037234967/ has a really blue sky, but that's it. It could have been that way.

Same thing for http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenphotographer/2036873391/ except the trim on the house. I'd have masked that out or put the rest of the blue in a separate layer before upping the blue saturation.

Same thing for http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenphotographer/422891493/ Maybe they WERE that blue, but the windows look too blue for me to accept them as reality.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenphotographer/422891500/ is very saturated, but I've never seen the late day sun in Dubai.

I would rate this batch at 8, easily, except that first one is probably 6 or maybe even 5. It's just a shot that was ruined by the hazy day. I'm sure it's a case of taking the picture that you are presented with, because it's something you won't see again in your life, but it's not worthy of the rest of your images and not worthy of a contest.

I disagree with Jenni's rating that B&W portrait as a 6. I'd give it an 8. The lighting is excellent.

The rest of them are all an easy 9, in my opinion. I am not a professional photographer and I am not a judge, but I am just blown away by your techincal skills and esthetic sense. Amazing.

You have taken a Rebel XT to new heights. These images look like they were made on 4x5 film!

Thank you so much for sharing these with us.

Now...

Where did you learn your camera and photoshop skills???

I hope all of my buddies pick up on the star so they get to see your work.

Answer 4

These are very nicely done. With a couple of exceptions, I would give an overall rating of 8+ (which for me, that is a high number!) On Jamie, the shine on her face detracts from the look. With your Photoshop skill, it shouldn't be hard to get rid of most of it. The lion and bear (oh my!) don't do much for me either, I think because of the obviously man made background. I prefer my wild creature shots to at least look like they were taken in the wild. Your architectural images are very good, and my favorites. I also like the top blue lady. Very beautiful work!

Answer 5

7 9 9
9 6 8
9 7 9
9 9 9
9 8 9

honestly, your pictures are really good!!

Answer 6

no longer too unhealthy in any respect. a little bit uninteresting for me simply considering I like extra movement orientated pix.......however the plant life are in awareness, that's well..they usually appear well and sharp...that's a plus as good. Overall, well process. If you particularly like photographing nature like that...you could wish to believe approximately snapshot-journalism as a principal.....simply considering you could get a danger to paintings for country wide geographic or anything like that sooner or later. Travel the sector and that form of factor.

Answer 7

Don't have time to rate them individually, but they all look like good candidates for stock: well-lit, professionally composed and unlikely to offend anyone.

Answer 8

Very nice work indeed Ken. You should be proud of every one of those images !