Critique for Rich
Rich is one of our regular studio users and we're just about to start some one-on-one tuition. As you will see below Rich has reach a reasonable level of competency and has some interesting ideas and puts some effort into settings this up, so now we are talking about tuning things up for maximum effect.
A little under-exposed. I would suggest raising the overall exposure a little but reducing the lightness of the shadows to bring in a but more contrast.
The shadow of the phone is cool, would be better if the face was turned to the phone so you got the face profile on the shadow too.
Lovely ring-flash effect - shows of the logo a treat (but I would clone out the writing on the pants since that detracts). Could maybe crop higher off the knee with just a bit more head room.
Nice mid-toned shot, controlled use of lighting means that the tonality across the mage is fairly consistent.
A rim light or side light just to pick out the edge of the model would really lift this image.
The pose of the hands is a bit awkward
A bit over contrasty, the shadows are a bit too dark.
Again good use of a ring-flash effect - the bright highlight on the wall could be distracting, but in this image it really adds something. The pose is dynamic and fills the space well. Though there is lots of negative space in this image it is not wasted space.
The pose shape is cool, but the lighting lets the image down, the way the light is falling on the face and the shadow from the hair and a bright nose is all a bit distracting, yet at the same time the lighting is quite flat, so it's doesn't bring out the pose strongly enough. Side or rim lights would help a lot.
You also asked about softness and do you have a lens issue. I don't think so, the first shot is a soft, but that looks like a focus issue, the rest look OK at the size you've sent them in.
All digital cameras need some kind of sharpening from the RAW image, it is a function of the way digital cameras work that they are soft in RAW until sharpened, you may need to look at that in your RAW processing.
When you come in we can try some different lenses and see if it makes any difference
share:
I run regular workshops for beginners and experts alike. I like to run a mix of styles and types. Masterclasses, portfolio builds, technical and artistic sessions available.
Current courses available.
