I think that it's a little overly bright and the contrast could be toned down - it's a bit too unreal & technicolor-ish for my liking. On the other hand, I like the crisp sharpness. Gah, I'm not used to this.. haven't even barely picked up a camera in yrs,, how's that? less

OK, good. You did a good job finding positives and negatives. I’m a very harsh critic of my own work, and although I found this photo to be good, there are a few problems with it that have driven me nuts ever since I finished with it in Photoshop several years ago. It should be noted that although I found things in this photo that some of you didn’t (and vice versa), that doesn’t make one critique better than another. We all have different points of view on what makes a photo good or bad…and that’s a good thing.

So, here’s my critique:


Compositionally, this image has some very nice features. The mountain range occupying the upper third of the photo, and the avalanche lilies occupying the bottom right of the photo anchor the image and draw the eyes all over the photo. Helping in that are several other features, such as the pink heather flowers, the snow patch, the rocky outcrop on the left, the tree on the right, and the clouds. Despite all these objects, the photo isn’t cluttered with them. Rather, they are complimentary. Depth of field it also very good, as everything from the foreground to the background is in acceptable focus. Colors are also acceptably vibrant.


However, the blown out areas on the clouds are distracting and continually attract my attention, even when looking at the remainder of the image. The image is also a bit flat inasmuch as it could use more contrast to define edges better and to show stronger shadows. Part of this is because of the time of day at which it was taken and the fact that much of the image is out of the sun. The sky is also an odd color, undoubtedly due to the merging the two images using the HDR software. The image also seems to be a bit too over-sharpened, as the foreground looks a bit “crunchy.”


Any questions? less

OK, good. You did a good job finding positives and negatives. I’m a very harsh critic of my own work, and although I found this photo to be good, there are a few problems with it that have driven me nuts ever since I finished with it in Photoshop several years ago. It should be noted that although I found things in this photo that some of you didn’t (and vice versa), that doesn’t make one critique better than another. We all have different points of view on what makes a photo good or bad…and that’s a good thing.

So, here’s my critique:


Compositionally, this image has some very nice features. The mountain range occupying the upper third of the photo, and the avalanche lilies occupying the bottom right of the photo anchor the image and draw the eyes all over the photo. Helping in that are several other features, such as the pink heather flowers, the snow patch, the rocky outcrop on the left, the tree on the right, and the clouds. Despite all these objects, the photo isn’t cluttered with them. Rather, they are complimentary. Depth of field it also very good, as everything from the foreground to the background is in acceptable focus. Colors are also acceptably vibrant.


However, the blown out areas on the clouds are distracting and continually attract my attention, even when looking at the remainder of the image. The image is also a bit flat inasmuch as it could use more contrast to define edges better and to show stronger shadows. Part of this is because of the time of day at which it was taken and the fact that much of the image is out of the sun. The sky is also an odd color, undoubtedly due to the merging the two images using the HDR software. The image also seems to be a bit too over-sharpened, as the foreground looks a bit “crunchy.”


Any questions? less

I literallly hadn't picked up a camera in a good 3-5 years, easy, and I used to be fairly decent (I think maybe?) - was even the official photographer for a cpl local bands - and when I picked it up, at first I had a hard time but once I got the hang of it it was like riding a bike. For me, the hard part is the ps. less

I literallly hadn't picked up a camera in a good 3-5 years, easy, and I used to be fairly decent (I think maybe?) - was even the official photographer for a cpl local bands - and when I picked it up, at first I had a hard time but once I got the hang of it it was like riding a bike. For me, the hard part is the ps. less

I've been doing this for almost 15 years now. I just wanted to show everyone what a detailed critique looks like. I in no way expect the same from you. Even one good thing and one bad thing can help. For instance. Your, and others', point about how the mountains look isn't even part of my critique, but is totally valid. less

So, I got somewhat detailed in my critique and I don’t necessarily expect all of you to see the things I did. For that matter, I have no doubt that I didn’t see all the potential positives and negatives of the photo. We all have different perspectives, and we all have things that draw our eye more so than others. As such, no two critiques are likely to be the same, and no one observation is inherently better than another.


OK, here’s another photo:




Red-orange mycena, Mount Rainier National Park


Photo taken by Vaccinium. f/2.8, 1/8th sec., ISO 100, Color temperature: 6500, Sigma 105 mm macro lens on a Canon 10D camera body, from tripod under tree canopy and shade, optimized sharpness, color, and contrast using Adobe Photoshop CS2


This photo is much simpler than the previous one, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t as many positives and negatives. Just find at least one positive and negative, and post them. less

So, I got somewhat detailed in my critique and I don’t necessarily expect all of you to see the things I did. For that matter, I have no doubt that I didn’t see all the potential positives and negatives of the photo. We all have different perspectives, and we all have things that draw our eye more so than others. As such, no two critiques are likely to be the same, and no one observation is inherently better than another.


OK, here’s another photo:




Red-orange mycena, Mount Rainier National Park


Photo taken by Vaccinium. f/2.8, 1/8th sec., ISO 100, Color temperature: 6500, Sigma 105 mm macro lens on a Canon 10D camera body, from tripod under tree canopy and shade, optimized sharpness, color, and contrast using Adobe Photoshop CS2


This photo is much simpler than the previous one, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t as many positives and negatives. Just find at least one positive and negative, and post them. less