Thoughts?

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BoxerPup

Senior Member
Greetings fellow Nikonites!

I am new to the forum, and new to Nikon cameras. I just received a D3100 as a gift and couldn't wait to start shooting. After joining the forum, and reading a host of posted materials, I must say there seems a great deal of collective knowledge and talent represented. When I stumbled upon the critique section, I couldn't help but wanting insights on a few of my initial shots :) I am looking forward to your feedback on this, and other, pics! I guess I'm looking for overall/general feedback since I am so new to photography/Nikon.

Thanks so much!
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stmv

Senior Member
ah,, a boxer! such a good poser, try using flash fill to pick up the details of the face. there are sites dedicated to photo critiques if you want to branch out.
 
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BoxerPup

Senior Member
Thank you stmv! Pardon if this is a remedial question. What do you mean by using flash fill? Is that an edit I can perform after the pic is taken? Thanks again!
 
ohkphoto

ohkphoto

Snow White
Actually, I would not recommend fill flash for this photo simply because I really like the muted tones and the touch of backlighting. Adds a beautiful mood, and unless you know how to really control the output, you can destroy that.

what I DO recommend is that you lighten just his eye in post processing to make it more of the center of focus. By lightening just the eye, you would create more of an impact. Your composition and creativity are excellent . . . nice touch to include just half of him.

As an overall score, I would rate this a 10 out of 12 (-1 for impact and -1 for technique) Not bad for "straight out of the gate!" Keep up the good work!

In case you're wondering about the scores, be sure to read the rules . . . includes the "12 Elements of a Merit Image".
 
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N_Addy

Senior Member
Very nice image! You've got a good eye for composition. I really like how you've done a close-up on just part of the face. Sometimes less is more.

Lighting is the only thing I would change in this image. It is a difficult exposure to capture since the boxer's back and hind leg are in direct sunlight but the face is not. The variance would be a challenge to any photographer (but an interesting one!).

There are several ways to tackle that challenge, the first being to simply put more light on the face via whatever light sources are available (i.e. open windows, flash, work lights, etc). Sometimes this isn't practical so the next alternative would be to to add light to the shadowed areas via software. Lightroom calls it "Fill light", other software calls it "Shadow"... you get the idea.

Another alternative would be to shoot the shot in "High Dynamic Range" (aka "HDR"). HDR works well in high-contrast shots like yours where you have very dark and very light areas. It uses multiple images (usually two or three) taken at different exposure settings and joined together (via software) to combine the available light of each image (thus increasing the overall dynamic range).

Here's an example of an HDR shot taken in lighting conditions similar to yours. Shadows in this image were very dark when taken in normal exposures.

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ohkphoto

ohkphoto

Snow White
Here's an example of an HDR shot taken in lighting conditions similar to yours. Shadows in this image were very dark when taken in normal exposures.
Click to expand...

The HDR is an excellent suggestion . . . I love what you did with this photo!
 
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Red Rover

Senior Member
The lighting works for me, sort of moody and muted. I find the crop very distracting. I may be in the minority but I would like to see at least the left eye to get more of a full expression. What is the item popping up in the lower left? Carpet, dog bed....? I think it detracts from your image.

Overall, I like it. I would like to see a little more of that pups face though.
 
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