noel marrero wrote:
Love, love, love your avatar.  Love the capture, the feel, the lighting, great model choice...  Flawless image.

I feel that the collage ends up weakening it, because some of the other parts aren't as strong, as well as the loss of detail as the images get smaller.

"Gus" has a bit too much negative space for portfolio IMO.  I could see this in print with some text around it, but I think it would have more impact as a tear sheet than just in your port.

"Yadira" doesn't capture my imagination.  You've got some story elements here, but it just not quite coming together, I can't get enough of the expression to feel it fits.

"Breanna" -no sure what it's trying to say.  What's the story, purpose of this image?


A bit too much tension with the edge for my taste.


Feels over processed, and soft on focus.

Great, thank you so much! I appreciate it!

Lithium Imagery wrote:
I have to agree with Noel about the collage tending to weaken what is an otherwise strong image. The example I'll use is "Sarah". The main photo in the collage is much stronger than the two accompanying shots. The denim shorts, singlet and bra straps just make me want to see her in those poses wearing the same dress as in the larger image.

I'm going to diagree with Noel, up to a point, on the shot of Yadira. There's something about that photo that does capture my imagination, but there is some small detail missing that would complete the narrative. From the shoulders down she looks like she's kicking out of frustration, but her facial expression doesn't quite fit the action of her body.

For me, the highlight of your portfolio is the shot of Edwin. I just can't fault a single thing with it.

Okay, cool. Thank you!
The reason I started making collages was because MM only allows me to upload 15 shots (in general). Sometimes I can't decided which picture to upload, so I upload the collage. That, and my OCD makes me not want to upload the images without being some sort of "grouping" (personal problem, lol).

Does any one have any advice on this? Or, something that can help me with the decision making? Legitimately, sometimes I am stuck between two really good pictures, but I also do not want to upload more than one of the same look.

I wish we were allowed to make groups, even in the free accounts.

Any other and more feedback would be highly appreciated! Thank you all!

Lee_Photography wrote:

Quite lovely

Suggested changes, place the background out of focus, do this by moving the model away from the background, and use a large camera opening [low f number like 2.8]

Harsh sun can blow out highlights and become a distraction.
Notice models cheeks, forehead and tip of nose; they are showing the harsh lighting of the sun. Solution move model into shade or use a scrim [piece of white fabric between model and sun. As to distraction see the green plant leaves, the sun is highlighting making them bright so they become a distraction.


Watch the cropping; model is missing her left hand photo right
Appear to be hair bands on wrists

Prefer one photo per space

Wish you well

Okay, cool. Thank you so much!

vsfotografi wrote:

Okay, cool. Thank you!
The reason I started making collages was because MM only allows me to upload 15 shots (in general). Sometimes I can't decided which picture to upload, so I upload the collage. That, and my OCD makes me not want to upload the images without being some sort of "grouping" (personal problem, lol).

Does any one have any advice on this? Or, something that can help me with the decision making? Legitimately, sometimes I am stuck between two really good pictures, but I also do not want to upload more than one of the same look.

I wish we were allowed to make groups, even in the free accounts.

Any other and more feedback would be highly appreciated! Thank you all!

My thoughts on when to use collage can be summed up with three points. Remember, these are just my thoughts, others will no doubt have other opinions.

First, and this really is just my opinion, the only time I really find myself interested in a collage is when it's a sequence of events. For example, a woman invites a guy into the room, woman places tranquilizers in man's drink, woman gives man drink, man passes out, woman robs man, woman leaves the room. I also find that if there's more than about 5 or 6 images stiched together, my attention starts to fade before i get to the end.

Second, no-one knows what photos you have taken, so they'll be none the wiser if you don't include them in a collage or singularly. If they're not all equally as strong, leave the weaker ones out. If one is significantly better than the others, upload that one by itself, and make the others a collage if you really feel the remaining ones are all as good as each other.

Third, arrange any collage so that the eye moves from one image to the next in a logical manner. Generally it would be left to right, top to bottom.

If you want to group them without the benefit of using an album, organise them in "My Stuff" so they're displayed next to each other. If I see a number of preview images in a portfolio that are obviously related to each other, I'll open the first one and then click "Next" to see the series in the intended order.

kschruder wrote:
Reading your About Me... if I were you, I wouldn't call yourself an amateur. Even if it's true, there's no reason to go out and say that I don't think.

Would you suggest I remove the "amateur" part, then?