I've been trying to boost myself up a bit and get back into to what I love doing and thats photography. I finished my degree in June last year and graduated in October. And since then I've done the odd job here and there but really want to start building my portfolio back up and continue on a piece I started in Uni. I want to improve on my images and I was just wondering if anyone would take the time to look at my port and tell me what they personally think I need. I am planning a few more shoots this year and trying to get models and fit it in around my work schedule. I am trying to get a job in the industry and want to improve my port. If you guys would take the time to give me a little crit i would very much appreciate it. And if you would like me to crit or comment on some of your work I would be more than happy to.
Peace,
Alicia

Hi Alicia,

Since you have a BA in Photography (with Honours), I'm going to hit you hard!

The first thing I notice is your logo - not the photography. I've seen a few large logos some of them actually look okay. Yours doesn't. If you insist on having such a large unimaginative one, at least put it in a corner.

I don't shoot pin-up too often (I actually have... but I don't really like the genre) The nose, breastbone and (OMG) hips all point at the camera here:
(I won't even mention the view of the back of hand or that here fingers are missing...)

So.. from that series of images... "One 'Look', one image" in your portfolio...

Looks over-exposed and over saturated to me. Nicely composited and nice catchlight though.

The eyes are too far off-centre. (nose and breastbone aligned - is a no-no) Contrast between light and dark is too dramatic (4-1 ratio at most) and key light is too low judging by the shadow of the tip of her nose.


Bad lighting, New camera? 5D mk ii, not the 400D? Manual exposure, 1/60 sec, f/16, ISO 100?? maybe set the ISO to 320 or so... female model has no fingers, male looks like a mannequin or a wax figure.

same with:
with the exception of the F models' has fingers now.

The eye here
frightens me, too much white....

sorry.... I expected far better....

Honestly, your work lacks maturity, and looks like something a 13-year old girl may have dreamed up. I notice your profile says you're doing fairy tale themes, but since there's a very limited market for that type of work, you may want to consider another style if you're actually serious about getting a job doing fashion/commercial work.

The skin & eyes of the models in most of your images appear to be way over-retouched, to a degree that makes them look cheesy and unrealistic/amateur, IMO. Consider toning down the retouching a little, maintain some skin texture, and keep the whites of the eyes a more natural shade. Play around with your retouching style, and see if you're capable of producing some more natural looking results, maybe try some images where you don't oversaturate them so much.

You're young, and just out of school, which means you're capable of changing your style and improving very quickly if you set your mind to it.  Best of luck to you. 

Your first black and white shot is solid..

Okay thanks guys although some comments kinda hurt but needed. My pin up was my first ever pin up shoot. And I need to improve on that. I have a very high contrast in some of my images as thats my style, but if it needs toning down it needs toning down. The retouching in some of my images was when I first started out and was getting used to the tools. My fairy tale project is my own series not for any fashion or beauty type work. So in that sense that doesn't bother me if thats not going get me work as thats not for finding a job. But I will be toning down my retouching. I don't know what else to use to watermark my images.

Also my course was very little training. Honestly I got no hep at all from my tutors my lighting was all off my own back and my editing has all been self taught and no guidance or advice was ever given to me to tell me how to make my work really work. So I am so grateful even though some of the comments hurt. I am starting out and really do need the advice and help. So please don't think that i wont take into account what you guys say. I will be going back to my images and trying them again without so much editing. Maybe the thirteen year old comment kinda hurt but I think this applies to my first work where I have over edited as this was my first ever portraiture shoot I had ever done. My previous work was black and white film mainly focusing on shoes. Again thank you guys for taking the time to look at my work and if I re-do my work and I think it works a lot better I will put these up on to my portfolio and comment here so you guys can see an improvement.
Alicia

Taking critique can really suck, especially on the internet where it's easy to just fire off some mean words and never look at the thread again. So don't feel too crushed.

Just keep reading, keep looking at tutorials, keep trying to improve. And more importantly, keep shooting! Shoot everyone you can, all the time, keep practising. Be realistic of how good you are, and don't be happy with "good enough".

How would you do a new watermark? I am trying to book more shoots now to get practice. My degree was worth it but the tutors were not. It was hard to have a conversation with them to get the feedback that was needed. To be honest being self taught and holding down a retail job and home life and putting my self through education I know I haven't done to badly it's practice makes perfect. And now with these few comments I can go back to some of the images at look at them with a fresh set of eyes and tone down so retouching and make it work. I won't be deleting or forgetting about these images as I know that they could e a lot better once redone. And maybe even great considering where I have started. But I would really like input on the watermark.

just proves you dont need a BA in photography

What the f were they teaching you at uni? lol

i know thats harsh, but were you focusing on portrait/fashion work in school? if not i can understand. Like if you were into street/landscape ect...

but i would say keep shooting and look at fashion magazines - try to copy what you like... read up on studio lighting and post work.
and something i struggle with... LESS IS MORE ... seriously

No it was an art based course so they tried  cramming everything. Like I say I am starting out and haven't got the greatest amount of money in my pockets so working with what I can. Some of the pictures I put up is from when I first started out. So all I can do is improve. Thanks for the advice

I have a BA in Studio Arts with a major in photography. Here are my thoughts.

Uni teaches ART. What ISN'T helpful is having students go into uni thinking they will be trained to be a good commercial photographer. You won't. The best practice (in my opinion) for high school students wanting to get into commercial photography is to go door to door and ask commercial photographers if they can intern, apprentice, assist, scrub floors, etc. Work with someone who is working in the field you want to do, learn from them, study and practice, practice, practice. Drink in everything and test all you can. Eventually, you will have built up a starting portfolio and potentially some clients.

"Wtf would I go to art school then??" Here's where it helps. You'll study traditional art, art history, composition, lighting theory, color, culture, etc. This is the MEAT of a well executed, pristine image that is gallery, museum and history ready. If you want to be an artist, this is the path you follow. It takes YEARS to build up a client base and it's a heartbreaking process sometimes when you spend months or years on a series that no gallery wants to display. You'll still have to market yourself and get in touch with potential buyers, art collectors and businesses that would display your work. It is a very rough life.
How can this help you commercially? When you know the basics, the technical aspects of composition, light and color you WILL make an image that stands above the rest. Top commercial photographers have studied the basics and applied it to their commercial practice and you can clearly see the difference between them and an amateur. It does place you ahead of the pack. Again, this is a very long and rough road with a lot of financial risk. Once you get the ball rolling though, it will have a snowball effect and continue to grow.
I would highly recommend art student takes business and marketing courses that focus on entrepreneurs selling a service or product. YOU WILL NEED THIS. I did not and I sorely wish I had taken these instead of computer courses as electives. I definitely feel like I'm stumbling about when it comes to business and I need the help of a manager and accountant. 


I'm not saying that all other photographers are amateurs and failures. There are several that make a very decent living and have never gone to art school or apprenticed. They have outstanding business sense and can network themselves in such a manner that I highly respect. I can't do that and I'm not a top photographer, but I do know that studying art history and the traditional mediums has greatly improved my photography and has given me a solid foundation to build on. I don't feel like I'm grasping at getting the right lighting, knowing which color palettes are strongest for the image or with the composition. I'm only concerned with the context of an image and it has shaved off a lot of years of experience I would have otherwise roughed through.

CRITIQUE TIME

For you to improve, I say you much go back to the basics. Study composition, color theory and lighting. Hold off on retouching until you have those basics down, use retouching ONLY to remove blemishes and control your color.

This image here https://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/1 … c19a94.jpg is one of my favorites. Love the colors and the exposure is pretty close to being spot on though it's still a little overexposed. Here, you need to watch out for distortion. Not sure which lens you used but the lines bulge on the wall and you want to keep them straight. Use a longer lens to compensate for this.

This image https://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/1 … 22b794.jpg and https://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/1 … 168b35.jpg are your weakest and I would suggest you remove them.
The snow white one is blown out horribly. There's no definition between her nose and cheek, jawline and neck so she's one massive blob of white. The hair lacks details and selective coloring is a big no-no. There are very few cases where selective coloring works, at best you would de-saturate the area but not eliminate the color entirely.

Alicia, I think you are very brave taking all this (albeit positively intended) critisism.

Pin sharp, perfectly lit, beautifully exposed photographs are not the only way to shoot. Creativity is a massive part of whether a photograph is liked or not like and in my opinion technical ability can get in the way sometimes. All these excellent photographers who have given you their opinions will understand that their work is subjective but they follow their instinct on what they feel is creatively 'correct' depending on what they are shooting.

Looking through your work the thing that shouts at me is that there is a lack of natural creativity in your work. Don't worry though, it will come to you. We all started somewhere. Just start shooting and using your camera as much as possible and look closely at the results with a creative eye as well as in a technical way.

Good luck!

Are you saying you went to college for photography?

I can't say I would recommend that school, if that is the case.

There are many problems with the images, but overall I would simply say, there doesn't seem to be any purpose to the images.