Critiques - - summer is not over

blaskica · #1 10-14-2008, 05:50 AM

Hi everybody!

CMS posted nice free raws to practice on. I used one of his photos and took it to another level. I really wanted to give it a nice warm summer look. Tell me what you think.

TommyO · #2 10-14-2008, 12:33 PM

That's pretty good. I like the overall blend.
The masking is good; maybe a bit more of the fine hair could be retained.
The only other tell-tale signs are (a) a few clone/heal spots in the blue sky down low; (b) the peoples shadows on the beach don't align with the sun; (c) the reflection on her shades.. could be Ok if coming from a reflector, or could be moved to better align with the sun.

blaskica · #3 10-15-2008, 02:51 PM

You have a sharp eye, Tommy. I did miss the shadows

(shame on me). I'll fix it asap.

With every comment I am given, my eyes just open, and I wonder how I could have missed such an obvious thing. But I am a quick learner and you (nice people who comment) won't have to tell me twice.

Thanks,
Iva

waffeliron · #4 10-15-2008, 05:27 PM

Apart from what Tommyo said, I think its really good. The sun is a bit too much for me but thats just personal preference.

It looks like a piece of advertising which I guess is the look you were going for

blaskica · #5 10-16-2008, 03:37 AM

Actually I had those giant highway boards in mind when I was doing this. I wanted the sun big to give a stronger feeling of heat. And I sort of see some text under, I don' know, for new sunglasses maybe.

Anyway I fixed the following:
- sky "blemishes"
- people shadows
- reflection on the shades to better align with the sun

Anneke · #6 10-16-2008, 03:50 AM

It looks very nice to me, just a couple of details that I would change.

Nice job!

blaskica · #7 10-16-2008, 05:35 AM

Thanks Anneke. I was reluctant to fix her lip because I didn't want to lose the glossiness. I managed to reshape it and still retain sparkles. Here it is.

Anneke · #8 10-16-2008, 07:07 AM

Yes! That's it. Small changes, but it looks even better now :-D

Qixil · #9 10-19-2008, 11:57 AM

Looks great - the only thing that niggles me is the solitary low cloud.

Clouds don't do that - unless someone was having a BBQ on the beach. It also clutters the composition.

If you moved it up and to the right (and reduce the contrast) - it could form a loose line in her line of sight (and give you somewhere to write "Visit Cannes" or something).

DJSoulglo · #10 10-20-2008, 04:17 PM

Small thing, I'd love to see the background through the left side of the glasses, makes her feel more in the shot.

blaskica · #11 10-21-2008, 07:53 AM

That is a good comment. I'll look into that.