Please critique my first post.

[mushy99]

Please can you give your opinions on the following retouch:

Original:

http://www.paulbrereton.com/photos/original.jpg

Retouched Version:

http://www.paulbrereton.com/photos/redone3.jpg

Thanks.

[Duv]

Welcome aboard Paul! Really liked the tight crop. Some things we can control and some we can't. It's unfortunate that the angle loped off some of the feet. Personally, I really liked the gilded sashes and branches and would have enhanced them. The only other thing I would say is the framing is nice but always make sure the picture can stand on it's own. Hope we see lots more of your stuff!!!

Cheers
Dave

[Axleuk]

First of all, your work is more of a manipulation than a retouch, however if you want a critque, then here is my view.

- I find the effect of the speckled variety on the inside border to be a distraction, i also find the angled shadow to be out of palce.
- You have too many matts in your finish, i would lose at least one of them.
-The background is too plain for my personal taste, perhaps a gradient of some sort would help act as a more appropriate backdrop
- There also seems to be some noise in the background that could possibly be reduced.
- You have used a dropshadow on the main image, too much as far as i am concerened.

On a possitive note i would say the subject matter is very good and with the right atmosphere added and correct use of colours, you could potentially have a nice manipulation on your hands.

[DannyRaphael]

Paul:

Overall I like what you've done here subject, composition and extract-wise. The frame/mattes, "roughness" and offset shadow effect provide interesting surroundings.

There's something about the frame/mattes that's not quite right to my eye... I don't know if it's the shadowing between layers or what. You might look at that.

I believe you've hit the mark from a creative perspective. You won't see anything like this anywhere else (and that's a good thing).

Keep creating and experimenting. You won't hit a home run every time, but I can assure you if you stop swinging the bat, you'll hit zero out of the park.

~Danny~