HDR attempt round 2 C&C wanted

[Z0_o6]

i know you asked for my critique on these but its hard for me. i just dont like the look of HDR shots LOL

to be honest the location blows and ruins the shots. you got garden hoses, trash cans and other cars/trucks in your background. try taking the car to an area with no trees over head and use a circular polarizing filter to try and get rid of the reflections that come with shooting a black car. also look up the rule of thirds, figure what part of the car you want to use for that rule and go with it.

Ok, I know you don't like the HDR look too much, I was going for a less extremely obvious processing effect. I can't disagree on the location, or at the very least I could have moved some stuff to keep it out of the way of the shot. It is that kind of advice that helps me improve my shots more than just hearing "cool pics bro" I would rather someone honestly tell me exactly WHY the shots could improve in their opinion, that way I can remember to actually try that next time. It doesn;t cost me anything to try again except time. Could you explain the rule of thirds a little more to me? I don;t really understand.


DO- The HDR process does warm the color temp of the pic up some, however in the program I use (Photomatix Pro) there is a setting to adjust the color temp. I purposely made these pictures extra warm, because I personally thought it gave them a little more.... "life" if you will. I will try to back that down a little next time and have the colors reflected a little more accurately and see how that turns out.

Reps for honest responses

[CHADbee]

Ok, I know you don't like the HDR look too much, I was going for a less extremely obvious processing effect. I can't disagree on the location, or at the very least I could have moved some stuff to keep it out of the way of the shot. It is that kind of advice that helps me improve my shots more than just hearing "cool pics bro" I would rather someone honestly tell me exactly WHY the shots could improve in their opinion, that way I can remember to actually try that next time. It doesn;t cost me anything to try again except time. Could you explain the rule of thirds a little more to me? I don;t really understand.

http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds

basically its the way you compose/frame the shot. having you point of interest in the dead middle of the frame is very boring. read around on that whole site, they have alot of great info that helped me out when i first got my camera.

[Mr. Clean]

I was going for a less extremely obvious processing effect.

i hear this a lot and don't understand it.

an HDR shot is impossible to get in one shot. the process is used to get full dynamic range of light in one shot. for it to have a processing effect is a necessity. it is what makes the shot successfully dynamic. if you don't like an over-processed look then don't do HDR.

and what chad said about rule of thirds is VERY important. it's hard to teach someone to have a good eye. you kinda just have to understand it. you can know what it is and still not know what to do with it. composition of the shot goes hand in hand with rule of 1/3s as well.



this shot is nice, but there are a lot of things that i would try and avoid:

1) the car
2) the side of the house
3) the garden hose
4) the placement of the bath in the pic (rule of 1/3s and composition apply here)

anyway... there's a mediocre critique for ya lolol. sounds like this is the kind of stuff you want to hear.

[Z0_o6]

i hear this a lot and don't understand it.

an HDR shot is impossible to get in one shot. the process is used to get full dynamic range of light in one shot. for it to have a processing effect is a necessity. it is what makes the shot successfully dynamic. if you don't like an over-processed look then don't do HDR.

and what chad said about rule of thirds is VERY important. it's hard to teach someone to have a good eye. you kinda just have to understand it. you can know what it is and still not know what to do with it. composition of the shot goes hand in hand with rule of 1/3s as well.


this shot is nice, but there are a lot of things that i would try and avoid:

1) the car
2) the side of the house
3) the garden hose
4) the placement of the bath in the pic (rule of 1/3s and composition apply here)

anyway... there's a mediocre critique for ya lolol. sounds like this is the kind of stuff you want to hear.

All of the shots except the 240 were made with 5 exposures. What I'm comparing to when I say "over-processed" is the very strong burnt marshmallow effect that I got on the S2000 when I tried an HDR with it.

I read the link Chad posted about the rule of 1/3rd's and will certainly keep it in mind on my next photo experiment. Normally I feel that my composition, while not breath taking by any means lol, isn't totally lacking, it just needs refinement.

You are correct, these are the kind of pointers I am looking for. I get tired of seeing people compliment shots that are obviously lacking any kind of attention to detail, and for me to improve I must find out what I need to work on and pay more attention to. I have been doing a little reading here and there, but the fact is to me, I will NEVER improve unless I get out there and just take a lot of pictures and find out what works through trial, error, and criticism. I take it all as what it is, helpful advice. Thanks!

[speedminded]

this shot is nice, but there are a lot of things that i would try and avoid:

1) the car
2) the side of the house
3) the garden hose
4) the placement of the bath in the pic (rule of 1/3s and composition apply here)

anyway... there's a mediocre critique for ya lolol. sounds like this is the kind of stuff you want to hear.

All this can be achieved with a camera phone

Composition will make or break a shot, sometimes with cropping it can be fixed though. You can't really teach composition, can offer pointers but in the end its having an eye for it and some car shots still look like they were straight from an autotrader ad.