So I am a third of the way through my project and completing a July challenge ~ today's theme was hair, so I tried something different for me a BW. The subject matter is not something I would generally take a photo of so i welcome any feedback/critique, particularly on the BW element as this is an area I would like to get better at and improve on. Thanks in advance Alison
The composition feels awkward and a bit cluttered with the comb, also the black of the comb blends into the black of the clippers. Lose the comb, or at least separate them. Stainless steel is great for B&W but here it has lost a bit of its "pop", maybe try and lighten that part a bit.
maybe try to balance it by putting the cord on the left side, play around abit with the positioning. Otherwise i like the contrast (although shadows are a bit thick on the comb) the B&W works great really get a feel for the texture, hard to say if you should zoom out the subject seems to be the blades and shaved hairs, also try a smaller aperture, some parts are out of focus, would like to see them. no worries im not a pro just trying to help and learn critiquing thanks
The reflected part looks great - the engraved steel works really well in B&W. I'm with the others on the composition issues though - the clippers could occupy the diagonal better, and the comb or cord could be used to direct the eye in from the bottom left.
I find black and white tricky. I have the best results when I choose a subject with a lot of contrast (light/dark). I think you have a good start on black and white by selecting this subject.
@38mm@eryck@pizzaboy@daisy I had another go with a different subject, took on board some of your comments, played about with contrasts and tones, and hopefully this is better composition .... getting better or not? :D
@alisonp Much better, she stands out from the background nicely. The stuffed toy(?) in the corner is a little distracting though, and if I'm really picky I would crop a couple of mm off the top.
And also watermarks, are they really necessary? They serve no purpose other than to act as a distraction.
I like this one, but showing the toy would help tell a story, also remember the rule of thirds, mostly try to NOT centre your subject, look up some of the crop tools available in lightroom (ie golden spiral and thirds ...) over all tho the exposure and contrast is nice good B&W for tones.
@alisonp Like a few have said first image needs a little more brightness, just play around with tonal curve in the mids to highlights range. The image to me seemed more interesting when I viewed it upside down :P.
Love the processing on the second image white balance on toys tail looks right and tonal range is nice. Maybe just a tighter crop to remove the toy as its cutoff anyway and doesn't add anything to the image.
Hope this is of some help.
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And also watermarks, are they really necessary? They serve no purpose other than to act as a distraction.
Love the processing on the second image white balance on toys tail looks right and tonal range is nice. Maybe just a tighter crop to remove the toy as its cutoff anyway and doesn't add anything to the image.
Hope this is of some help.