Critique Please

Hi Jennifer,

I looked at your work and yes this photo is out of the norm, however it is a beautiful one. I like the detail of the starfish and probably prefer the color version over the black and white.
I would post it. This is an opinion from a beginner here at FAA.

Thanks,
Juan

I would post it. I think that it is a dramatic and stunning photo. Also, I think that the framed version as opposed to the whole starfish gives it more appeal.

I am not feeling any kind of connection to this piece even though the detail is fascinating. Its not really a stand out to me.

White balance problem? Looks overly yellow to me.

Quite dramatic, perhaps a slight desaturation and a balancing of contrast -
get some fine detail going to bring out those intricacies!

everything is worth trying as long as its sharp enough to print. it seems a bit yellow, but maybe it's just a yellow starfish. if you have more than one, put a few up. you never know, some marine biologist or fan of patrick star might want art for their walls.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Thanks everyone. Believe it or not, but that is the color of the starfish. It was really bright and dark. I enhanced it slightly, but will tone it back down a little bit. I'll go ahead and post both the color and the B&W. I think I actually like the B&W version better.

Nothing to lose by posting. It's a little dark for me. If it was ming I'd bring out the detail in the shadows some and desaturate the image a little.
Have never seen a starfish that looked like that, very unusual fella.

Thanks Scott. I've lightened it up, and then actually under saturated it. I also uploaded other versions of it. It's a Vermilion Star. Very unique.

add abstract, 5, five, marine life, marine biologist, biology, etc to the words, and increase your prices, especially the cards.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I like the photo. It's just too soft. I don't see this making a decent print at the larger sizes. Review you work at 100% on you monitor. It should look reasonably sharp if not real sharp. I am not seeing that i the preview. You can always down size.

Jennifer, I actually think I like this version better than the B&W, but I wonder how it would look against a different colored background. Have you considered changing the black to something else? Maybe merlot or persimmon? Or even a shade of violet might be interesting.

I don't think the lighting is particularly interesting. If it were mine, I'd consider binning it.

actually now that i'm looking at it up close, its kind of soft. it might print, deeper focus is needed for the next time. still i'd give it a try.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

When I lightened it up & softened the clarity as suggested it took out some of the sharpness. The star fish is soft to begin with & was moving in a black tank so it was hard enough to capture as it was. I have a printed 4x6 print of an unedited version of this & it came out sharp. The first photo in discussion has clarity increased which affected the color a little bit, however not much. That is the true color. It's not the best photo. Again it was just a snapshot. I just used my wide angle zoom lens & not a macro. I just thought it was interesting & thought I'd see what others opinions were. I'll update the keywords Mike. I'll just leave them I up for a while. I always see artist saying they have photos they didn't think would sale but the did.

printing anything at a 4x6 will look sharp. your selling this as a 48" print. there is a difference. however excuses may be there, they won't help sell the piece. moving things are hard, and you have to figure out a way to shoot it, or as suggested, forget it. i have lots where the clarity just wasn't there. i may remove the last 2-3 sizes of this though.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

So which do you think is better? The first one with the increased clarity & increased blacks or the one that I have uploaded that i reduced the clarity & saturation? I'm afraid if I sharpen it to much, it will bring noise. (I use lightroom & gimp). It was a spot focus so not sure how much sharper it'll get. Wish I would have taken it with a macro. I'll play with it to see what I can do. It'll be Monday before I can get a revised one uploaded. Thanks everyone again for the tips.

How do you remove sizes? I don't see that option. It was automatic sized based on the photo. I took it with a 24mp Sony A77 slr.

Remove the prices from the larger sizes so that only the clear ones are available for sale. I like the 2d color version!

Ok. Thanks.

There's a lot of digital artifacting (blurry grainy look) but maybe that's the limit of what your camera could do in the circumstances.

Better to just downsize this one and re-upload as a smaller size. Downsize then sharpen lightly. You have to judge on you own computer what size is going to look sharp. If you just remove prices it will still be blurry in the preview. And it is not a bit soft. Its very soft at the largest size.

If you like it and believe someone else will enough to buy it post it, should not matter what peer review is, liking something is all about individual taste and we all have different tastes, I like it for what it is worth.

I like it but I would crop in and make it more about the color and texture no the starfish itself. I guess in other words i'd fill the frame.