Portfolio Critique?

be sure your advertising.

start people off in galleries so its not a pile of images.


while i don't mind the poster look on the people, the graffiti and other stuff is distracting. i think if you have to explain that the watermark won't be on there, then you shouldn't have it on there.


this lacks symmetry and its crooked, and kind of dull. if it was straight on and even maybe it might be better. it could be sharper


this has a contrail shadow in the sky dividing it. as a black and white it lacks punch and drama. the sky is drab and the buildings don't really pop.


this shot is good, the boat makes it work, don't like the bush so much, it could use more color pop in the yellow and reds in the trees. your starting price is rather high


stock work is nice, but usually doesn't translate well as wall art. and oddly its too cheap.


while nicely photographed, i don't know how many people want an empty cup on their wall.


an odd rule in ghost lore - they never have feet. its always faded there. when i think of ghosts they are usually in old victorians, but they don't have windows like that, as that line is distracting. and they don't have knobs like that, those are brand new doors. and they usually come out at night. this is rather bright. and usually ghosts don't look modern, such as that dress and pony tail with scrunchy. at least use a ribbon. they aren't really floating either, so they wouldn't be higher up, but on the ground.


i think there should be at least one thing in focus here. i'm not sure why your pano crops start out so high.


its weird that your stock shots are very sharp and crisp, but many of your other shots have a snap shot vacation feel to them. this one doesn't look sharp, looks like a digital zoom, i can't see it up close. but ideally its too light, and most of the barn is blocked. i also don't get a sense of open space here.


this is nice and vivid, but i don't see any tracks.


i'd rather see the entire thing as a tall panorama. as a puddle its kind of dull.


this is nice, but i would crop the half part on the left, its not that sharp though.


i'm confused at the array of things you have here. i can't imagine too many people wanting to hang a crooked image of a town, with a sign pointing to where the airport is.

some of your images are stock quality, where as others are phone quality taken on a vacation. you should invest in a polarizer, many images are pale. if many of these were shot with a 5d, you should check the lens settings and make sure its focusing, because many are kind of soft. you have a low view count, you have to market more.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Thank you so much Mike! Actually, many of these were shot before my 5D Mark II days, and were with an old Rebel. Many that you refer to as "stock quality" are actually sold as stock and do well. This is another avenue for me, so I guess they don't always translate. I was thinking more to hang in a restaurant or something like that. I will definitely need to remove some of these.

Perfect for a bar, residential or commercial!! WOW

stock does well as stock, but stock often never crosses the art print barrier. i've seen art sold as stock, and stock sold as stock. but i rarely see stock sold as art.

a restaurant may want to have a full still life set up - cheese and wine, cheese and crackers, wine and fruit. stuff like that. an empty glass is a sign to go home. i think restaurants often hang up local locations to give it a home appeal.

take out anything that doesn't make the other stuff look good. you'll be judged on each image depending where a buyer finds you. if its good they may want to see more. if its bad, they leave.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Typical stock shots do sell here and show up on the recently sold page. Photos that would be boring in the living room but great in a business - photos from plumbing to pizza. There is also a stock seller that deals with science subjects that sells frequently.

Conversely lots of landscape photographers sell their images as stock. Also with the addition of products like cell phone cases, things like background or textures (peeling paint, rusty metal) have new uses. You might not hang it on a wall but it looks cool as a phone case.

One suggestion I would make is to cull some of the more snapshot-looking images. Example:


This looks to me like a snapshot anyone could take; it's busy and much of the building is blocked by clutter. But looking at the image right next to it...


One sees this fantastic image. Great contrast and a unique take on this landmark.

One other suggestion is that many of your black and white photos seem flat to me; they could use a contrast boost in my opinion. Or maybe invest in dedicated black and white software. You have some really nice images in your portfolio.

My whole portfolio is stock :)

Matt, thank you! I will consider removing that image, although I remember standing there taking it, and I wanted the framing of the trees and the movement of the people, especially the group of men all dressed in black suits. I thought that was interesting. It could certainly be a bit more vibrant. The very unique one of the Flatiron Building was created in post...that has sold once here. I use Lightroom to do my conversions. I'll have to check contrast as well as perhaps adjust my black levels a bit.

Edward, I knew I recognized your name from the stock circles. I was (still am) Luvemak on DT. I like what you did with your biography here. I should probably add some information about where my work has been used. Do you feel that it helps you?

Thank you so far everyone. I love the honest and constructive advice.

Erin

Hi Erin and welcome! I can't offer any critique, you're in good hands with the other photographers here, but I would like to suggest you correct the spelling of Panorama.
I know it's a nitpicky thing, but I think it looks more professional when spelled correctly.

Nice work, and best of luck to you!

Thank you Cynthia. You don't know how many times I've caught myself with that one...and missed it this time!

Just went back and corrected my spelling error. I found it in four of my panoramas. Good catch and thank you again!

You're welcome. I hate pointing stuff like that out, and it's not something I would do in casual conversation, but I know I would want to know - especially because we're selling. I'm glad you weren't put off by my suggestion. :)

You have some very nice work here! I too have stock photos of drinks, etc..... I have sold a couple to restaurants, so keep posting them here... you never know!

Erin, I didn't read any posts, I just went and checked out your gallery of heavenly images. Your work is excellent and you are getting great advice for sure along with the rest of us but an empty glass is sublime in my opinion.

I love "The Ghost." It creepy as all heck to me and I think they float... at least some of them do.

Mike, and the rest of you art critiques, please do not visit my work, thank you. (Smile, LOL)

I like both of your Flatiron images. Keep them!