Critique My Photography

[skulkingghost]

Hey anandtech,

I am currently in my 2nd year of college, considering switching majors to photography (from graphic design) but not 100% sure yet.

I currently shoot with an Olympus e-10 DSLR

I was wondering if you could critique my flickr/photoblog (whichever you prefer) let me know the +/-'s of my work.

Basically trying to get some feelers from a mass audience rather that the completely photo oriented flickr, as to whether pursuing photography as a career path would be a good idea, based on the talent (or lack of it) these shots provide.

So without further ado:
http://www.DanielHellerman.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielhellerman/

 

[virtuamike]

What type of photography do you want to get into?

 

[skulkingghost]

I'm thinking I would love to do some traveling, perhaps travel to some more dangerous places like Darfur, safari shots, war, Iraq, for a little bit. I am really open to going / shooting alot of things. I just dont want to take pictures for a real estate company or a local newspaper for the rest of my life.

I hear there is a pretty high demand for people willing to go to at risk places.

 

[virtuamike]

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
I'm thinking I would love to do some traveling, perhaps travel to some more dangerous places like Darfur, safari shots, war, Iraq, for a little bit. I am really open to going / shooting alot of things. I just dont want to take pictures for a real estate company or a local newspaper for the rest of my life.

I hear there is a pretty high demand for people willing to go to at risk places.

You're going to need a photojournalism background. For war photography specifically, research photographers like Capa and Nachtwey and figure out why they're willing to go through hell to get their shots. It has to do with a lot more than just demand and job opportunities.

 

[skulkingghost]

I will definitely look into that. I know that national geographic photographers do months of research before they even go out to shoot a location. I was just reading an article on them in photopro today actually.

 

[teatime0315]

Nice pics on the flickr.... seems like you like HDR.
I liked your non-hdr photos, I personally don't like overblown or over exaggerated HDR.
good pics nonetheless
Keep it up!

 

[hogsmile]

Start here: http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/index.jsp

Try to attend a few seminars given at:

http://www.theworkshops.com/photoworkshops/index.asp

it's a worthwhile non-profit institute dedicated to the art-form. The goal in doing any/all of this is to find a niche somewhere.

Truth is, however, there's no such thing as "photography" anymore; digital technology has eclipsed the analog form; it's a new universe. Bill Goldman's observation about the screen trade ("nobody knows anything") is now the universal reality. I spent the better part of five years learning the art of fine printing in a sub-standard wet-chemistry darkroom; all that's now obsolete.

I'm almost 60. I cut my teeth in BW/still photography taking pictures of riots at Cal during 1969-70; after all that was over-and-done-with, I never saw a way to make a decent living at it. But that was during the post-Watergate economic downturn, when everything and everyone suffered; now, who knows what will work and what can't; what can and cannot be done ... .

Still, the old truths remain self-evident:

- where there's a will, there's a way;

- you can make it happen if you want it bad enough;

- but you must not make the mistake of forming a picture;

- and you must constantly self-improve yourself while finding a way around the obstacles;

sage advice as old as time itself.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

I LOVE your HDR shots man.

How do you do them so well? i tried and fail almost every time

what do you use to do them? Photoshop, Photomatix, Dynamic Photo HDR?..... it would be so cool if you could give me some pointers on how to do it properly, also i tend to fail completely at tone mapping! the only program that i get half decent results from is Dynamic Photo HDR and even then the standard HDR shots it makes need tone mapping to look good..... its all automated though so i feel kinda left out of the loop

 

[AmpedSilence]

I'm moving to Philly for a new job. I would love to meet up sometime and get some tips on making HDR photos. I just can't seem to get it right. Maybe even some photo trips after i get my 40D would be great also!

Love the Pics!

 

[pontifex]

some really nice stuff! great HDR shots!

 

[skulkingghost]

Thanks for all the kind words. Heres an idea of my regular workflow for people interested in how I get my HDR shots to come out so well:

First, when you are framing a shot, never think of just the shot you are taking, and how that will look. Always think of how the shot will look darker, or lighter, to get a good fix on the kind of colors and texture you should expect from your shot.

Second, you cant just take a picture of a forest and be done, it will give you a good result, but hdr lends itself better to rotting walls, bricks, gravel streets, things that tend to have a lot of texture.

Always use a tripod. I tend to shoot a lot of my HDR's hand held, that is a mistake, don't be foolish like me, use a tripod it will save you touch up work later.

I never use a flash. I tend to always use natural lighting. I find it works much better.

I import all my photos into Adobe Lightroom. I have lightroom sort them into folders with sequencing numbers, based on date.

I go through my images on light room, noting the numbers of the pictures for example for one shot I used: June21st2007-YouthNight-14.orf, June21st2007-YouthNight-15.orf, June21st2007-YouthNight-16.orf. The sequencing numbers really help you identify the sets of 3, 5, or however many exposures you took for your HDR shot.

From lightroom, I then move into photomatix using the HDR-Generate button, and load my 3 exposures. I set detect movement to high, to help avoid unsightly double lines caused by handshake/tripod movement.

In photomatix I tend to have strength kept at 94 and then adjust the rest of the sliers. Luminosity in general is kept around a 6, its usually a high positive value though.

Light smoothing is usually somewhere in the 3 medium settings, I dont usually use the highest or lowest.

Color saturation is anywhere from 18 to 100

Black point is kept at the highest 5% and white point is what i adjust for shadow, anywhere from 5% downward.

Gamma I tend not to touch.

I set microcontrast to 10 and usually leave it, because I like my pictures to resemble paintings.

Thats pretty much it. I am up in Williamsport now for college, but would love to do a philly meetup sometime. Let me know if anyone else has any more questions.

 

[rml]

I would recommend joining a photographers forum and get critiques there will benefit more.

There are many such sites. Some are brand specific and people also would recommend which lens/filter to help you improve your skills

 

[skulkingghost]

I will definately check out some forums. I post a bit on flickr's forums.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
Thanks for all the kind words. Heres an idea of my regular workflow for people interested in how I get my HDR shots to come out so well:

First, when you are framing a shot, never think of just the shot you are taking, and how that will look. Always think of how the shot will look darker, or lighter, to get a good fix on the kind of colors and texture you should expect from your shot.

Second, you cant just take a picture of a forest and be done, it will give you a good result, but hdr lends itself better to rotting walls, bricks, gravel streets, things that tend to have a lot of texture.

Always use a tripod. I tend to shoot a lot of my HDR's hand held, that is a mistake, don't be foolish like me, use a tripod it will save you touch up work later.

I never use a flash. I tend to always use natural lighting. I find it works much better.

I import all my photos into Adobe Lightroom. I have lightroom sort them into folders with sequencing numbers, based on date.

I go through my images on light room, noting the numbers of the pictures for example for one shot I used: June21st2007-YouthNight-14.orf, June21st2007-YouthNight-15.orf, June21st2007-YouthNight-16.orf. The sequencing numbers really help you identify the sets of 3, 5, or however many exposures you took for your HDR shot.

From lightroom, I then move into photomatix using the HDR-Generate button, and load my 3 exposures. I set detect movement to high, to help avoid unsightly double lines caused by handshake/tripod movement.

In photomatix I tend to have strength kept at 94 and then adjust the rest of the sliers. Luminosity in general is kept around a 6, its usually a high positive value though.

Light smoothing is usually somewhere in the 3 medium settings, I dont usually use the highest or lowest.

Color saturation is anywhere from 18 to 100

Black point is kept at the highest 5% and white point is what i adjust for shadow, anywhere from 5% downward.

Gamma I tend not to touch.

I set microcontrast to 10 and usually leave it, because I like my pictures to resemble paintings.

Thats pretty much it. I am up in Williamsport now for college, but would love to do a philly meetup sometime. Let me know if anyone else has any more questions.

i've found Dynamic photo HDR to be amazingly good at aligning images that might have shifted a little, its also pretty good at removing objects like cars that have obviously moved with each exposure

but after that, it combines the shots for you, then you press tone map and you can pick like 6 or so pre-sets. you can fiddle with light strength, radius, saturation, vividness and you can apply BW filters like hard and soft light and adjust your curve for better contrast but sometimes its still a little un involving.

i must say that taking multiple exposures isnt always a must. It will come out better of course becuase you've actually captured different dynamic ranges, but just altering the same range in CS2's raw converter and then combining to HDR sometimes spits out some good results. doesnt work all the time though, some shots will just come out as more colourful and thats it.

i have found though, with DPHDR, it really does like to bring out flaws of the sensor and noise. i've had some very nasty noise in some results and one where it even looked like the sky had lots of black flecks in it. you can remove those with the clone stamp or healing tool, but the noise is sometimes un-saveable.

here's one of my better HDR's.... and was created from 1 RAW file. technically i should of took 5 exp's and i did its just that some one and their dog ran past me mid shoot and the tripod moved, plus there was a breeze so the leaves were all in different positions in every shot. yeah it was a mess.

http://flickr.com/photos/masona/1366134083/

and heres one that didnt turn out so good.

http://flickr.com/photos/masona/1366133401/

 

[nero2]

As a graphic designer, I took a *ton* of photography courses in school. If you have an interest in photography in general, than I would go that route. You'll be a better photographer for it, but you won't be tied down to it as a career. If you really do want to pursue photojournalism, then I would suggest you do some research as to colleges which have good programs in non-studio photography. A good education is very important in the arts, because it allows you to get better much faster than you ever would on your own (as I'm sure you're aware studying graphic design).

As for your photographs, I don't like them. You are overreliant on HDR and this I feel gets in the way of what you are trying to capture. You are working with beautiful subject matter/imagery, but the images on your flickr are not doing these locations justice. Taking a good photograph of something that is inherently beautiful is hard, and I feel that HDR is not the best way of doing it. Compositionally I feel you need some work as well. The framing of many of your images falls between deliberately loose and perfectly tight. This creates ambiguity regarding your intentions that I feels hurts the images.

All that said, you're in your Sophomore year, and no one is particularly good at anything sophomore year (I know I wasn't). No matter which direction you follow, be it graphic design or photojournalism, in a few more years of college you will be amazed at how far you will have come. Also Sophomore year is a fine time to change majors as you aren't tied down to anything yet.

my photography: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nonrural/
my design: http://www.borysenko.com/

 

[Sushifiend3000]

http://www.lightstalkers.org

Spend some time here for some perspective on what "travel to some more dangerous places like Darfur, safari shots, war, Iraq" really entails for a working photojournalist.

 

[skulkingghost]

@sushi

Thanks a ton for the link. I love it, been reading through a lot of threads, really interesting stuff there.

 

[greengrass]

Originally posted by: teatime0315
Nice pics on the flickr.... seems like you like HDR.
I liked your non-hdr photos, I personally don't like overblown or over exaggerated HDR.
good pics nonetheless
Keep it up!

I agree with this opinion, they are nice pics but I just don't like exaggerated HDR . So maybe your choice to change your major is right .

 

[soydios]

Originally posted by: hogsmile
Start here: http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/index.jsp

Try to attend a few seminars given at:

http://www.theworkshops.com/photoworkshops/index.asp

it's a worthwhile non-profit institute dedicated to the art-form. The goal in doing any/all of this is to find a niche somewhere.

Truth is, however, there's no such thing as "photography" anymore; digital technology has eclipsed the analog form; it's a new universe. Bill Goldman's observation about the screen trade ("nobody knows anything") is now the universal reality. I spent the better part of five years learning the art of fine printing in a sub-standard wet-chemistry darkroom; all that's now obsolete.

I'm almost 60. I cut my teeth in BW/still photography taking pictures of riots at Cal during 1969-70; after all that was over-and-done-with, I never saw a way to make a decent living at it. But that was during the post-Watergate economic downturn, when everything and everyone suffered; now, who knows what will work and what can't; what can and cannot be done ... .

Still, the old truths remain self-evident:

- where there's a will, there's a way;

- you can make it happen if you want it bad enough;

- but you must not make the mistake of forming a picture;

- and you must constantly self-improve yourself while finding a way around the obstacles;

sage advice as old as time itself.

Photography isn't dead. All that has changed is the post-processing workflow. It still takes an artist looking through the viewfinder to compose the image, and familiarity with one's equipment to come out with the finished shot.

@OP:
You definitely have the enthusiasm and the talent. Working at National Geographic, I think, is every photographer's dream.
Try and figure out what kind of photography you enjoy doing. I'm passable at everyday, poor at sports, but pretty good at stage photography, because I also do lighting design in the theatre.