My POTM pic for May - how could I have improved it? (updated 01/07 with a reshoot)

kelack

kelack

TPer Emerita - But she's back!
Messages
10,607
Name
Kelly
Edit My Images
Yes
I thought I had done quite well this month, I thought it fitted the theme and it was as non-soft as I could get it out of flickr etc so I was hoping to get more votes than I have on previous months when my photo has been below par or not really fitting with the theme, therefore, I'd like to have some crit as to what went wrong with this one and how I can improve for next month.

I know what I did wrong for the previous months :D

3531621452_f2238cf1fb_o.jpg



TIA
 
Last edited:
I don't think you need worry too much about the quality of the picture.

Technically it's quite up to scratch.

The reason I didn't vote for it was that there were others which were more imaginative (they created the photo rather than represented a scene) and that's what I was looking for.
 
Ah I see, shall I go for the sympathy vote here then, I begged the captain to let me borrow the shirts for this and the only day he could bring them up was the day after my operation on my leg so I was limping around with a helper asking him to put the shirts exactly where I wanted :) Took quite a while and a lot of painkillers

The team don't have their shirts put up for them like that, it's normally a dive in the kit bag and dig around for your shirt :D
 
great idea, I think a bit of foreground interest would have helped, boots on the bench or something
 
I like the image, Kel, but I have been trying to figure out why its not "quite right"
I think that
phobic has "nailed it" (y)
 
Hmmm. I quite like the idea, I just think the execution lacks a little dynamism. All we have here are some shirts in a room. All the shirts are about the same distance from the camera, is the light one flash above the camera or the ceiling light?

I think if it was my photo I would have tried to add another layer of interest. Maybe a shallow depth of field, with one shirt close to the camera, crisply in focus (camera right next to the 3 or 6 shirt).
 
Last edited:
I agree that it lacks a bit of interest... I would have tried to have someone dressed in his kit with, say the number 9 shirt on and his back to the camera but in the correct place in line, with his foot up on the bench tying his laces... a little ambitious though and not sure your helper would have gone the extra mile :D
 
ROFL2K9 said:
I agree that it lacks a bit of interest... I would have tried to have someone dressed in his kit with, say the number 9 shirt on and his back to the camera but in the correct place in line, with his foot up on the bench tying his laces... a little ambitious though and not sure your helper would have gone the extra mile :D
Click to expand...

I reckon that would have improved it massively. I think at the moment it does lack a little bit of interest.
 
I have to admit to more or less ignoring the comps! :D I like the photo now that I have seen the theme.

No major issues with it, I have not seen any of the other entries.

Gary.
 
Phobic said:
great idea, I think a bit of foreground interest would have helped, boots on the bench or something
Click to expand...


I also think this would help

Maybe a pair of very dirty boots to contrast the clean kit would work:shrug:

I do like the image, I like the lines and the conformity but feel that it is missing something(y)
 
Thanks all very much for your comments, I see what you are saying and agree now you've said it. Yes, not a really challenging picture really. I did take others from a sllightly different angle with a bit of dof but I didn't feel they worked, I still have them on my laptop at home so might load a couple here and see what you think then.

But thanks again for the constructive comments and helping me to see what was missing, it explains it now.

Not very good at thinking outside the box!
 
ROFL2K9 said:
I agree that it lacks a bit of interest... I would have tried to have someone dressed in his kit with, say the number 9 shirt on and his back to the camera but in the correct place in line, with his foot up on the bench tying his laces... a little ambitious though and not sure your helper would have gone the extra mile :D
Click to expand...

He might have done, he's one of the players!

Might try this photo again then for a bit of fun and just do that. Thanks (y)
 
AlexW said:
Hmmm. I quite like the idea, I just think the execution lacks a little dynamism. All we have here are some shirts in a room. All the shirts are about the same distance from the camera, is the light one flash above the camera or the ceiling light?

I think if it was my photo I would have tried to add another layer of interest. Maybe a shallow depth of field, with one shirt close to the camera, crisply in focus (camera right next to the 3 or 6 shirt).
Click to expand...

I used my 430ex flash but then put a wash over it in photoshop to try and make it less blah

Thanks for your comments :D
 
If it were me, I would have tried taking the shirts out somewhere - the middle of ap itch? - and hanging them on a line.

I'm not a fan of vignette. The floor and bench at the bottom break it up too much for me - I'd rather see fewer shirts in a straight line.

all imho, ymmv, &c
 
I agree with what Birdy961 said and would add make one kit dirty totaly covered in mud and with dirty boots and the rest of the kits immaculate. Wouldn't make a friend of whoevers kit you rolled in the mud though :LOL:
 
who? said:
If it were me, I would have tried taking the shirts out somewhere - the middle of ap itch? - and hanging them on a line.

I'm not a fan of vignette. The floor and bench at the bottom break it up too much for me - I'd rather see fewer shirts in a straight line.

all imho, ymmv, &c
Click to expand...

That was suggested to me and the thought of stringing them between the posts but I poo-pooed it, not quite sure why now though:thinking::LOL:! Also, wouldn't have been able to walk out onto the pitch but it will go in my list of ideas for a reshoot, thanks for your comments:D As for the vignetting, I wasn't sure if it was too severe or not, just wanted to make the photo a llittle less blah and in your face, hence a vignette and a wash.

CGeezer said:
I agree with what Birdy961 said and would add make one kit dirty totaly covered in mud and with dirty boots and the rest of the kits immaculate. Wouldn't make a friend of whoevers kit you rolled in the mud though :LOL:
Click to expand...

Ah but you see, they like rolling in mud, otherwise they wouldn't play rugby. It's another good idea though and I'm sure I can persuade someone to do it, as long as the captain doesn't mind (I can always wash one shirt) - you watch now though, we won't have rain for months now and it won't gete muddy!

Off to find a hose :D

Thanks very much for your comments
 
FWIW, kelack, I think that the photo is very well executed and processed :).

I too looked at it when voting in the competition (unlike many, which I simply skipped over :shake:), as it was so cleanly done.

For me, what was lacking was any real depth of "meaning" :|. Even with the addition of some more props, I don't think that there's anything more than a rather obvious connection to the "Numbers" theme (which was the case for most of the images posted, I felt). I hope that doesn't sound as harsh to you as it does when I just read it back to myself :(!? I'm having trouble finding the right words here.

Ideally, I would like to have seen the competition won by an image where the number theme told some kind of story, or was captured in a very unusual or creative way :shrug:.

I believe that it's no refelction on your camera and processing skills that you didn't get as many votes as you'd hoped for. It was simply a case of "not feeling the image", in my case.

Hope that this helps a litttle :|!?
 
Well, I took my time but I did a reshoot, you may have already seen this in the TalkPhotography room as I entered it into our local fete comp for the theme Local!

Is this an improvement?

Not sure why I can't into my flickr account at the moment so have had to upload it to my Picasa album so if it's soft sorry, Picasa does that :bat:

IMG_9494.JPG
 
I'd have used a RL kit, as generally speaking Rugby League is more interesting subject than Union....... :D :D :p :coat:
 
:thinking: There's always one......... :LOL:

:p
 
Thanks AlexW, I thought it would add a bit of lead to the player himself by sticking him in the corner (y)
 
Well the reshoot piccie won a Special Mention prize at the local fete yesterday so I'd say it was an improvement :woot::woot:
 
I won a disposable camera and a box of film, do you think they're trying to tell me something :LOL:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top