Critique Just going to post random pics...

[Deleted member 54248]

So I'm taking up on what I said in another thread: I'm going to post pictures that I took and consider "good-looking" for feedback... Which means it'll be random posts past this first post that will contain pictures. So if you're curious enough, a good bet would be to at least scroll through the unread posts.

Note: This is my first camera, so as of this post - I'm absolutely fresh and know nothing. I also have no extra equipment and no money for it: tripod, decent lighting, etc., so all of this is taken with a flash and/or a fluorescent light and camera being handheld. Unless it's outside, of course.

I consider the following pictures from acceptable to very good; two close to perfect.

 

[Deleted member 54248]

Here's some more, since I can't post more than 8:

 

[mjScall]

Not really sure what feedback you are after but these pics look like random snapshots rather than anything more considered

The lighting on the camera is far too harsh, and not sure what exactly you are trying to focus on with the DoF

All the others just look like photos from an eBay ad but with random DoF so it's hard to see what you are trying to draw attention to in each

 

[Deleted member 54248]

Not really sure what feedback you are after but these pics look like random snapshots rather than anything more considered

The lighting on the camera is far too harsh, and not sure what exactly you are trying to focus on with the DoF

All the others just look like photos from an eBay ad but with random DoF so it's hard to see what you are trying to draw attention to in each

I'm not sure either. I found these pictures to look pleasant, so I decided to post them. And yes, I was actually taking shots for Ebay.

 

[TheBigYin]

okay... First and foremost, photography is about light, and using that light to portray your subject matter in the way you wish it to be seen.

Other than the camera, and possibly the carved wooden box, I'm with Matt on the "look like bad ebay photo's" - so i'll put them on the shelf for the moment and concentrate on the three potentially more interesting shots.

The Camera....

Well - I don't partcularly like the angle you've taken it from - down at a level with the lens, looking "straight down the barrel" of the Helios 44. I can see that you've chosen to use a reduced DoF to isolate parts of the image, sadly, it seems you've missed focus slightly on the front of the lens, as the lettering isn't sharp. Wide aperture shooting at close distances will result in a razor-thin band of actual focus, and this one's just missed. Also, from a slightly geeky point of view - if the screw in lens hood had been removed to show all the lettering on the lens front-plate, it'd have had much more impact. Stick the camera you're using on a tripod, use manual focus, and a magnified live-view to ensure that the focus plane is pin-sharp on the part of the camera you're wanting to be sharp.

Also, as Matt mentioned, the lighting is far too harsh, use some form of diffuser on whatever lighting you're using - or better still, use natural light coming in from a BIG window - these things are perfect projects for a day where the sky is a bit flat and boring for being outside shooting landscapes. Also I'm guessing that the white-balance of whatever light you were using was a little off - either that or the camera has been owned by someone who chain smokes capstan full-strength...

The background is also, frankly a bit of a mess - the OOF black rubbish in frame right completely distract from the composition - the colour of the wall wouldn't necessarily be too bad, IF the white balance was fixed - though I'm not sure about the positioning if the camera in frame - it's on the wonk and looking like it's sliding down the table.

Personally, I'd have been tempted to clean the camera up a little as well - perhaps fixing the peeling leather back into place and cleaning the front of the lens, but then again I like cameras to look as though they're well used and loved, not just pulled out of a skip.

Still - it's the best of the bunch, and at least you were trying a few interesting ideas.


The Wooden Box (2 shots)

It's an interesting artifact, which again is basically completely mullered by awful composition, terrible lighting, dreadful set-dressing and a lack of attention to detail in cleaning/dusting the item before photographing it.

I'm somewhat torn here - it initiallly looks like a simple "ebay - plonk it on a bit of paper and produce a record shot so someone will buy it for a couple of quid" image. However, for some obscure reason you've gone with another arty narrow DoF pair of images...

Even for Ebay, you'll get a better price if you clean the item, and show it in a favourable light, and show the details properly.

So - once again, Clean it (or at least get rid of the obvious dust - it looks like it's been stored in a hoover bag!), get it on a nice plain tablecloth - preferably white, for contrast with the wood of the box, lots of soft light (that window light again by preference) and get the camera on the tripod, frame it accurately, set something like f13 to get a decent level of DoF and GET EVERYTHING SHARP AND IN FOCUS.



The Computer Bits and Bobs...

You've guessed it - clean 'em up, get 'em on a plain background/base (if you're worried about anti-static get a large sheet of frosted white glass to put them on - ikea do them as cabinet/table-top covers), light 'em properly, and stop trying to be arty with the pictures - get 'em sharp, crisp, clear, and show all the lettering / model or serial numbers clearly so that the person buying has a chance of ensuring that they're buying what they really want, not a best-guess of what it might be from that blur.


Sorry if this all sounds a little harsh, but you posted in a critique section, explicitly asking for critique on the images. However, you've come to the right place for help and feedback if you really want to improve the quality of your work - there are lots of really talented shooters on here - including people who make a living producing "product shots" - so if you take notice of them, things should certainly improve...

Oh - and one small bit of advice on getting full critique on here... you're far more likely to get solid feedback if you pick ONE image and ask for critique on it, perhaps giving some information about how it was shot, for what purpose the intended picture was to be used, and maybe even what you were trying to SAY with the picture. Posting a stream of random images will put off many of the members from actually saying anything.

 

[Deleted member 54248]

Sorry if this all sounds a little harsh, but you posted in a critique section, explicitly asking for critique on the images. However, you've come to the right place for help and feedback if you really want to improve the quality of your work - there are lots of really talented shooters on here - including people who make a living producing "product shots" - so if you take notice of them, things should certainly improve...

On the contrary - I enjoy harsh feedback, as it says a lot more than, uhm, 'soft' feedback; I really appreciate the long and very detailed message. Lots to think about, to be honest.

Anyway. I'm going to comment on some of your points now.

What you said about lighting... To be honest, I was constantly annoyed when shooting, wondering whether my settings are bad or my lighting is bad or... What is happening. My lighting consists of a single fluorescent 4000K desk lamp peculiarly mounted on a... Weird contraption. So yea, it is definitely not good, not at all. Other than that, there's the flash, but it's really difficult to get decent results with a flash (I'm using Nikon D3200), for me at least.

So now we move onto window lighting... Which is unfortunately problematic. Where I spend most of my time is a dark room, there are no windows here. The room with windows has very little space and since the stuff there isn't mine, I can't throw it out, so there is no way I can photograph there. Moving on to proper lamps and something more decent than glued-together pieces of paper, to be honest I don't want to spend any money on things that I wouldn't be able to easily take with me in case I'd need to move to another country. As you may have heard on the news, Eastern Europe is becoming increasingly more fearful of Russia (rightly so, it seems), so I may need to pack up and get out within hours at some point. I don't have much stuff, but I wouldn't be able to take big lamps or something like that, and since I don't have much money in the first place (had to save for years for this camera), it'd be stupid for me to spend money on such things.

Anyway, having said that, I'll refrain from attempting such shots, as it appears that I won't be able to achieve the needed result, and I can't think of any other proper way to achieve them, then... I do, however, appreciate the comments and I'll remember them for when I'll be able to proceed with them.

As for your comments on not trying to be artistic for Ebay, I have shots for Ebay that aren't artistic, however I saw an interesting side that I thought might look good and thought I'd snap that picture to post here. So these shots probably will never reach Ebay, as I have proper ones that just show the features for it.

As for cleaning stuff, yes, that is an excellent point. My excuse(?) for not cleaning is that I don't expect to sell anything and that I will set cheap prices because I just want to get rid of as many things as possible to make as much money as possible in case I would have to move away due to Russia. Since I honestly don't expect to sell anything because things I have are generally in a pretty poor condition (so people would buy them to restore them or to use them for parts, etc.) or when it comes to tech, they're simply old... Well, having said that and my rather valid lack of expectation for anything to sell, cleaning them would be a waste of time, not to mention that the buyer would have to clean them himself anyway as they'd need to restore them into a usable condition.

In other words, I'm just taking a chance with Ebay for the most part by trying to sell things that are pretty much useless. Wish we had garage sales here, that'd be absolutely perfect for such crap.

Thanks again for the long and descriptive post; a lot of useful and helpful information. I'll stick to pictures I'll take outside from now on. Though I'm trying to do things inside now as I need to at least somewhat get ready to get out of this country in case something more serious than Russian jets flying around the borders and Russian propaganda happens.