I really like the quality of the shot - nothing wrong there as everything is clear and focussed. I agree that that background is a bit icky - looks like a tie dyed bed sheet hung up somewhere. This is really a stock standard school-type portrait. Many people want to see something a bit different and more exciting.
Advice from me: use a simpler background - black or white where you can't see the folds. Then you can include some props like a bowler hat. Get him to do something crazy to get some varied expressions. His expression is very static. I would also not have been so heavy-handed on the lip gloss on the poor guy! My entry for this challenge was in a location so the background was quite interesting, but some people liked it, others did not. But it can work well too. Where I went wrong was with the eye contact (also missing) and the negative space issue which some did not like.
I really like the quality of the shot - nothing wrong there as everything is clear and focussed. I agree that that background is a bit icky - looks like a tie dyed bed sheet hung up somewhere. This is really a stock standard school-type portrait. Many people want to see something a bit different and more exciting.
You're close - it's a duvet cover. Yes tie-dyed. $4 at the thrift store. Apparently a bad choice. Got it.
Originally posted by craigester:
Advice from me: use a simpler background - black or white where you can't see the folds. Then you can include some props like a bowler hat. Get him to do something crazy to get some varied expressions. His expression is very static. I would also not have been so heavy-handed on the lip gloss on the poor guy! My entry for this challenge was in a location so the background was quite interesting, but some people liked it, others did not. But it can work well too. Where I went wrong was with the eye contact (also missing) and the negative space issue which some did not like.
I've got black and white now - didn't at the time. I also like them better, so I appreciate that comment.
I don't know what a "bowler hat" is, but I get the concept of props.
There is NO lip gloss on him ! Nor has there been any added saturation to his lips via post-processing in this. He's just got rosy lips.
I took a look at your entry - I like the back-ground, but it doesn't look "portrait" to me. I think I'm stuck in the "studio portrait" box right now.
My son also has very rosy lips but they don't look as glossy as your son's... Perhaps it was the PP in your case. I would perhaps have selected the lips only using the marquee tool and desaturated the reds slightly.
You marginally beat me in this challenge... So voters thought mine was a valid portrait too. :)
I wouldn't be too unhappy with your score under the circumstances. You can see what people were looking for in the winners. 1st place was very different and striking. Librodo's was typically good but he has his own photography school! Most of the top shots were quite close-up - more so than ours pics.
I have learnt something about portraits in this challenge so that's good.
It looks like you have done a lot of work to recreate the sports pictures that every Little League team and every pee wee hockey team hands out ($) to the parents. The background looks like a school picture background. I once followed a fancy french recipe for Ham Loaf and after hours of work realized that I had made Spam.
It looks like you have done a lot of work to recreate the sports pictures that every Little League team and every pee wee hockey team hands out ($) to the parents. The background looks like a school picture background. I once followed a fancy french recipe for Ham Loaf and after hours of work realized that I had made Spam.
But, the question remains - did YOU enjoy your ham loaf ?
