Shadow Dancer wrote:
Welcome to the Mayhem!
The first of the three images is by far the best one: https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/48101411

The other two are too centered and not interesting compositions.

With regards to the first image, consider stopping the lens down for more depth of field so both the face and the hand are sharp. A tripod can be your friend as well, surf your local thrift stores and photography shops for a good used one, even if it is well beaten. Make sure it's fully functional but don't buy a cheap tripod. You need something sturdy, even if it has a fair amount of weight. A good monopod is also useful, both of these tools allow you to shoot at slower shutter speeds without blurring from camera movement. When shooting models, if they are good at staying still for the exposure then all is well. If they tend to move a bit then no tripod will help.

Keep at it!!!!

Great feedback, thank you!

Acraftman1313 wrote:
I think your best bet is to ask yourself why you should care what other camera club members think of your work. They are definitely not going to purchase anything from you and like dumpster diving you going to have to go thru a lot of useless stuff before you find a little nugget of truth.
If you and I are standing side by side in a gallery looking at a photo we are more than likely going to have different thoughts and opinions about that photo, and both of our opinions will probably have merit. I think one thing in common with 99.9% of the famous photographers is they did a shit load of work and took thousands if not hundreds of thousands of photos and realized if they were to get a style of their own those were the main ingredients.
Every time I do a shoot the first thing I ask myself is why am I even bothering with this since I suck at photography? I usually hate all my pictures and can't look at them for a while before I realize hey I'm not Richard Avedon, I am supposed to be doing this for fun so why not just enjoy the experience if I am serious about something I have done "wrong" find a way to make it different that suits my tastes and be content.
There are a lot of photographers that have great you tube channels that are really inspiring, my favorite guy right now is Peter Coulson he really (for me) gets to the core of making his style of shooting work. The photographic eye is another channel that delves into some of the underlying values of well known photographers.

Enough Said!!

Acraftman1313 wrote:
I think your best bet is to ask yourself why you should care what other camera club members think of your work. They are definitely not going to purchase anything from you and like dumpster diving you going to have to go thru a lot of useless stuff before you find a little nugget of truth.
If you and I are standing side by side in a gallery looking at a photo we are more than likely going to have different thoughts and opinions about that photo, and both of our opinions will probably have merit. I think one thing in common with 99.9% of the famous photographers is they did a shit load of work and took thousands if not hundreds of thousands of photos and realized if they were to get a style of their own those were the main ingredients.
Every time I do a shoot the first thing I ask myself is why am I even bothering with this since I suck at photography? I usually hate all my pictures and can't look at them for a while before I realize hey I'm not Richard Avedon, I am supposed to be doing this for fun so why not just enjoy the experience if I am serious about something I have done "wrong" find a way to make it different that suits my tastes and be content.
There are a lot of photographers that have great you tube channels that are really inspiring, my favorite guy right now is Peter Coulson he really (for me) gets to the core of making his style of shooting work. The photographic eye is another channel that delves into some of the underlying values of well known photographers.

In many of your statements, I agree, you're right. I don't so much care to chase approval of MM members, but I guess let me provide an analogy to shed some light on my sentiments.

In regard to Italian food, I like lean cuisine tv dinner Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo, more than Carrabbas. But if I were hosting a dinner party, the Carrabbas would be more well received amongst guests. Just like photography, taste is subjective, and I shouldn't renounce my preference of Lean Cuisine just because most people would choose Carrabbas. But there's a time and a place I better select the higher end option.

Right now my photography is to entertain me, but in the future that may not be the case, it may be to entertain others, provide satisfaction to others, and to garner the attention of others. For this reason, I am searching for others to steer me towards what they consider to be favorable. At the root of it, I would think this entire section of the forum based around critique serves to move photographers towards the goal of producing photography that is the utmost pleasing to the utmost number of viewers.

Anyway, I do appreciate your thoughts. I will check out the 2 youtube channels you gave a shout out to, and I value your words about focusing on what I like and finding a style of my own!

Rhea Monson wrote:
Of those 3,  the third is better than the other 2 combined.  # 1 has flare and prospective disorder.
# 2 is squared and flat, and the background is partly washed out. # 3 looks like it could be a shot from a horror movie.
It's well framed, and the facial expression is better.
       All this being said your own opinion is still the final straw. Remember, if you're taking a lesson, you have to please the teacher, to pass. If you're entering a contest you have to please judge to win. If shooting for money, you have to please
the customer, to sale. If shooting for pleasure, you have only to please yourself, and not all of these people will have the
same ideas. So each time you look at your photo ask yourself,--- did I do what I intended to do?
        Choose your subject, decide how to draw attention to your subject, and simplify by doing away with distractions.
when you're asked what is your best photo, just smile and reply with confidence, ---My next one.
         Welcome to MM, and happy photographing.
        Oh and b t w, getting advise from others does help to sharpen one's skill. Pick out what is useful to you,
and let yourself grow.

Thank you thank you! Very good feedback! I have a shoot this afternoon, I'll be remembering these things as I'm out there!

sweet gamine wrote:
The first photo from the Halloween shoot is composed well.
However, she has not a hair out of place and has a gentle, caring expression on her face.
She appears to be reaching out tenderly for someone.
Convincing as a zombie? Not in the slightest.
If you can shoot again with this model, have her dress in some other attire - lose the flannel shirt and completely drop the 'gore' theme (the worst thing about these three images)  - and go for some portraiture.
Keep the jeans and crop top if you like unless she has other garments she would like to use.
She's probably a good model.

Good advice, and you draw light to something I hadn't noticed, the conflict of emotion the model is portraying while being an undead zombie :'D