Posted May 2, 2010 (edited) Sorry Ashley (I realise it's not your fault), but that's aweful! and kinda scary!... like when Agent Smith takes over someones body in the Matrix and the face stretches all over the place! It doesn't look human. It's so blatently a fake, that it's not worth doing anything else with it, and they shouldn't put it in their photo album. The face is at completely the wrong angle to the head, hence the huge expanse of blur! If I were you I'd either just get him to put up with the original, or meet with you again and take a new headshot that will fit. Edited May 2, 2010 by Retro_Link Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2010 Well I'm not going to just completely abandon it as I've been working on it for a while and have promised them something. It does look more convincing on a print (again, could be because of the darkness). I have suggested, and will suggest again, meeting up to take a new face shot. I am just kind of relying on low expectations :p I may just send it them now with some explanations and see what they say. They may be happy with it, who knows. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2010 The original pic is a million times better. Offer them the new one though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2010 Uncanny valley. Kind of made me feel ill. Like Paj said, the original photo is fine. Way better than that monstrosity. (They do't even look like the same person.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2010 Well in the original he looks (and was) drunk and nonchalant about his new bride, she's wearing the wrong dress and he's looking the wrong way. They've already received the original. I think I'll send them the modified and go from there, see what they want to do. Cheers for the advice guys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 2, 2010 (edited) Went to an American car show today. These are pretty much the only pictures I got that I really liked. There were a few more, but they didn't turn out as well. Edited May 3, 2010 by Goafer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 3, 2010 Went to an American car show today. These are pretty much the only pictures I got that I really liked. There were a few more, but they didn't turn out as well. Love this one, very good use of HDR, brilliant composition / crop? and looks very dramatic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 3, 2010 Love this one, very good use of HDR, brilliant composition / crop? and looks very dramatic. Thanks. I had to crop it to get rid of the black outline from the fisheye lens, but that's the only cropping. I did try straightening the image a bit so the middle line of the grille was parallel with the side of the picture, but I didn't like it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 3, 2010 I agree with Gio the first one is a beautiful moody shot. Well done Goafer! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 3, 2010 I was just wondering...can anyone give me any feedback on any of my photography stuff? It should be in the last two or three pages. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2010 Great shots Goafer, as usual. Just wondering did you take them as RAW and then edit the +/- exposure later or did you do 3 .jpg photos? Here's one I've been playing around with, ended up a bit mental but...meh. Photomatrix seems to add a lot of noise and grain when I tone map it and I'm not sure why and I wish I had taken a much better original photo but I'm still learning a new program. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2010 (edited) Like that one Fresh! Yeah everytime I've used Photomatix it's added quite a lot of noise, even though I'd taken the image using the bracket (3 at a time) setting. Though my camera only goes as far as +/-1, do you ideally have to use +/-2? I was just wondering...can anyone give me any feedback on any of my photography stuff? It should be in the last two or three pages.Sure thing! My first attempt at an hdr photo using CS5's HDR Pro feature.... This is the one I prefer most of your 3 and the HDR image.Though did you chop off the far right of the container for a reason?... or were you trying to stick to the 'rule of thirds' a bit too closely?... because it would be nice to have it at a slightly different angle and fit it in. Maybe try and position your photo in the best way to make quite a surreal image of a giant container seemingly just lying in the middle of a field. I get the deserted shot you're going for in the road photo, problem is it's a pretty unattractive road! It might be nice to get much lower down to the road and depending on your camera try playing around with depth of focus, blurring or focusing in on the near/distance. Edited May 4, 2010 by Retro_Link Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2010 Sure thing! This is the one I prefer most of your 3 and the HDR image. Though did you chop off the far right of the container for a reason?... or were you trying to stick to the 'rule of thirds' a bit too closely?... because it would be nice to have it at a slightly different angle and fit it in. Maybe try and position your photo in the best way to make quite a really surreal image of a giant container seemingly just lying in the middle of a field. I get the deserted shot you're going for in the road photo, problem is it's a pretty unattractive road! It might be nice to get much lower down to the road and depending on your camera try playing around with depth of focus, blurring or focusing in on the near/distance. I have only just recently got into photography and thought I would try the new Photoshop CS5 hdr pro feature out, but because of my lack of experience (and also the fact that there isn't any good spots to shoot around where I live) I don't really know what makes a good photo. I have not really heard of the rule of thirds in photography (only web design). At the moment I am just practising as I would like some good photos for my portfolio. I was going to play around with the depth of focus etc, but I wanted to see if I could create a good hdr image first as I have only also recently got into playing with RAW settings in photoshop (even though I have been using it for 4+ years). Thank you for the tips and I shall have some more photos to come within the next week or so. The pictures were taken with a Nikon D40 that I borrowed from college. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2010 (edited) Great shots Goafer, as usual. Just wondering did you take them as RAW and then edit the +/- exposure later or did you do 3 .jpg photos? The front of the truck is 3 RAW photos, separated by 1 stop bracketing. The car on the drag strip is just one RAW file put into Photomatix and turned into "Faux HDR". Photomatix can adjust the exposure of a RAW file automatically if you just open 1 RAW file in it. Saves you having to do it manually in Photoshop. I think the order of good-not so good is like this: 3 RAW files - 3 JPG - 1 RAW I always shoot RAW and JPG. Takes up a lot of space, but I use RAW for the final image and the JPG for flicking through (since I don't have any software that can flick through RAWs). I might start shooting to a RAW and a lower quality JPG to save space. Photomatrix seems to add a lot of noise and grain when I tone map it and I'm not sure why and I wish I had taken a much better original photo but I'm still learning a new program. HDR photos tend to be noisy, which is why a low ISO (I use 200), long shutter speed and a tripod is best. I also did a sort of photo shoot with a friend and his girlfriend. They asked me to do it (probably since I'm the only person they know with a camera!), but it was good practice for the wedding I'm doing in June. It feels a bit weird posting pictures of a couple, so here is one that doesn't have their canoodling faces: Edited May 4, 2010 by Goafer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2010 Great photo man! Has a movie poster vibe to it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2010 Thanks guys. The pose was the couples idea, since they had been looking at poses beforehand on Deviantart or something. I thought it looked more like a watch advert myself! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2010 Thanks guys. The pose was the couples idea, since they had been looking at poses beforehand on Deviantart or something. I thought it looked more like a watch advert myself! Lol, get to the watchmakers & sell the image to them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2010 (edited) Found an awesome forum: Derelict Places. It's about exploring abandoned buildings. Interesting fact: Trespassing isn't technically illegal as long as you leave by the quickest safe exit when asked and don't damage anything whist there. All the signs about trespassers being prosecuted are crap. Someone on the forum boated out to an old Russian submarine at night. Fuck that. No idea if they got permission. Doubt it. Some of the abandoned hospitals/mental asylums scare me beyond words. Edited May 4, 2010 by Goafer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 5, 2010 (edited) Well I never... I just sold a Framed Print on RedBubble!! Found an awesome forum: Derelict Places.Yeah there are some great photo's taken inside and out of derelict buildings... redbubble has some good examples. I think we're quite limited in this country though aren't we, in terms of things like asylums etc... and even if they were around, you're right, they are shit scary!! There was that derelict quarry/clay works I went to around a year or so back... It might be an idea for us to try and find out what places there are to potentially visit in the UK and see if there are any near any of us. Edited May 5, 2010 by Retro_Link Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 6, 2010 (edited) I think we're quite limited in this country though aren't we, in terms of things like asylums etc... and even if they were around, you're right, they are shit scary!! All the pictures I posted above are from the UK, including the story about the Russian Sub, which was in the Thames. The forum I linked to is a good way to find local places, as is Google Earth/Maps apparently (for searching local fields industrial estates etc). I have an abandoned USAF/RAF base near me (Heyford)that is an absolute goldmine, but security is pretty tight (including a police dog training facility!). Manged to get a photo of the petrol station there though since that's just off the road and not fenced off: It might be an idea for us to try and find out what places there are to potentially visit in the UK and see if there are any near any of us. I'm hopefully heading to an abandoned building soon. Expect photos and a story about how I got raped by a security guard. Double Post Yo!: 2 more photos from the All American Show at Santa Pod: Top one is a proper HDR image, bottom one is a single shot "Faux HDR" Edited May 6, 2010 by Goafer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 7, 2010 Top one is a proper HDR image, bottom one is a single shot "Faux HDR" T'is all kinds of awesome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 7, 2010 Wow!! love them both. I'm starting to change my mind about HDR, done the right way they are stunning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 7, 2010 Goafer is that using a wide angle lens? Also, any chance you could post the original photo for conparison? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 7, 2010 Goafer is that using a wide angle lens? It's using a sort of fisheye/wide angle filter. It screws onto the end of a normal lens and makes it a wider angle. It's a lot cheaper than a proper fisheye lens. Also, any chance you could post the original photo for conparison? Is this the one you meant? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
