Photo Reviews - part I

from ckale1




So... why the brick wall? How many brick wall shots have you seen? me - probably one million. I dunno, but they just don't freaking work like that. Brick walls are some VERY busy backgrounds and they make my eyes hurt. Then you have those pink shoes. They take away fro, the pretty face and this is a pic about those shoes. They are just some damn bright that I can't stop looking at them! :)They way the model is sitting and the angle of the shot make me feel that the gal is gonna slide down from the frame. There's no tilt but the lines of the brick wall, the vanishing point perspective make this shot compositionally faulty. What was so terrible above that you have to crop it from the top like that? anyway... make sure to learn what the model will be wearing before the shoot. Tell them not to bring things that dont reflect light, seen through stuff, unless they are not wearing a bra (what's the point of wearing a bra with a see-through shirt? seriously - women - get real - it looks bad)

The old gas tation shot is better, due some good color cross processing (Nik Soft plugin?) that matches very well with the location. Just lovely colors and the harsh shadows are very well controlled here. So the colors and the light are good. The models expression is... well, it is what it is...
but why did you shoot at an angle again? You have that red window frame tilting the shot, the girl is blocking the pump, which looks awesome and if you have only placed your model at a straight angle in front of the window and the pump it would have been a great compo (pump -> girl -> window). The mistake here is placing your model to close to the objects of interest. Had she stepped forward, at the angle mentioned, there still would have been enough room to show (with shallow DOF) that all those awesome elements are present in the pic AND to make this shot about the girl.





From Nexus






When I saw the red pic, I was like "Oh, this is not too bad!" and then I saw the rest of them and realized that the first pic is a lucky shot.
So about the red pic - I like this. Not to the point of me screaming that I fell in love with everything, but this is not bad. I can see that time was taken to prepare and to lay the key elements into paces. This shot has been done and redone by thousands but it always works.
What I like here is the jaw line, the facial expression, and the post work. Not too much, not too little, just enough. Reds are very effective.

What I don't like - the lack of catchlights in her eyes. Gotta have them. Didn't turn out during the shoot? Draw them in. I don't know - just make them happen. Otherwise the model looks dead. I am not into dead models so this is not for me :)
I wish that the crop was a bit wider. The shoulder is cut off and that is one sexy part of a female body. How dare you! :)
Overall - this is a very decent beauty shot. This concept would have worked better with a paler model. I'd shoot a dark skinned model on a creme sheet with creme colored roses. Can't go wrong with that :)

The BW shot is pretty much a disaster. The low angle of the shot makes the model show a double chin. That alone should make this shot end up up in the trash bin IN CAMERA. The window is blown out to the point of attracting all of the attention.
The pose was supposed to be gracious and it ended up being "oh, I don't want my clothes to get dirty". The horizon is tilted and if you just could simplify the compo a little more by taking more of a closeup - this could've worked. Next time look at the key elements, the shapes of the location that you are dealing with and work with them.


from IVO




everyone likes a great looking butt. This is what these pics are all about and of. However the goodness ends here.

-The chin is merging with the shoulder and the model lost her neck.
-THe light on her face is strong and it needed to be turned further behind the model to create a nice rim instead of blowing her face out.
-Wrinkly fabric is looking amateurish here and I would've asked my model to lay on the floor and we could experiment with her wrapped in that fabric.
- the poses are just pornographic. Though we all watch porn (yes, Mrs Smoth, don't even deny this! :) but these are just too tasteless. Wrinkles on her back, odd faces and that butt (lovely butt) in the viewer's face aren't doing this model justice

Adriana

SO...so... what happens when you get stuck at your shoot and totally unprepared? I have shot this girl before and she really wanted to shoot again, though I new she has got some lack of experience and a very unusual face that looks amazing in real life and tough to get a good angle while holding a cam... I went into this not knowing what clothes she is bringing (some extremely limited choices), where we will be shooting (ended up close to where I live at the moment, right by LAX. That location SUCKS! I mean any location should work right? :) right. And I did remember my yesterdays post and kinda laughed at myself :)) We were restricted by the wind (the Octa or any light mod wouldn't just stay, hence - natural light shoot), the sun - which was everywhere at that time of day, EXCEPT the coolest (if that's possible) places to shoot at...
Anyway... So I went ahead and remembered some of the fashion photography that I have seen online lately, which was done on your most common streets. The framing was used to make the most out of the elements that were already present. We had 5 palm trees, A small crowd of kids, watching us, a black SUV and some building in the back...
I also was in a strange mood, thinking about everything BUT taking pictures that day. Lack of sleep after a productive Saturday I guess :)
Anyway, here's a little movie for ya :)
yes, I JUST now discovered that I have Movie Maker on my PC :) lol


PS - just got some responses from multiple forums that "the model is dressed in ugly stuff and "she is not that pretty"... what can I say -
go fuck yourself... please :)

Speaking of Symmetry

a simple hot tub can become something out of a sci fi movie. It's all about the point of view

Making Any Location Work.

Is it a shame when you see a pic at a killer location, like a auto scrap yard or an amazing rain forest or even Stonehenge and the pictures of a model in the midst of it all just suck? Usually it goes like this, and mind you - I was there as well less than a year ago:

1. OOOOOOOOO CHECK OUT THAT TREE!@!!!!@ONE1!11! ITS HUUUUGE!!! Gotta shoot there - Now (Calling up Nansy, a fun friend who could be a model at any given time of day, night and year, dressed or nude (love those friends!)

2. -Ok, ok, ok. Nansy - see that tree? Now... POSE!!

- Uhhm what, Misha?

- I said - Pose!!, Like... do something unusual! We don't want a usual tree shot, they are lame! There are tons of them on POTN and Flickr! :)

3. The girl stands next to the tree, you shoot with the widest lens and while tree is awesome, Nansy is a little bit out of place.

4. -Misha!! I love these photos, Nansy, would say in an hour! -

-Thanks, Nans! I know, I am THAT GOOD!

So... why does this happen over and over again with those who are just starting out and some more or less long term shooters?

It's because you (figurative) don't take your time and don't have a slightest thought about what you are seeing through your view finder. You rush into shooting and usually thinking about all the wrong things like:

Shoot! What lens is sharper in my kit for portraits?

Dang! I need an exact angle of the flash, otherwise it will suck.

Crap! What aperture do I use...

So. people. please. Do NOT think about these things before you have a shot in mind.

Learn how to compose first and this means - Grab your camera with your lens and SCOUT the freakin location. ANY LOCATION HAS A HUGE POTENTIAL. ANY. I'll give some examples later. It is all about how you train your brain to see. Look for unusual ways to see your location.

Crawl, Step on a ladder, lay on your back, jump up - but try to look for ideas that the location has already premade for you. Try to start from some obvious things. If there is a ladder - get a "on-the-ladder-shot", if there's a phone booth - ask your model to enter it and grab the phone.. stuff like this... THEN - take it a notch further. Here's a great way to think about this - if you have seen this done - don't shoot it. Sounds really difficult and it is even more difficult, since you can't imagine anything tha you don't know. So.. take those obvious shots and put your own spin on them.

Here's some ideas right off the bat:

-See a chair or five? Don't sit your model on them - toss them around, make the model throw them, freeze the action.

- See a car tire? Or even better? TIRES? build something from them, put them on top each other, play with the shape of the circle, pose your model to so the round shapes compliment him/her. (a model crawled around a tire could be a cool shot!)

I dunno... see a bus? Set it on fire! (oh ya this is the US, you can't do this here)

Getting arrested for settign a bus on fire? Ask the cops to pose! I mean... think outside the damn box!! (or prison cell) :)

anyway, you get the idea...

The next strategy is my favorite and it works very well when preparing a composed shot.

The strategy is simply called "Simplify everything". Check out the above shots - do i need to explain more?

By the way, this is my apartment complex. A great location for just about anything. Though, there are no shitty locations. There is not enough weed (experience) :)

By the way, the previous pool pics are shot just there and I'll use those pics just to explain things a little.

The first photo is an example of an unusual angle stuff that I just spent 10 minutes typing about. The diagonal lines by her face a shadows from the bystanding palm trees and I think they add some dynamic feel to the pic. The pose is already dynamic enough, almost forced and guess what - I try not to ever crop anything (why waste my precious pixels) I shoot with a shot in mind. Sometimes I don't know what I want, but I have a general idea.

The second shot is simplyfy example. We took a really busy BG and gave it some direction. The walls and the lines of concrete of the apartment complex are shot at an angle and makes the composition a little less "stable" and more dynamic. The angle of the models head is complimenting the lines (or vice versa). The lifesaver is the brightest spot, just for fun and to tell a little story. Also it serves as a "punch", an unusual and somewhat unexpected element which is not out of place, since there a pool there on the same visual plane.

This all sounds like some ultra nerdy stuff and I am a nerd. So forgive me. :)

Note - I don't think about all this bullshit when I shoot. Perhaps I do, but it is all subconsciously processed somehow. Also - I don't claim to be a genius at this, but I merely just try to answer some of the questions that I am being asked here and there by fellow shooters.

So... I know that by reading this theres no way in hell you can learn instantly, but I am hoping that this helps to gain some sense of direction and add the spirit of adventure and fun exploration in your photography.

Lastly - Submit your pics to mikhaylovphoto@gmail.com and I will give you some constructive criticism if you so require. I'll try to have some reviews every week since blogging became somewhat addicting :)

ok - go have a drink - it's Saturday! )

Mariah back stage from Today

Shot Mariah today. TFP - Model Mayhem -etc... :)

the video pretty much tells you how this pic was shot :)

It was a fun day and the only bothersome thing was me giving the model way too many directions as she is rather new to the whole posing deal :))

Just shooting to get some new concepts going. :)

Quadra is in repair so I resorted to the bulletproof lighting of the Deep Octa (no beauty dish is needed with that thing, when you remove the front, leaving the small insert in though)

Зафоткали Мараю (не Кэрри, правда )) сегодня. Ниче так, тфп оно и в Африке ТФП. Зато расслабон и полет фантазии начиненной кофеином )) Все клево - просто задолбался позировать модель, так как девушка она не совсем опытная. И еще с кожей был просто абзац. Я бы показал до Фотошопа, но боюсь это не для слабонервных )))

Мой маленький генератор в ремонте, да и не справился бы с белым солнцем пустыни , так что лупили на 800 Дж. Черт - люблю я когда есть запас мощи в генераторе. Фоткали не очень долго - больше трындели.

Комменты с вопросами - велкам )

How to become a better photographer

Im sorry for the cheezy title but... it's kinda the only one that really fits.

...Apart from shooting all the time... Though I 've seen way too many people who claim that they have 20 years of experience and shoot absolute crap. I mean really, their stuff is so subpar that you feel pretty sorry for them. but apart from that...

How do you become better?

It's about learning how to see what's good and what is not.

All the great photogs show only their best stuff. How do we know that this is their best stuff? We haven't seen the entire session in RAW, right?

Here something interesting starts to happen. If the viewer likes the photo that has been processed and previously selected it means that he/she AGREES with the photographer's point of view. It means that there's some sort of being connection established between the two... The stronger the connection - the better the photo is perceived.

In my understanding to gain this skill of building the connection between the viewer and the photographer, the photographer must develop his artistic perception. All these books on composition and color theory are great, BUT they do not provide you with an ultimate guide of masterpiece creation. They only give you a very very vague sense of direction. Same goes for the comments like - "what camera do you use, or what is your lighting setup". It doesn't matter. What matters is the effect achieved at the certain time in certain conditions. We are not limited by our gear. That's what the manufacturers want us to think. We are only limited by our creativity.

To develop your eye as a photographer you absolutely have to look at the work of others. There will be some works that will stun you with their seeming perfection but once you become more and more experienced, your tastes will also change. What seemed to be almost impossible, in time will be achieved with easy. For me it was balancing the flash and the ambient, for example. It took me WEEKS to understand. Now - it takes me 3-5 shots to get the settings right and get started. No light meters, though it is a great tool. But that's only the technical stuff...

What about the ideas? This is that grey area that no one can really understand... Why do some ideas n a photo are so -so and some - just blow your brains out? Where do ideas like these even come from? I think that they are products of our subconscious which never sleeps and constantly processes stuff we see... So... the better the stuff that you look at - the better you become. :) This seems to be right?

But how to you know who is good and who is not when you have no experience? You don't. But there are critics that have decided for you. The photographers that "everyone"considers "the best" or "classic" are usually a good start. Compare your work to the best of the best. Try to do better. It is possible.

So do register on Flickr, go to PLSR.net, check out Photodom.com. The forums are also great. The people there will do their best to teach you new things...

Be aware that there's no limits to how good you can become. There's no limits to how creative you can be. Think of a shot and then find ways to create it.

Challenge yourself with brainstorming ideas

. Get inspired by movies, books, comics, news, youtube... whatever you can get.

get out there and wow the world with your vision of things!

HERE'S a GOOD START

http://www.lauriebartley.com/ EDITORIAL

http://www.haefnerphoto.com/AUTOMOTIVE

http://www.frazierproductions.com/UNDERWATER FASHION

http://www.lachapellestudio.com/POP ART

http://www.robertmekis.com/ LANDSCAPES

Hallucination

I had only 3 shots at this. First - Quadra didn't fire. I am sending it to Manfrotto hopefully tomorrow.

Second - I didn't catch the guy

Third - Bingo ;)

Usually I wouldn't even do this kind of stuff. But this was a very surrealistic shoot some I was all about reaching this level. Just first baby steps in this direction.

Еще одна фотка из серии. Мы случайно увилили чуваков сигающих со стены и я просто обязан был заснять кадр с этим безумием! Получилось с 3 раза - причем я не считаю этот кадр шедевром. Компо - на треугольниках, дабы подчекнуть динамику и это все на что меня вчера хватило. Просто глядя на это фото мне хочется прохладной Фанты! лето.....

Hesitation

The pic is from the the same day (yesterday).

I saw this giant ice-cream cone and thought it would be cool to snap a couple of shots right in the middle of the line to the kiosk. lol People DO freak out when a model kicks in. Unfortunately I don't have keepers from the fashion poses series, but this pic I do like for some reason. It's like a staged street editorial (new style? nahh!.. )

I did dig the feeling of shooting right in the middle of the crowd.

Lighting - Quadra - bare.

Red White and Blue

Just not my day today I guess... everyone is unhappy with one or two or three things I do in this life... seriously. When I smoked I felt like a criminal for smoking in a bar. They banned that.

When I want to drink a can of beer outside i have to hide like a criminal... since they banned that also... I offer some honest critisism - well... you know the outcome. I try to shoot at the Venice Beach, the land of crazy, I CAN"T!

Wait a minute... there are people jacked up on alcohol, caffeine, weed smoke all over the place, pick pocketing... and... of course some bored authority has to come up and say something about me not being able to shoot here. It's a basketball court for goodness sake... I fucking hate that. no, really, i have no other worlds to describe this feeling.

We shot 31 frames and the makeup took 5 times longer than the actual shoot. I was so bummed that I decided to continue another day. Though I tend to never walk away without a shot. Thank goodness to Donyet (wife), who knows how and when to deploy my EL Quadra, which was bare here (camera left)/ I ended up with about 4 keepers which is really not that bad, considering that the Quadra was acting up a little bit, refusing to dump the excess power.

Anyway... what can I say. I wouldn't be doing personal photography if i don't like it. All aspects of it and especially the outcome. I love this shot. It's my new favorite (this usually happens after each shoot, but that's the whole awesomness of it!) Considering that this was the only jump shot - i love it even more. It's a lucky one. The sky is not edited, in fact there's very little editing here. Just in camera full on contrast and saturation.

Boom!

а теперь перевод на великий и могучий ёмаё!!

По ходу дела сегодня не мой день. Забанили с форума сукибляи вообще тут какая то хрень происходит. Курил - гнали из баров, пытался ныкаться по углам - все равно настигали, демоны! ) Пить пиво на улице из банки - криминал. Фоткать на улице - криминал.. совсемстали прижимать нас фото чуваков в этой стране. Сказали что это стоит 400 баксов чтоб снимать тут... Это баскетбольный сукакорт!! Охуеть... ненавижу всем своим маленьким каменным сердцем их всех...

Эшли и я (м Донъет) отстрелялись всего за 31 кадр. Но мыж не лузеры чтоб уходить без единого кадра! Есть еще 4-5 хорших которые надо обработать, но это занимае недолго. С затемняющими фильтрами клево работать. Надо накупить еще. Elinchrom Quadra на моё офигенное удивление оказался СУКА ярким! ) причем таким что в пол тыка пересилил солнышко.
То что кажется натуральным светом - на самом деле эта маленькая вспышечка. Солнце - сзади модели. в зените почти... Прищлось пожертвовать наличием рефлекторов конечно, но жесткий свет, это наше фсе! )

POTN

So Photography On The Net forum just banned my access to their Glamor and Nude section. The reason - the lack of positive criticism from me. Apparently some people have got thinner skin than I thought. It's a pretty funny method of dealing with people actually.

"Sir - you either be nice to people or there's no amateur porn for you!"

shucks...

I love that forum, it has taught me everything to get started in photography. It has introduced me to some great folks, who later became friends. It's a neat little community

What i don't like about it that it has an EXTREMELY low level of artistic expression. People tend to comment on the SHARPNESS of a photo, rather, then what they feel when they look at it.

WAKE THE HELL UP! OF course it will be sharp! You just spent 10K on your gear, going through a midlife crisis and looking for a new hobby... You LOOOOOVE how IN FOCUS your snaps are. OF COURSE THEY ARE!. That's why your camera costs this much! It CAN focus even if you are a complete retard. Just push the botton - focus and SNAP - you have a sharp SNAP! a 22 megapixel sharp snap... Be happy... (too much diet coke? you tell me...)

I have no idea why it so. I go to European forums - different story. People there are actually trying to create something. I guess that's the culture. Aside from literally a handful of photographers, POTNers are, well... are not really there... Or just don't post their good stuff... Or Maybe I just don't see it. Or maybe I have raised my expectations to a level too high. Whatever it is, the forums folks seem to be more concerned about the L lenses and mark IV cameras than the actual photography.

No one likes to realize that their stuff is not up to par. Especially when they hear it from people they don't know. I got hand slapped for harsh criticism and, frankly it will not affect the quality of my life, nor it would bring me less work.

I am just a little sad that... THERE'S LESS FREEDOM OF VERBAL EXPRESSION IN AN ARTISTICALLY INCLINED COMMUNITY THAN IN A FUCKING COURT ROOM!

it's a private forum, and of course Pekka, the owner has all the rights to set his rules, that are frankly, fair... but somehow... this doesn't really help.

So... from now on. If you are reading this and require constructive and detailed feedback on any piece of your photography feel free to email me your work and it will get posted on this very blog, with detailed review. I'll try to do this once a week or maybe more often.

mikhaylovphoto@gmail.com

this is where you can send me your 800x600 pics.

Gotta run and shoot!

take care.

А теперь по русски!!

Бляб охуеть. пидорасы - гандоны и распиздяи!! ууф - душу отвел ))

Забанили меня из Гламурной фотографии этого Американского форума.

Типа слишком резко критиковал. Блин, ну и что теперь, говорить что кушать подано, садитесь жрать пожаллста?

Все на этом форуме хорошо, кроме того что фотки так ы большинстве своем МЕРТВЫЕ. Ни о чем. "Вот, дескать, посморите мои дорогие форумчане на это фото моего сынишки!" Первый коммент -Ох как резко!б потом, Ох а в фокусе то как!!! я так не умею!. Запостишь размытый абстракный портрет скажут - Отец а че - с фокусом промахнулся?..

БЛЯТЬ!

мертвяки и зомби.

Конечно у тя будет резкая фотка, дядя... Тыж только что слил 10 косарей зеленыз на свой Кэнон марк Четырнадцать! Они для этого и сделаны чтобы фокусироваться быстро и делать резкие фотки!

Ебануться...

Вообщем -

если хотите критике - конструктивной и чесной - шлите свои 800х600 на

mikhaylovphoto@gmail.com

отбирать буду 10 работ наиболее выдающихся как с плохой и хорошей стороны. Все мнения - только мои, но они основанны на сотнях тысяч фотографии которые я видел.

спасибо

PLSR.NET

plsr.net is the website I go for inspiration. daily.

Imagine my surprise when I found my port on the first page.

I'm off to get some booze.

http://plsr.net/best-rated

Before the End of the World

This is a rather personal piece in which Noelle (from MM) had fit rather well. I've always wanted to shoot a somewhat secluded place with a dreamy, china doll-like model, and of course to implement some overpowering the Sun stuff (my favorite!)

We used an Elinchrom Ranger, A Deep Octa (amazing!) with baffles removed and I happened to have an 4x (2stop) ND filters.

the first shot is just a warm up shot that I liked. The conditions were right to try something unusual.

Everything is falling apart

had this idea for a full out shoot, and decided to try it on one of the pics from the previous session.

I've seen some effects where a person is being blown into pixels, but this is a rather blown to pure molecules deal. I tried it via several techniques, and since I couldn't find any tutorials, I just had to improvise. There are some cool debris brushes online and what I did was -

Clone out parts of his body

Pick the debris brushes and clone ON the same body parts but near him, so the colors retain.

very easy, but this is of course is not complete at all. I am still figuring out (actually I know how to do it already) of how to make him more 3d in the parts where he is missing chunks of his body...

Anyway, I'll try this with my model that is coming in on Sunday. I hope she brings some pain meds lolol :)

Nick

Shot Nick today. Not only a great down to earth friend, but a great looking model who is really willing to work and very result oriented.

This was the forst time I shot anything on plain air and boy does it feel good to return "home"!!

no more restricted studios, no mind bending backwards about "what else can we create here near a white wall?" I love shooting outside and all that hard earned cash that went into battery powered systems are paying off (and paying for themselves) with great results that are pleasing to work with and provide seamless workflow. Viva my Rangers! can't say enough how good these things are. There's only one downside - I don't have more of them. And that RX Speed is heavy.

By the way there's a new kid in town

http://www.hensel.eu/PORTY/22-en-55--.html?PHPSESSID=cfe18bf099f8d095d0a3679458219971

but 4 grand for a light????????? Hensel - ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKIN MIND?

oh well...

anyway, so we went out to Kenneth Hahn Park , close to our house and shot a simple "cowboy" jeans ad style like stuff, just to get back into the routine of shooting in the wind and chilly weather (yes, California can be cold, usually because people under estimate the temperature outside and wear t-shirts all the time)

We had a Deep octa with the front removed for harder shadows, to make Nick even edgier and tougher than he already is :)) Orange sunset gave some beautiful color, and yes, it was enhanced just a tad.

The rim was held up at 9 ft by my wonderful wife. Just a wide angle reflected to separate Nick from the BG. i like the results.

The BW image went some processing, that is similar to Dave Hills technique, yet a lot more subdued. It's just so overdone that I had to too give it a try :) There's really nothing tough about this as long as the light is right. Photoshop and high pass filters can only take you so far...

I used NIK suite to process these images. Here's some samples from the shoot.

stupid LA models...

Let me rave firstm since this is my blog and I could give a shit about what people think

So you know what... this is to you all LA models. you know who you are and you suck. You suck for not responding to TFP calls, you, bail, you are not serious, you skin is not clear. oooof... I can't believe how hard it is to get a model for a stupid little project. You either want money (never, unless you are well known), and none of you can shoot implied nudity... repressed sexuality of this country... Once on shoot - you can't model. I have to work VERY hard to get anything out of you...

no acting skills, no imagination AND you want to get paid for that? hell no!

ok I'm done - just had to get ot off my chest.