Any advice on this picture?

[EmilyBunny1234]

http://www.virtualteen.org/forums/album.php?albumid=4531&pictureid=26121

Thanks for any advice! It means a lot! (:

[Destructive Impulse]

I don't mean to offend but the color you choose is terrible. I mean its a sickly orange color and it's not at all flattering. It also doesn't have a clear focus point

[Steve Jobs]

Colour, focus, contrast, composition.
Not much more to say really, there's potential in this shot but needs work for sure.

[dreamer18xx]

You look pretty and I'm not a artist but I think you should pick a better color? Black and white always look good?? :)

[EmilyBunny1234]

Okay I took your guys advice..Does this one look better?
http://www.virtualteen.org/forums/album.php?albumid=4531&pictureid=26145

I tried to add a focal point making the eye the brightest part.

[Steve Jobs]

Isn't this the same photograph? You cannot fix an unfocused image in post, ever.

[ImCoolBeans]

Are you asking from an artistic approach or a "Facebook profile pic" approach. Because I think it's a typical profile photo that you'd see on a social site of some type; but artistically it really doesn't have anything going for it. There is no true composition, it's not totally in focus, the true subject is a bit unclear and there are no principals or elements of design coming into play. You didn't use lighting to your advantage, there is no depth of field (which can be okay, but in that case the foreground should be in focus) and there is nothing to catch anybodies eye such as; repetition, use of color, lighting, pattern, texture, emotion, etc...

If you want to take artistic shots I would start from the ground up and begin to study compositional elements, others artists work (famous photographers and amateurs on sites like flickr/devientart) and I would also try to shoot a wide variety of things to get a better idea of what compositions are effective and which are not.

Keep in mind that the more pre-production work you do will reduce the amount of editing you need to do in the end, because let's face it, over-edited photos are tacky, and are not artistic nor are they accepted as strong artistic pieces. If I were to submit a heavily or poorly edited piece in with my AP portfolio, the AP board would probably have a good laugh at me. By pre-production I mean planning and set up work as apposed to post-production work such as editing. I rarely ever edit my photos, unless I'm making them B&W, because unless you're going for something specific and you're very good at it, shopped pictures don't look so hot. Take the time to set up or plan your shoots. Spontaneous photos can be great too, in fact some of the best shots are spontaneous and totally unplanned, but while learning about composition and artistic elements, planned shoots are good exercises to teach you these things.

[Steve Jobs]

Are you asking from an artistic approach or a "Facebook profile pic" approach. Because I think it's a typical profile photo that you'd see on a social site of some type; but artistically it really doesn't have anything going for it. There is no true composition, it's not totally in focus, the true subject is a bit unclear and there are no principals or elements of design coming into play. You didn't use lighting to your advantage, there is no depth of field (which can be okay, but in that case the foreground should be in focus) and there is nothing to catch anybodies eye such as; repetition, use of color, lighting, pattern, texture, emotion, etc...

If you want to take artistic shots I would start from the ground up and begin to study compositional elements, others artists work (famous photographers and amateurs on sites like flickr/devientart) and I would also try to shoot a wide variety of things to get a better idea of what compositions are effective and which are not.

Keep in mind that the more pre-production work you do will reduce the amount of editing you need to do in the end, because let's face it, over-edited photos are tacky, and are not artistic nor are they accepted as strong artistic pieces. If I were to submit a heavily or poorly edited piece in with my AP portfolio, the AP board would probably have a good laugh at me. By pre-production I mean planning and set up work as apposed to post-production work such as editing. I rarely ever edit my photos, unless I'm making them B&W, because unless you're going for something specific and you're very good at it, shopped pictures don't look so hot. Take the time to set up or plan your shoots. Spontaneous photos can be great too, in fact some of the best shots are spontaneous and totally unplanned, but while learning about composition and artistic elements, planned shoots are good exercises to teach you these things.

Hahaha Mikey.. people in my university photography class are turning in those whorographs. I know exactly what you mean. Very well said and good you don't overdo post at all. The boss of the studio I worked for always frowned on post.

[Thunduhbuhlt]

It isn't there anymore, so yeah.