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Critique Me – Chelsea Johnson
Lifestyle

Remember:
Read How to Critique a Photo
Make a critique sandwich – something positive, something you would have done differently, something positive
My rule: no improvement tip = deleted comment
This will benefit the person leaving the photo critique just as much if not more than the person receiving the critique.

Thank you to Chelsea Johnson for submitting the following image.
Settings: SS 1/500, f/5.6, ISO: 200
177

**December 2nd we will be opening up the list to sign up for the Critique Me Series. To be eligible you must have critiqued at least 2 other images in the series. List is open to the first 12 people who sign up and are eligible. The list will be posted on the blog.**

46 Comments
  • Pam Langevin
    November 25, 2013 at 11:16 AM

    Love the emotion this photo shows! The couple is obviously relaxed. I think I might have reflected a little more light in the couples faces. But truly looking at this image makes me smile.

  • November 25, 2013 at 11:16 AM

    I love the posing of the subjects! Seems very relaxed and natural not too “posed”
    Their faces seem dark and with “hot spots” from the sun -very easy to fix though just pivot them until the sun is off their faces but you have more light. Shoot them with the sun behind them.
    The couple appear very relaxed so you were able to capture that in their expressions that is so important as a photographer to do – make your subjects feel calm and comfortable in front of the camera!

  • Steph Pipes
    November 25, 2013 at 11:24 AM

    Hello! I am a brand new photgrapher myself, so I need help just as much (if not more than) the next guy! So, please take these comments with a grain of salt.
    First of all, I love the tension you created by having these folks looking different directions… it really allows me to make up a story– as all good photographs do! I maybe would have backed myself up a little but, so as not to cut off the lady’s fingers. Finally, I think you did well “filling the frame.” I like the bush next to the gal! I think you have real talent! And Courtney is right, I DID learn a lot just by taking 30 sexconds to do this, so THANK YOU!!

  • Amy
    November 25, 2013 at 11:26 AM

    Love the comfort and happiness that can be seen in their faces. It appears that the photo was taken at a perfect time of day. Just some adjustment away from the sun would get rid of the washed out light on their faces and smooth them out. Overall the picture is lovely and I especially LOVE the way that you decided to show off their wedding rings!

  • November 25, 2013 at 11:32 AM

    I love the emotion that you captured in this photo. I would have upped the exposure on this photo. I really like the variety in the background.

  • Andrea Nelson
    November 25, 2013 at 11:36 AM

    I too love the posing!! I think you captured their relationship in this fun pose. Very sweet! I too am a photographer who is ever learning and not a professional by any means. With that being said, I think you have the idea right of capturing some of that beautiful sunlight. As another viewer stated, I would position them with their back to the suns and if you have a reflector, you can reflect the light on their faces! I also noticed your shutter speed may have been a tad too high which probably caused some of the photo to be dark. No problem though!! Just bump up that exposure in your editing software! Really nice execution though :-)

  • Lillian
    November 25, 2013 at 11:36 AM

    I love the composition of this photo.
    I think I would’ve liked to turn the gentleman’s head a little more to the right and maybe have the wife holding one hand on the other.
    It’s beautiful seeing the love and companionship in this couple’s faces.

  • November 25, 2013 at 11:39 AM

    I love the pose, very natural and the pop of color :)
    I would have increased the ISO for better exposure or maybe change the aperture to 2 something.. :)
    otherwise the lighting is beautiful and such a lovely photo!

  • November 25, 2013 at 11:42 AM

    I really like how your subjects are posed off center and that you made sure their heads are not side by side. They do seem underexposed. You could have lowered your shutter speed, but I wonder if you were worried about blowing out where the sun is strong on their sides, so maybe also angling them a little more would have been even better. But, I really like how they natural and relaxed they seem and it makes the photo feel calm and natural, too. They look like a sweet couple!

  • Melinda Wilkinson
    November 25, 2013 at 11:51 AM

    I love the layout of this picture, with the couple covering the left 2/3, and negative space (is that the right term?) off to the right. The colors seem a bit washed out, I would want the colorful scarf and blue shirt to stand out a bit more. The location is beautiful- it provides great color to the shot, but nothing is overly distracting from the subject.

  • Krissy Chong
    November 25, 2013 at 11:54 AM

    I think its a great photo, however, they could use more lighting on their faces as mentioned above.

  • November 25, 2013 at 12:01 PM

    Love the emotion in this image. Your beautiful subjects are a bit dark. I’d love to see you open up your aperture a stop or two (if you could) and bring up your ISO so that your subjects are brighter. Either a reflector or even using your in camera flash with a (cheap $10 ) light diffuser in front of is would work great in lighting this lovely couple and give you some catchlights in their eyes. Perhaps take one step back while composing or not cropped in as much so we can see her hand on his heart (I ♥ it). Love the backlight, this sweet couple and your capture of a sincere emotion (that’s what it’s all about).

  • November 25, 2013 at 12:02 PM

    Really sweet capture. I would love to have a photo like this of my parents! Shooting in open sky can be challenging. It takes time and practice to get better. I agree with the comments about moving them to reduce the light on their faces. You want nice even light. Then, try to expose better for your subject. So meter off their skin and adjust accordingly. You could have opened up your f/stop, maybe 3.2 or 2.8. But you don’t want to open it up too much because they are on different planes. A f/stop of 2.5 or lower would make one of the subjects out of focus. I don’t think you were trying to create that. If 5.6 is as open as your lens goes, you could bring your shutter speed down to maybe 1/200. They can follow directions and don’t look like they are going any where, so you don’t have to worry about stopping motion. You might blow some of the background but that’s okay. In open sky, it’s better to expose for your subjects. Or…if to fix this image, you can add exposure in post processing. Also, your white balance looks a little cool. Their skin looks grey because the sun is behind them. I would bump that up in post processing too. Lastly, composition…back up a bit. I would suggest including more of her right arm. And, that pole behind the man is bothering me. You could clone that out in Lightroom or PS pretty easily. I hope this helps. I’m sorry it’s so long. When I was new to photography I really appreciated getting honest and helpful feedback. It helped me learn.

  • Jenna Melberg
    November 25, 2013 at 12:03 PM

    I really like the depth of field; it’s not all or nothing and I really like that. On my monitor the people look like they could be warmed up a bit, but hey, that’s on my monitor. I would have cloned out the straight pole that is behind the man. And I get what other people say about the light hitting the people, but that’s what I like about this photo. It doesn’t seem all staged. Beautiful photo. I wish I had one like this with my husband and me as subjects. Thanks for sharing!

  • November 25, 2013 at 12:18 PM

    Great job blurring the background, it really helps them stand out. I love that you chose a nice natural background with no glaring objects to take your attention away from the couple.

    It is a lovely shot as it is however there are a few things I would do to help make this image really pop. I try to eliminate the shadows from their faces. You could use a flash (hold a white business card about 1-2 inches in front to help lighten it up without it being too harsh), or you could use a reflector if you have one. If you are not against post processing I would saturate a little to help the colours stand out. Lastly I would choose to crop them to the right side rather than the left although that is really a matter of personal choice. Try both and see what you like. :)

    I absolutely love the emotion and the pose you have used has a nice balance and they look relaxed. I really love the placement of her hands. Honestly the pose and helping your models feel relaxed it one of the most difficult parts to master so well done. The rest is technical and just requires practice. A great job!

  • November 25, 2013 at 12:33 PM

    Love the composition of this photo and the emotion that is captured. Love the back ground as it adds interest without distracting. I would try and photoshop out that pole (not sure what it is) in the back so it’s just landscape. Warming them up a bit may draw the eye to the subjects a little more.

    Great capture and focus as you can tell the love between them.

  • Rachel
    November 25, 2013 at 12:38 PM

    So sweet! I love the happy, natural expressions :). It might have been nice to use a reflector to light up their faces. Also I really like the light on the reeds behind them, and I wonder if you could have composed a little differently to include more of them or even framed the couple with them. Great moment captured here! :)

  • November 25, 2013 at 12:40 PM

    I love how happy and genuinely in love this couple looks, you did a great job with posing them to make them feel comfortable.

    I think you could have turned them just a smudge more towards the sun, not so much that its on their eyes but so that it gives them a bit of a catch light and adds dimension to their face which has fallen a bit flat without enough lighting

    I think you did a great job of using the 1/3 rule and having them on the side allows the eye to draw more attention to them as the focus point!! I love this picture it is beautiful!!

  • November 25, 2013 at 12:53 PM

    I love the composition on this one and the closeness and the happiness. This is definitely a candidate for shooting at the edge of open shade or using a fill flash. Unfortunately, their faces are way too dark and there are no catchlights in their eyes. I will use one of my kids and either walk around them to see how the light is hitting them or have them slowly turn so I can determine how I want them positioned. I wonder what was behind you when taking the picture? Maybe a dark wall or something? If it was a light wall, it might have reflected more light back at them. Also, I wish the man’s head was turned a little more towards the camera. The woman’s eye contact is spot on. I wonder if you could try to photoshop the foreground of this picture to add some more light. It is really a nice picture!

  • November 25, 2013 at 1:01 PM

    Love the scarf!!! A perfect carefree accessory! Invest in a reflector and perhaps an assistant and you’ll be so happy you did! Including the woman’s hands in the image is also a plus! :)

  • November 25, 2013 at 2:33 PM

    You did a great job of capturing a moment. Your subjects look comfortable, happy, and at ease. Their skin is a little dark and underexposed. Try spot metering off your subjects so that the skin and eyes are brighter. Great job with nice moment!

  • November 25, 2013 at 2:34 PM

    I too really like the relaxed subjects, but would reflect a a little more light on their faces etc. Nice work. I also am new to this kind of photography. Blessings.

  • Traci
    November 25, 2013 at 2:58 PM

    I really like the how at ease they both are, and seems as if this is not “too posed”. It look as if maybe the lovely lady could of been sitting on this gentleman’s lap. If so, I think that would of just made this a better photo by backing up a bit and capturing her on his lap. That way her hand would not of been cut out of the frame. Also, i might have used a reflector to fill in the shadows on their faces. Great job on catching the familiarity between these too.

  • Liz
    November 25, 2013 at 3:32 PM

    As you’ve heard, this pose is great! The lighting is also really great. The photo is a little underexposed, I think, which can be fixed with some post processing, or in camera. The harsh brights are a bit harder to fix later, so you need to watch out for them. If you warm up the white balance just a little, this photo will be absolulutely awesome with a rich sunset feel, especially with the great depth of field you have. Just a couple easy fixes! Great work!

  • Cheryl Sewell
    November 25, 2013 at 4:29 PM

    It’s a great memory photo as it is. I think if you don’t want to interfere with the “moment” sometimes you have to move yourself around to a different spot. For me, I would want less sky since it’s brightness affects the overall exposure, so moving to the left or right might get rid of some or all of it. Every situation is different, but we can usually move the camera to a more advantageous spot if we try.

  • Cathie
    November 25, 2013 at 4:46 PM

    What a beautiful photo. Don’t think I would have changed the pose of the couple a bit. Maybe positioned them with the sun behind a little more and reflected some nice light into their faces or upped the exposure a little. And I would definitely remove that pole behind the gent. There is such lovely landscape around them, and that pole needs to go. Lovely pose though. The look relaxed and happy. :)

  • November 25, 2013 at 7:12 PM

    There is something organic and natural about your photo I love the love you captured right off the bat. A little more exposure and that would do the trick. The picture as a whole is beautiful:) great work!

  • November 25, 2013 at 7:45 PM

    Great emotion and closeness. The light behind them is great, but if you don’t want to use a diffused flash (pros and cons) or a slave or other lighting, I would suggest a simple reflector in front of them or a white board of some kind to lighten their faces. Depending on how close you are and what lens you may be able to place a white cardstock or foamboard in front of yourself or propped up to reflect a little light back on them. Not much else I’d change other than the lighting on them. Great shot.

  • Tina Carlson
    November 25, 2013 at 7:50 PM

    I agree with the emotional feeling this picture has…very sweet looking moment. I think the WB is a little cool and would warm up a tad…possibly if you could have “rotated” them clock wise just a bit to have more back light and then not the pillar or post in the picture as well. But overall, it is sharp, great subject matter! I would bet they would like this one framed!!

  • November 25, 2013 at 8:27 PM

    I love the closeness of the subjects and the love it invokes! I would, turn up the darks and shadows a bit, turn the temp up on the yellows, add a little clarity, add contrast. I love the grasses in the background. Great image!

  • November 25, 2013 at 10:36 PM

    This is a great photo!! I love how you captured so much emotion in this image! These two look very happy together. I think maybe you could bump the exposure up just a tiny bit, maybe raise your ISO a little, so it isn’t quite so dark around their faces. I also really like your composition, how you used the rule of thirds, and the pretty blurred background!!

  • November 25, 2013 at 11:01 PM

    Love the lifestyle feel of the image.
    I think getting more light on their faces by either pivoting their bodies or even bumping your ISO and spot metering on their faces could give you more of a bright image. Possibly a slower SS (1/200?) would let more light in.
    Fill the frame and rule of thirds…fantastic!

  • November 26, 2013 at 1:35 AM

    i like the setting; seems very peaceful. i probably would have stepped back a bit, gotten a little bit more of the setting and the body language of the subjects. i think if i could see more of their bodies i would really like the natural feel/relationship that is shown. i would also have tried to get more light on the subjects’ faces. you could use a fill flash, a reflector or turn their position a bit. i really like the subjects and the emotion that is shown. great capture.

  • Elisa marks
    November 26, 2013 at 2:01 AM

    Sweet and playful couple. I find the pole behind his head and the tree behind half of her head distracting. You could have probably shifted them a bit, still had the beautiful bush beside her and more open sky behind. They seem geninuely happy to pose for you. Nice work.

  • Maggie Nolan-Thibault
    November 26, 2013 at 8:48 PM

    I love the coloring, especially the bush, the woman’s hair and her scarf. I would adjust the pose just a wee bit so that the pole doesn’t look like it’s coming out of the man’s head. I also struggle with shadows and don’t often see them until I’m editing way after the shoot. I like how relaxed they look and wonder how you get men particularly to relax and cooperate, my husband and son do not at all!
    Very sweet photo.

  • November 28, 2013 at 3:58 PM

    What I really like about this photo is that it looks so natural! I also love how you positioned your models in the frame. What disturbs me is the background. For my eye there is to much going on. Also you models are a little bit under-exposed. Depending on your style this could be a arty and absolute right. It’s just that I like to light up my models a little bit more ;-)

    Hope that helps!

  • Nuala
    November 29, 2013 at 8:16 PM

    I love how you were able to capture them- they look so happy and natural! I think I would bump up the shutter speed to brighten the couple, and maybe take a step or two back to give more space around the subjects. The location is gorgeous! It reminds me of warm Summer evenings. :)

  • Brigitte
    December 1, 2013 at 10:39 PM

    I love the subjects in this picture. They seem to be so deeply in love and enjoying their life together so much. I think this image could stand to use a touch of warming up. Maybe blurring the background to bring the couple into the “spotlight” even more with a warm glow. I think you have really mastered the technique for capturing the true spirit of the people you’re working with! Your POV is great!

  • Angela
    December 2, 2013 at 1:28 PM

    I can see why you picked this spot, what a beautiful setting. I like the posing of them. I might try taking a step back to get a little bit more of them so that the composition of them to the side is stronger. I also love the side lighting, great choice. With the side lighting, I find that the shadows may be harsher, I think they look a bit underexposed and a little cool. Both of those can be corrected in post processing. Overall, I think you have a reat shot, congrats!

  • December 3, 2013 at 11:19 AM

    What a cute couple! I love how relaxed they both look with the photographer, and the posing is great! Too bad it looks like the sky was blown out that day. You can always use photoshop or Gimp to add a pretty sky in :). Here’s a youtube tutorial for that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0W2pi6-gQQ

    After I started noticing skies, I started taking photos of the sky on pretty days to use for later! Best case scenario, photographers would always have perfect weather, but I like a backup plan just in case :).

  • December 3, 2013 at 3:25 PM

    Lovely image. I love that the couple seems to be having a moment to themselves that you were able to capture. I think you should have the woman turn just a bit to avoid having the light spot on her face, and I would try to get more light reflected on their faces to warm up the image a bit. I love the location! The golden grass shoots in the back are lovely with the light hitting it just so.

    Thanks for sharing your image with us!!

  • December 5, 2013 at 11:01 AM

    I really enjoyed the way you posed this sweet couple; relaxed and intimate. They seem to be comfortable with each other and with you. The composition is done well too. I can see the rule of thirds rule used here with a nice background. I also like that time of day you used. The light is definitely not as “harsh”.
    The couple’s faces seem to take on a darker look. I would place my subjects with the light behind them and either use fill in flash or a reflector.
    Keep clicking and learning. You’re almost there!

  • December 5, 2013 at 5:46 PM

    I like the framing of the image. The pose is a really great pose to show the love between the two. It’s young and fresh. I really like that. :) I would increasing the ISO for this image and also change the white balance to accommodate the low light. I love the light rays coming in from the side as well. If you increase the exposure a bit, the light will become radiating and frame the image a bit better. Really great photo overall :)

  • Danica
    December 29, 2013 at 9:12 PM

    I like how happy the couple is. I would have used a different exposure setting to lighten the faces a bit. The variation of colors is amazing. You did a good job. :-)

  • Susan
    January 18, 2014 at 10:50 AM

    Great job posing the couple. I think it feels candid and relaxed.

    I think using a reflector (doesn’t need to be a fancy – a white posterboard works too) would add a lot to this image. It would bounce clean, white light onto the faces of the subjects and help direct the eye to the faces of your subjects.

    Overall, a wonderful image – in what appears to be a challenging lighting situation!

  • Meg
    April 7, 2014 at 1:18 PM

    Love the emotion in this cute couple!

    The lighting seems a little dark so I would try lighting it up in lightroom or photoshop. Also the picture doesn’t seem to be as clear as it could be. I would try changing the shutter speed to get a sharper image.

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