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Critique Me-Jessica’s Photography
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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 critique just as much if not more than the person receiving the critique

If you are ready to hear the good and not so good about your photos please read Submit Your Photo for Critique.

Thank you to Jessica of Jessica’s Photography for submitting this week’s photo.
Settings: ISO 400, SS 1/160, f/18

12 Comments
  • September 18, 2011 at 7:09 AM

    A great photo with a great subject. I like the overall composition.
    I would suggest that the left bottom corner is too dark. My eyes were drawn to that section because it was so dark. I would perhaps open it up in LR and boost the exposure just a bit, “fill light” a little, then turn up the color, saturation, and luminance just a tweak.
    I love how you can see for such a broad area! Beautiful photo.

  • September 18, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    The composition of the photo is very nice. I like the way the Eiffel Tower draws your eye up. I agree with Ashlyn about the corner being too dark. The trees need to be greener. I have no experience in LR; but you also use the smart brush tool in PSE to brighten them up. I really love the sky too; the color and the clouds are just beautiful.

  • Debbie
    September 18, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    Love how the Eiffel Tower is positioned off center. I agree with the other two posts concerning the dark bottom corner. I would use LR to lighten the exposure & boost the saturation for the trees to pop out more. I also like the different lines in the picture: the vertical line of trees and the diagonal lines of the buildings in the bottom right corner.

  • September 18, 2011 at 3:49 PM

    What a beautiful photo! The composition is so visually interesting with the lines of the tree area and the Eiffel Tower leading your eye and with the dimension added by the buildings. The clouds in the sky also add a nice backdrop. My suggestion would be to warm up the white balance on the buildings in the foreground with something like the adjustment brush in Lightroom and punch up the sky a bit with something like the gradient tool in Photoshop. The framing of the photo has great balance with the tower on the right and a nice amount of space all around it. Your photo makes me want to go to this place and see what you saw, very inspiring. Thank you for sharing!

  • Andie
    September 18, 2011 at 8:57 PM

    I really like that the tower is off centre. However rather than lightening the bottom of the image as above comments suggest, I would crop the photo so that the horizon line follows the rule of thirds and sits on the bottom third.
    Its a great angle to have shot the tower from, something different than usual :)

  • September 18, 2011 at 9:13 PM

    What a beautiful way to remember what you have seen Jessica, this certainly is an iconic picture. I’m so pleased that the sky has been kind to your image, with both colour and creating soft contrast to the man made city below. Though I think there is room to saturate the blue sky just a little.
    I agree with what others have shared completely. The sun is creating some great shaddows on the tower itself, also giving the buildings some great texture. The treet lined with trees (lower left) a little dark for me also. My eye keeps wanting to go there, rather than to the tower. I would crop some of that out, which would mean losing some of the foreground but this may be helpful in making a stronger image with a horizon that is less central to the image (rule of thirds).
    Love that you used a high f. I feel drawn in to see as far as they eye can go. What an amazing city!

  • September 18, 2011 at 11:38 PM

    what a wonderful view. Being I dream of one day visiting Paris this is beautiful. For me something I would prob. do is zoom in for more detail on the Tower or do a street level shot. Excuse me while I daydream a bit more on this view

  • September 19, 2011 at 10:15 AM

    I do love the composition of the photo. GORGEOUS!! I also love the lighting in this photo. I agree with the others that the bottom left is a little dark, but I am not sure I would up the exposure, as the exposure on the tower itself is good. I would consider cropping the lower section just a bit to eliminate some of the darkness and to lower the horizon closer to the bottom third of the photo vs. cutting it in half.

    I actually think boosting the contrast making the lighting more dramatic would improve this photo greatly with a slight increase in brightness. Increasing contrast will cause the tower to pop and will really strengthen the way you captured the light falling on the tower camera right and shadows on the tower camera left. It would also help the clouds to pop.

    Lastly, I would take a look at the WB….the photo still has a slight blue hue to it.

    I do just love the way the buildings are positioned and how they draw my eye straight to the tower and it continues through the top of the photo. Now, I want to go to PARIS..Oh wait, I already did.

  • September 23, 2011 at 10:14 PM

    Thank you all so much for your comments and critiques on my photo! I look forward to improving my skills and having more critiques done in the future! Again thank you!

    Looking back at this photo about 6 weeks after taking it, I agree that the corner is a little dark, but as I have limited skills in Lightroom or Photoshop I really didn’t know how to fix that (without cropping). Thank you for the tips in this area!

  • January 23, 2012 at 3:05 PM

    Jessica,

    First off, I’m super jealous you got to go to Paris! That is my dream city to go and photograph. Oh, a girl can dream!

    I like the composition and how you placed the Eiffel Tower in the upper right third of the image. Love how you included the tree lined streets. I agree, that part is dark, my guess is because the building you were in was casting a shadow. Do you have LR? If so, are you familiar with the adjustment brush at the top?? If so, I would use that to lighten it up.

    The sky looks great with the clouds which is really hard to capture without blowing out so great job!!

    Have you tried this image in black and white? I think it could give it a classic feel. Leaving the viewer to wonder when it was taken…the 20s? 50s? What a wonderful memory from what I can only image was an amazing trip!!

  • August 14, 2012 at 4:46 AM

    Thank you for sharing your beautiful shot. I love how you have positioned the tower to the right of the picture. Good composition here. I would love to see the tower being more of the feature, so perhaps taking off 1/3rd off the bottom of the pic where it is dark, so it was more about the tower. The colour in the sky would possibly look more enthralling if more saturation of colour was used her. Basically a beautiful pic, I want to book my ticket to Paric now!!!
    Thank You for sharing :-)

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