Regal – Critique

Our photo for this week’s critique is “Regal.”  It’s shows a pink and purple flower.  I believe it’s a peony but I’m not certain.  The picture was taken in June.  Let’s discuss what works well and what needs improvement.

I love the sharpness of the pink flaky petals.  You can see the details in the petals like the smooth texture and the transition in colour.

Speaking of colours, the colours in this photo rock.  The different shades of pink are the stars of the show.  Bold purple petals lie behind the pink centre and creates a beautiful background.

Here, the focus isn’t on the exact centre of the flower.  Should I have focused in the centre? Would that make a better photo?

This was a very tight, close-up shot of the flower.  Am I too close?  Would backing up a bit help with the composition?

Please let me know what you think!  Thanks!

Tropical Beach – Critique

For this week’s critique, we will look at “Tropical Beach.”  It’s a close-up photo of a fire hydrant near my place.  The photo was taken in mid-May.  Let’s go over its strengths and weaknesses.

This photo is purely about colours.  You can see that it has a dual colour scheme, turquoise and yellow.  The colours are in opposition: warm yellow clashing with cool turquoise.

This photo is also purely about shapes.  We can distinctly see squares and circles dominate in this picture.

I think this photo suffers from a focusing problem.  It would have been better if the background was also in focus.

Would the composition be stronger if I had placed the square in centre? Does the present placement work, or would a symmetrically centred photo look better?

Please let me know what you think!  Thanks!

 

Looker – Critique

Our photo for this week’s critique is “Looker.”  It shows Summerhill, a stately house on Queen’s campus.  The photo was taken in mid-May.  Let’s go over what works and what could be improved.

The photo clearly shows off the neoclassical architecture of the building.  We can clearly see the beautiful white columns, the elegant curvature, and precise stone work.

I also like the greenery on the right side.  The foliage from the tree branches adds a nice touch of nature to the otherwise man-made structure.

The Biology building in the background spoils the beauty of photo.  I just don’t like the drab brown facade of the it behind Summerhill and the trees.

This photo looks very gloomy.  The overcast sky is likely responsible for this.  Bright sunshine would have improved the overall mood of the photo.

Please let me know what you think!  Thanks!

Pretty in Pink – Critique

This week’s critique is on “Pretty in Pink.”  It’s a photo of pink and white blossoms.  It was taken in mid-May of this year near my house.  Let’s discuss its strengths and weaknesses.

I think one of its strengths is its image quality.  The photo is sharp, and you can see fine details in the flowers.

If you have been following my critiques, you would know that I often don’t like my backgrounds especially for my flower shots.  Surprisingly, I actually like the background of this photo.  I like mottled appearance of it and the three simple colours: white, pink and green.

The exposure is potentially a weakness here.  Some parts of the photo, particularly the white petals near the top, look like they are slightly overexposed.

The composition could have also been improved.  This is a very lopsided photo.  Most people would pay attention to the right side.  I think moving the flowers a tad to the left would help this.

Please let me know what you think!  Thanks!