What do you think of my photos and where do you think i should do next?

[Maddicat]

Hi there,I would like to ask you what do you think of my photos.I have been doing photography for about a year and I am interested in your opinion.If you have any ideas,suggestions or comments please let me know.Also i am wondering what sort of things can i do them . I have a very popular facebook page of 5700 likes but little comments.
there are two ways for you to view my work:
1) http://www.facebook.com/caths.photography
2) http://www.cathsphotography.com.au
Have a look and let me know
Many thanks

[deep blue2]

A bit of a mixed bag tbh. Quite a few show exposure & composition issues. Some are quite pleasing, but none have the wow factor.

You need to develop a critical eye to be able to recognise the weaker shots and prune these out. Post only the very best.

Work on getting stronger compositions, play with exposure more - if you are shooting in any Auto mode then experiment with exposures rather than take what the camera gives you. Learn about lighting and how that affects the feel of your images & begin to take some control of that.

[screwdriver]

Where are the people in your portfolio? You are asking for customers, but we don't see any examples, I would like to see some studio work and how you light your subjects.

Flower shots are easy and are easily boring, you don't seem to have paid much attention to the backgrounds which are 'fussy' or to the lighting, controlled cross lighting adds texture and makes the images more 3D. I always carry a piece of black felt to use as a backdrop for flower close-ups, black emphasises contrast in your subject and eliminates any fussy background, makes your viewer focus on the subject which, of course, is the flower, give it a try.

This was taken as a title shot for a video, but it shows what I mean

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris-judge...hotostream

Alter your camera angle more, most are shot from a standing position, getting low can add drama especially to your (very good) HDR shots (I love the Old Railway Station shot).

Having something in the foreground of Landscape shots adds depth, pay more attention to the light, when is often more important than what in Landscape which is why dawn and dusk are so loved by Landscape photographers. Try HDR in your dusk shots and get some detail into the trees. Add people into your shots, to draw the eye, adds interest and scale.

Your a good photographer, but I would like to see more people. A lot of Pro photographers suffer from a lack of experiment, trying something different, you can get into a rut of what sells, but expanding your techniques filters down into your 'day job' too. (experience talking).

One of the best pieces of advice I ever had was to photograph 'bits of things' the rusting door catch, the peeling paint etc. and to get contrasty light into the shots. Making a few AV presentations or shooting video helps, the Old Railway Station could be a portfolio in itself, just by photographing 'bits of things', the discipline of getting 50 shots of a subject for an AV really improves your 'seeing', spotting subjects other photographers walk past, mastering flash and modifying the lighting is something that comes from studio photography, but can be applied in all your shots, but it definitely lifts your photography above the average, and your ready for it - you're good enough, you just need to get more creative (look at other peoples work) and to take more interesting subjects, develop your 'seeing'.

Chris

[VanReitgen]

your signature made me run away immediately. sorry

[andy w]

A lot of very average shots, quite a few below average and maybe one or two good shots.
The ridiculous watermark needs to go or at least reduce the opacity and for crying out loud get rid of the "please registaer - visual watermark" on a lot of the shots.

What should you do. Make your shots more interesting, learn how to focus (many of the shots seem soft) and do a proper and "tough" edit of your work so you are only showing the very best shots.

Some you should get rid of straight away
Cp10,14,35,45,46,68-70, 134, and all the flower shots.
That is just the ones I noticed straight away with a quick look.

There are others you should sort out but I am not going through them all.

Likes on facebook are meaningless in the big scheme of things.
Paying customers are what you need and I doubt you have 5700 of those.

[Jeremy]

"Likes" on Facebook does not equal talent or skill.

1. Get rid of the watermark. It's distracting.
2. You could realistically remove 1/2 to 3/4 of your images, and not lose anything. You've got multiple images of the same flower or same scene, just at different angles. In one case, you have 3 images in a row, each one being closer to the flower than the previous. This is excessive. Pick 1, and be done.
3. Stop with the selective color, and stop with the selective focus.
4. In a lot of cases, you over process the photos in post.
5. Your portraits of people need a lot of work, they are not good at all.
6. You need to work on your actual photography skills. Your focus is off. Your composition is not good at all. Your lighting is horrible.
7. Pick more interesting subjects. Floral images are boring, unless you are an exceptional photographer, and can do something exceptional with the image. Your floral shots look like something anyone with a point and shoot could do. Same with most of the shots in your portfolio.

I do not see anything in your portfolio that hints at the fact you are a photographer. I wouldn't be able to tell them apart from someones random snapshots or some persons vacation pics. Take the time to get to know how to properly photograph an image; master your craft. Trim your portfolio down to only the best images; don't have multiple shots of the same thing.

[Ara57]

FB is not populated entirely by talented photographers, and having likes does not amount to having good skill. I will say that I liked a few that were scattered through your many pictures there. Some I might have liked better without the silly post processing.

You are showing too many pictures. Too many that are actually the same shot or nearly the same. You are showing too many with problems in exposure, composition and framing. Your watermark is distracting and unnecessary. You are already "doing" too much to your pictures. Put down that awful blur effect and stop the selective coloring. You had some landscapes that would have been OK without the selective color thing. Leave the lame special effects for the 14 year olds on Instagram. Flowers are pretty, colorful and make good subjects for beginning photographers. Looking at dozens of average/mediocre flower shots is simply mind-numbing after a few. To be fair, flowers are hard to make exciting. Here is a gallery of mostly good/excellent flower photography:

http://photo.net/gallery/photocritique/filter

Your portraits are especially weak. Most seem to be snapshots of your children, which is fine if you are just showing them off. I show lots of pet and grandkid snapshots on FB and Flickr myself. But if you are looking to get clients, you need to eliminate the ones with fatal exposure problems like blown highlights on the face, or awkward posing.

Yours are not the most awful photos I have ever seen by any means, but they are largely average and many contain some beginner problems. What I think you should do next is to invest some time and effort into learning the basics. Taking a class is a great idea, or join a local group or club for the education, mentoring and feedback. If that is not possible, photography lends itself well to self-study. There are lots of books in the library on basic photography and composition. Many good on-line sites as well. Google "photography tips" and you will find lots of sites, including these:

http://www.exposureguide.com/photography-tips.htm

http://digital-photography-school.com/

http://photography.nationalgeographic.co...NavPhoHome

http://asp.photo.free.fr/Composition/pho...ss01.shtml

Continue to learn and practice, and have fun. Photography is fun and rewarding for a lifetime. Best wishes and happy shooting!

[Rick]

Cath - For an amateur your pictures are a little above average. Do not get influenced by FB likes, they say nothing about your photography. What is your goal? My opinion is that you have potential and need to shoot a little better and more variety. Also, try to avoid creating trite pictures. For someone that has been doing this for a year you are doing well. Keep shooting.

[M]

Most of them, such as the tree branches, are quite boring, and look like random shots to me.
The flowers should probably be sharper, unless that's as good as quality as your camera gets.

Like everyone else said, their only okay, not great, and doesn't have any wow factor.

[zorro1701e]

y said, you are missing the wow factor.
who is your client base?
zoos?
pet stores?
national geographic?
you need to ask yourself who you want to sell to.
the pictures are ok, but stay away from the far away pictures of animals. the close ups show way more promise