Lessons

Lesson Info

Advertising Critique Part 3

This one the first thing I jumped to his wives or foot cut off when there's so much room on the other side and then why is that sulfuric looking smoke coming out of the back of her? I mean, I like smoke and I like backwards smoke and the feeling of it, but in this one I'm starting to smell sulfur and it's just a personal thing someone else may see a completely different I love smoke in fact, that there was I don't even know who the photographer was that was doing smoke there's a photographer by the name of a kirstie mitchell from england if you get a chance, check out this girl's website she will make you want to kill yourself. I'm seriously I mean, her work is like crazy, outrageous, the most amazing things I've ever seen in my entire life. Christine mitchell from from bank from the uk amazing stuff, but she does stuff with smoke and it is just fabulous. I love the idea and I want to commend the maker for being willing to try something different. I'm nuts about that and I want you to ...

continue to explore this because I like where you're going you haven't got there yet, but I love where you're going to and here is why I have a few a few issues with it it's like you weren't sure it's like you want to try a bunch of stuff it's like you're making a cake and you have all the ingredients but you really know how to put them together yet and here's where that to me there's a couple of issues number one these leaves in this part of treatment are so sharp it's like this this is real moody and misty and just kind of threw that is sharp it's it's like this is just there so if this was just the scene right here the second thing that bothers me is the pose on this young lady because the main lights coming from this area all of the light is coming right here and so I have a hard time even getting to her face so I would like to see you if you had in my opinion had sat her up or even had her stand and have that smoke kind of swirling around her I think that you would have an image that would look much more mysterious and it would be much more we would much more want to buy into it does that make sense? There's another one area where maybe a smaller light instead of a big broad soft soft light which I can't tell you exactly what was used here but if there was a maybe a a light with a grid on it grids like a honey comb that just direct light straight maybe piece of diffusion material over the honeycomb is just just hitting her face to bring the face up a little bit and take tone down his bambi said the dress is a little bit he would pop it up more, but just watch the cropping and when you're using those little smoke bombs, you would be really careful with them because the first of all, you don't have very much time with the smoke bombs they last maybe something some of them less after three minutes I have a variety of different ones, some of them last, like literally fifteen seconds and still go poof that's about it, but they can they stay in like crazy. So you want to be careful how you use them, you know, because they can really stay in fabric in such patty had a question that is just wondering if there's a rule of thumb when do you smoke? Do you light from behind from the side or cider behind behind behind? It gives that translucent quality that really looks good for smoke. You saw that in the black and white of the guy smoking the cigar, it looked like it was lit from behind. Great if you're waiting like that flight it's just going to bisa model background, the other thing here is her left hand where is it? Can you make out for me? Is she holding something? I can't see she just got her hand up like this. If I don't really see that she's got a hand. Yeah, there's a green highlight on the back of the neck that I thought might have been a flower stem, but no, I think it's just the highlight. Yes, and again bringing the fingers so you can see some of the fingers so it doesn't look like the hands been cut off and part of the problem for me in this matter, because of the angle of the lighting it's hard to even see that she has arms, and that big area on her chest is flattening out and it's not very flattering. There's the biggest problem with this photograph and again, I really but mar the maker for being willing to try something new is the fact that the photograph itself, the young lady is a bit too literal she's a bit too portrait e and then the rest of it is kind of more ethereal, and so she had. The post has to fit the context, and this it doesn't drop, drop the saturation or vibrance a little bit, too, and just even it out a little bit on you, and I think she looked a lot better. So I'd love to see the maker do this again for the next critique. I want you to do this again, because when I first popped up, I said, well, that and then I saw and then I started noticing things around the edges. It's and another one were the cropping. I feel it is a little off there, his knees so close to that edge. Do we really need to see the full so it's? Well, edge of the gown? I mean, I'm not sure as a fashion wedding photographers and important to get to the edge of the gown there and sacrifice the other side of the image and that tree is just hitting the top of her head. Yeah, this I think it's croft a little bit too loosely, but that's actually not that big problem to me. I mean, I agree with you, john, that that those elements that would pull it back a little bit for me, what I love about this photograph is I love the way I love the harmony of the couple in the environment. I think that works. I like the fact that that the background is a bit softer and I like the ground being a bit softer. What I have a problem with is that it's such a high mom picture and it doesn't seem to I'd love to see them route I'd love to see it less literal hey mom, looking in the camera like, for instance, for her specifically, I kind of like almost would like to see her if he's out there in that lounge or in that in that chair, I'd love to see her just kind of like lounging around it just kind of like leaning up against it from the side here, so I could see a little bit more of what's going on with her and just kind of like maybe looking even over her she's wearing we're in commercial advertising now, and I think there's too much connection with them that they hear where, if they could be even looking each other, even if he was looking up now, which is looking down on him and your because you're here for the every time you want to sell the feeling you don't want to sell the couple, you know, you want to be able to put yourself in place of that couple, but here when they're making this eye contact with you, they are them, they're not me or not viewer, you know, that is such a good point, john, because and for even for wedding photographers, that is an important element in this photograph that's missing is that because it's kind of quirky I would want to buy is hey, you know, I love what that couple did that's kind of fun, but because the photographer made it a hi mom, picture them looking in the camera, then is more about them as personal as john just mentioned with it what's going on with his hair is theirs. Did she put something in his hair or is that a highlight? I mean, if she put something this here, I'd like you to be playing with it, you know, and just making a fun thing out of it there, so I think it just needs to be a bit more playful if given the context, but still very fun and very again, when you're doing competitions, you have to take into account what category aaron I mean at this may work in a portrait category there's still some issues that we've talked about, but I think it doesn't work in the commercial category because it's it is too much for a portrait ask the question. Yeah, giger wanted to know just a general question about commercial images being judged for their effectiveness if the product isn't obvious. So basically, if a product isn't obvious in an in an advertisement, how do you think, how do you think that's effective? Do you guys like that style? Just generally it's hard to answer as a photographer I'd like, you know it's maybe the product manager for the product the art director has concepts on and what they wanted to get across I mean as you got to look at as a consumer as a consumer looking for something that's going to make me feel like I want to be those people or make me identify with them and it doesn't it doesn't need the product in there usually to do that but yes, he and I actually prefer that I think it's kind of a sneaky way to do good and that's one of the reasons that I love tiffany so much the ad and tiffany's I like the way they do advertising in general because they're not it's not about the jewellery and to me if you can get people to buy into spending bazillions of dollars on a ring you know, three months salary for god to spend it on a ring I think that is absolutely brilliant marketing and compare it to the other guys like some of them some of the other places that like like case jewelers and such you know they'll have like a a plethora of ring sitting out on a table they're selling a product and their products are very reasonable so part of my answer would go into I find that the higher the product is worth in other words the more dollars that the product is the less literal the advertisement tends to be going to experience it is so about car dealers know that so well, because if it was just about the car, they wouldn't have that distinguished looking older guy with that cute hot babe coming out of the mansion to get in the car, they just be showing the car. But it's, not about the car it's about the experience, so and I think that isn't whatever worth whatever we are, our genre is photographically we need to buy into that and recognize that it is about the experience. It doesn't just apply to this advertising category. It applies to us no matter what are our website should should be about the experience that we provide it's not just the pictures, it's. Not about that. About the pictures only make the pictures show the excitement. What what's going to be in it for you? Not what's in it for me. Is the photographer what's in it for the consumer? That's coming to you? I'm glad I asked. First thing I think of on this is the mexico will tape ads in the nineteen seventy eight, nineteen seventies. Um, I was that spell when I got started in new york on that there's just thai's me back to that, but there it was a speaker, and it was blowing the hair here. I'm not sure if that's a magazine or an ipad or what and why is that doing that air tour here? So it's just a little an incumbent incongruous to me, but it can work. Um, tell what he's holding there. Yeah, I can't tell what she's holding it looks almost like a book or something, but whatever it is it's interested in, there are a couple of little element. I love this picture and I love the fact that they're doing something where you can't see the face because it kind of makes me even want to look at the picture born andi, I love that, but there are a couple of issues that I would like to see them be a little bit more conscious of, and that is you see this area right here because this foot is right next to the leg of this chair. It kind of looks like that's growing out of the foot, so I think you need to be a little bit more careful about the way you finesse your images in the way that you position your model that's number one, the second part that kind of bothers me just a little bit is this area right here in the fine because it makes those two legs kind of blob together and they look a little bit too. They looked like they it's one big piece. So I would like to see the maker reposition their model, maybe even have them instead of having her sit, like, sit like that where one likes on top, maybe have her take one of the legs and bring it up. Or have her lean bag had the chair even starting to blow back to or something that's. Actually a great idea. I like that because I love the animation that the hair is great. Yeah, very good question. Just what kind of lighting did they use that they limited the amount of shadows? I mean there's very, very little shadow in that so it's probably pretty large light in pretty close, but there is a heavy shadow fromthe legs coming down. So there's could be something like a beauty dish skimming the front of the model, pointing almost down instead of at her and that's a thing. What if people were beauty dishes pointed right at the subject? It's, not a beauty dish anymore. You want to try to skim it off. So if I was laying bambi, I wouldn't wish we would get our light right there, so our normal intention is come right at her here. But I can bring the light forward here. So the front of her face is still lit. Then there's light from this side of it, actually hitting the other side of her face. I do. And it's gone into a shadow. So here so even turned toward the subjects more that two students more weaken tryingto s okay. If I bring the light out here, the full surface of the light is still hitting her. She looks at the light. You can see the whole thing. It isn't cut off it's. Not like it's pointing at you, but it's not pointing at her either. It's pointing across the front of her. Now can you address one of the thing, john, to talk a little bit about how close you have that light to my face? I have it as close as I can get it. I mean, my subjects often feel claustrophobic by bringing the light and close a couple of things they're gonna happen here, won. The highlights are going to be lessened. Highlights on the skin or speculator. Reflections. They're like mirrors if the lights here or the lights here. That reflection is going to be the same brightness so that spot on the nose around the forehead is going to the same brightness no matter where the light is. So when I bring the light in here the skin now gets brighter and gets close to the brightness of the of the highlight. The highlight is less intense, so I'm bringing the lighting close. The highlight gets bigger but it stays the same brightness but but the the reflections of the skin, the non speculator reflections they're going to come up in value to meet them so you're going to get a softer light with less speculate highlights by bringing the lighting closer. It seems it seems counterintuitive for people starting because they feel doesn't like get harsher when he gets in close no the like it's brighter when it's in close but it's softer because it that's a great eight off because I bring them if I bring the light back here is so much like here too, so it shatters air going to get darker because the light is narrow and it's only hitting the nose and casting a shadow when the lights here some of the light comes from around the side so I mean like doesn't bend like goes in straight lines but there's areas the edge of the lights that a little late the edges of the face you does that help that wow great sean awesome okay uncle john talk about this again it's it's more of a portrait can't fall into the editorial range I mean if it's if it's about the clothing there's there's a nice interaction the intertwined between them I would crop down a little bit on I don't like the bright spot at the the top I would like to see more face more light into the face of the girl that's in that's in the center of the frame I just have a mixed reaction to it I mean it's really lovely models color in coloration again for editorial it probably works for a portrait it's a little too blue but we are in the commercial editorial side here so highlight on the rock in the bottom and on her hand is a little too much some sort of screamed to block the sun and even it out would work for me see to me I see this photograph I actually just makes me very excited it's not it's I love where they were going I don't think they got there the right way yet I'll tell you see, I actually see them I think that this would have been an opera singer if they had photographed them standing up so that that darkness down below I think that the high key and what they're wearing would be amazing if you meet it off their face over exposed the background with what they're wearing would be screaming hot because I love the way that there their clothing I think would show it beautifully and then you have this beautiful soft ethereal look from because I love the background the height to me the higher up you go in the picture the prettier the way I think that the environment looks prettier what doesn't work to me is that heavy dark area down below their body I don't like the knees sticking out of the way this is the back of this girl here again if they were standing and let the more air into the picture yeah, but still very great I love the guy or atonality they used very, very pretty connection with the subjects was great yeah, very nice oh man boy oh boy that's a tough one we've got the obvious hdr in the background but not the person I can't tell if the person was just photoshopped into here or if the background was was mess been hd yard it's just two meeting two incongruous it doesn't go together well, I just think the hdr port is overdone. The light on her strongest light seems to be on her shoulder blades coming from the back but coming from above yet the light in the background is a low sons may be a sunset behind the city um the lighting just overall doesn't match throughout the different areas of the picture. It's hard to tell how it was actually put together. Yeah, and I think that's part of this what bothers me? I applaud the maker for trying something different. I love the idea with the dancer I think that's really, really an interesting look. Number one for me that pulls it down is the hdr it's just it's just does not work. It's it's so it's, so hard that that's all I seem to notice is the hd are instead of what what we're doing with the model also, when you were working with a dancer, we have to work at um, you know, we want to take several shots of that person actually dancing and if I were directing this model I would be wanting to have her look in a certain direction because I feel like she's she's almost looking a bit cross eyed for you can see where her eyes are a little bit off cue so I was working are not working with them. I had the opportunity tio get a chance to get to know lois greenfield, who is the very famous photographer of dancers and ballerinas she's from new york city, her and I judge portfolios hallmark this summer and she was telling me how she photographs, dancers and, well, the way she does it, she said. Basically, a lot of people think that when you photograph a dancer that you photographed one, they make their leap off the ground and she said, no that's, not how you do it, you actually you photograph them as they come down and that made sense and then she said, the other thing that she did to photograph the dancers effectively was that she gave him a point two foot to look at other words. So in other words, if she knew that she wanted this model to look in a certain direction so that they're not just looking in random places, that she would give them a point of reference is ok, I want you as you dance or as you jump up in the air, I want you to focus on this spot there's anywhere, and I think that helps dances with a lot of dancers do that already, especially doing pura wits and spins and the like. They had that point, and they're going to come back to it so they keep their balance, and then you know where they are on the stage. So that's a no instruction that the dancers should be ready to work with and may help them feel more comfortable to you and it's it's a really fun thing I started working with dancers this summer and I got takes a lot more work than I would be I mean it's a lot more difficult than I would have thought it would be um but but I hope that you will for the maker here the first thing I would do is you got to take down all that hdr stuff it's just too much it's too masculine I think that's part of what's bothering me is that's very masculine and then you have this dancer and it's making her look hard and she's already got shark features so I feel that so the two you don't I still can't tell if she was actually there or not I don't I don't think so either do we have any questions that was our last image? Awesome ok a question did come up from pro photographer who said in general, what do you believe differentiates and advertising image from just a general portrait? I know we were saying that's kind of a portrait for me it's can I identify with the person would not be the the person if the person is looking at me and I'm making a connection with them and I see them as a person that's a portrait? If I see them as an attitude or someplace I can put myself into, then that then it's more the advertising look well for me, it's different, because because I am a portrait photographer, but I also photographed for advertisements and francis. When I look at the pages and many brides magazines, many of those brides are looking right in the camera, but they're selling a product. So I would have to say that what makes a good product for our makes a good image for advertising is one that has impact. That to me, is what I would I would say it is, doesn't have impact, because not every portrait we take of a family member or a person would we put in our marketing material. And that, to me, is a new image that would be used for editorial, for advertising purposes. So whatever your advertising, so what is it that gives that that makes something? What is it that makes an ad in a magazine? Do they just pick anybody to model for magazines? Do they just pick any? You know, any kinds of products know things that are controversial things that are interesting, people that are beautiful and that's sad to say, but that is the world we live in, you know, they are beautiful, people make it. In magazine ads and they may not necessarily for instance I know that haynes did that ad with the underwear and they had heavier models vigor bigger girls but did you notice that every single one of those women were beautiful and when they had the plus size models for for tyra banks show they may have been big girls but they were absolutely dropped in gorgeous in their face so they beauty cells and something that's interesting old men older man that but I can promise you what you're never going to see in a fat and a magazine as an adverse advertising that's going to sell my age women that are normal americana we're not going to be selling too much product but if it's a gorgeous older man you know that's got beautiful gray hair or you know like a feel around of course you know that she's going to be able to sell product so I don't think that it's that it it can't be that the persons looking a camera I don't think that's the point I think the real point is is the person that's looking indicators are they so drop dead gorgeous wearing your product that you can on turn that page yeah but still if you put yourself there I'm going to look that gorgeous because exactly and like that one photograph that we looked at that couple that was out on the ground and that was out of the field. The reason that that photograph failed to me was because there was nothing that gave that photo, but they said, oh my god, I gotta have this. It was a man and a woman, but their expressions weren't. They didn't have a great expression on their face. Did you notice that they were smiling and they were happy, but there was nothing that said, this is extraordinary, and so it doesn't have to be that they, in my opinion, that they can't look in the camera, but whoever is looking at you in that picture better be really interesting looking. Maybe they were in red eye showers, something