Lessons

Lesson Info

Commercial Critique Part 2

First thing I think are they they're going they're going away from the thing coming like did they pass it and go so they're exploding on that well yeah you're right they're not going towards that they're going away from it why? I don't know so when you judge and image or critic and image one of the first questions I think you ask is why and thie answer why is if I'm asking you why I don't understand why I don't get it and so I mean I get it this living in line all I'm sorry lyman line and I get that there's lime and vodka I'm assuming it's vodka expression around or whatever it is uh the references it's diablo ice there's no ice in there and there's no diablo in there is just line so why is the model turned towards me a little bit yes it's not even seen to it that's interested and why is the contrast on the label? Not the same on the top is the bottom yes like this is much darker I mean why wouldn't you have you ever shot a product like this? No, I've never I don't think you know I've ...

never shot a bottle of any type when you say bottle when you see photography like this off alcohol what do you like and what do you not like like how can we talk about improving it it's because concept is pretty great the person who created this image is probably really happy with themselves but it's interesting that neither your and I like it and if we don't like it that means it's not attracting in any way it's just not something that we either of us feel very compelled to look at now it just doesn't finish to me I think that splashing and the and the lines the lines look a little fake to me like something's wrong with them like they've been lit funny they're lit underneath to and a top it's just a funny lighting on them or something um and I would like I guess I'm like I would like that the water actually looks pretty good so maybe more of it or splashing across the bottle or something I don't think there's enough coming down the bottom of the bottles coming clean until you get to hear um yeah great more water would look oh but yeah I don't know what the fact that it's turned just that a little bit towards me I don't get that um I usually like either turn it a lot more keep it symmetrical you know keep it straight on I think if you are a photographer and you're gonna whip from home to create folio images which are going to get you more commission work it's pretty easy to create folio from product because it doesn't really cost any nothing other than what it cost you to get the product so if you're going to buy bottles about karen, take really interesting beautiful shots of vodka and then have them in your folio you know well executed work that you can then show commercial clients in the hope of getting more commission work it's kind of an interesting genre because it's not like you have to pay a model or make a banister a stylist to come and make this happen you can cheat this at night and the lights you can shoot this in your own time on what a great way to build a product and commercial lying. You know one of my most successful friends and melvin australia is a product photographer he's he runs a studio that makes you know five hundred k a year just doing product photography. He has a table in his studio that his every canon lanes and every canon body even made it is just so incredible he has amazing the lightest the white set up the white shell have shell and he dispenses day receiving products photographing them sending them back he's very good at it he further shops everything he gets paid really well to do it it's his favorite genre. He doesn't have to deal with only commercial at director and he built that out by taking photographs off products and then using them so it's a great genre for you to introduce into your failure that interests you commercially on because there's a lot of work out there well product good product photography, right? Oh, yeah for sure. And I walked into a class on product retire we had a workshop that I was at and, uh and I'm always intrigued by this stuff like the throne my my friend rob grimm does he's awesome at this, so I I got to sit with him for five minutes, and in there five minutes I was like, I was, like, mesmerized by what these guys do but it's a very specific thing, they really know what they're doing in the amount of work that goes into it. I've done a little bit a little bit of products retire me nothing like like bottles and stuff, but like just to get the reflections the way you want like it takes like ours to move the thing exactly to get the light exactly where you want it. And I remember one of my first jobs I was photographing this lighter and it took me like five hours to get it where I wanted it, I was like, oh my gosh, I can't deal with it, and then the thing doesn't talk back to you, so I get bored, I'm like I like communication, so I don't do much of this, but if you are good at it and can do a good job, but they do make it pop it's definitely commercially viable because a lot of advertising is using a lot of water and splashing these days if you see a lot, I just want to know what that is. I don't understand the intensity of the grain in this image, it almost looks infrared, the highlights is so hot and the grain is so strong, but it doesn't really tell me a story. It doesn't look, it doesn't look like a stock image, it doesn't look great commission revival, it doesn't look very storytelling in it's not something I would buy for an editorial because it's not telling me anything because it's all out of focus even though this dipped in there, so I don't really understand it enough for it to be a viable commercial image. It looks more atty than anything. Yeah, I think it looks like you would put it out on the wall in a bar or something. Yeah, well, they say it is a commercial images commissioner at peace and you've got to remain there looking editorial, photography, commercial and editorial they selling something, everything commercial, essentially selling you something they're selling you a dream or an idea or an emotion or thought if I see bottles I think fist I think I want to drink I think I want to have fun and I think I think of all the emotions that come with saying I feel a bit hangover from last night, you know, I think of all the things that it makes me feel and if I feel nothing, you're not selling anything. If a conditional image of eva say no, any editorial image either pushes my batteries in terms of how I think or how I feel, and if you're not doing that, you have missed the point of communicating with your imagery. I've seen this image before in the sense that, you know, sony produced in ed that made the hero blow up, and it was that guy sitting on the seat with us here blowing up and he had the colorful here finds on and this is like a bad replication off it like, I I can see that they've put this fan into the here, but you know, there's, a couple of things you need to consider one of them is when you photograph somebody in motion or you make me here in motion, you've gotta have somebody who's here moves, so don't blow straight here and this it's perfect here that can blow up like a fan and watch it with eyes closed because her expression is nothing it's not it's halfway expression it's not someone who's singing it's not someone who's dancing it's someone with an awkward half I close so it makes the image awkward but the idea is great because it's very high key black and white with these hopping here finds it's just not quite executed in a way that I feel it hits a strong commercial communication harris so weird what is this like jagged nous and then it's longer there is it like a wig just looks it looks like there's so much stuff in it until it's just like looks like it's stiff as a board and then what what is in her bra when what is that I think that is her brah that's his tank that's from laura I thought it was the phone tucked in there or something you know when you see somebody's expression the body language the expression is a moment according time and you if you're gonna put motion into images you've got to catch the moment not just of the here but off the expression off the movement as well you cannot do both secondly there are not many commercial there are not many commercial businesses in the world that would like the hand over their product you've covered the one thing you're selling in this image and edited it bones especially over the logo which is a star to hide the star really kind of compete with the whole point of having a finding her hands could have been going towards the if irs she could have been rocking she could have been singing she could have been in a moment of grace she could have been a million different things but she kind of just looks no quid and she's covering the product so big people because the facing your client's going to do is look at it this is what I call an incredible landscape shot in a really bad image of a girl in front of incredible landscape shot so it makes me cry because way that is magnificent however whoever took this shot I'm going to head it against that they're really good at taking landscape charts and they're not so good with the people yet she looks or quit she looks wide she looks like she's on a bad angle for here she looks better next post she looks badly posed now that background is incredible that should be a vertical shot we should be seeing out athlete we should be seeing else rocks we should be seeing that beautiful science should be going top to bottom instead side to side and she just looks really awkward arms hanging straight down there big highlight on the back of their hand who league looks short she doesn't look like a runner so I'm confused by this image I'm confused by this pose but the content of it is very close she looks very concerned for her well being why wasn't she standing up on that rock there on that day you're gonna rock the fuselage doing the same pose on that magnificent background with that sky above her you know what was about the form lighting up the full grand and then putting this behind here it's almost like yeah, there was definitely an effort by the time over here because it looks like they're up on a ladder or something with a little light on official line right on something their way like what are they on top of a truck or something or is there a ladder out of the how did they get this high incredible you know too when they should have been lower if you get an opportunity to do this again I please I beg you go back to a vertical shots that's really cool put her up on my stein's put it up on those rocks you know I'm get her into a nice low position lengthen his league's give me a bitter a bitter top than what she's wearing what are we selling here? We're selling running shoes um because she's not running away selling walking shoes because I don't know what she's doing it looks like a bad stretch so give me a pose that sells me the product that you're going to sell because you're not selling the rocks you know this genre the whole tank thing I love it I don't even begin to understand how I could do it, but I think this is one of the really great, but yet is it it's the, um yeah, it's really name? I really like you and immediately boom! You look and you're like, cool. Look at that scene there there's some water splashing around that's cool. I love that there's almost a shape of a human face in the bottom on water, and I love their I'm special of the top line. I don't know what its advertising, but obviously if there was a logo here in it, and it showed what it wass and I would get it more, I think it's really great, it looks really clean, unlike the colors in it that the blues in and way it's so why it's really nice all that mel tension for me, here's a little bit of really, you know, I don't like hair to sprawl on shoulders, I don't even I don't know the gap, and that, um, I don't know the gap in this car, from the scuff to the jacket, but I got to say women over thirty shouldn't wear shimmery makeup. It's a young makeup thing it's showing all of here eyelid wrinkle that showing her agents making its aging her and I kiss what I want to know is what am I? What am I buying here when I look at this image and my buying a woman in a white coat because I'm not saying that coat am I buying the het? Because I'm not buying it? I'm not um I'm not looking at it and intrigued by it if you were a photographer building a folio and you may be practicing lighting, then you've nailed this down talk about that only like the light on it now they practice this like they've used his skill as a model they've taken this great shot that put it in the folio now take team more like it with different models and give me some beautiful follow shots and not this one because I'm not compelled by this image but the styling of this image is leading it down more than the lighting is and also she has got a little bit of a smile in her eyes but him al tension that's not enough. Her face looks over retouched because she looks older and here isa tell me her real age but the retouching around her eyes tells me you over re touched it and her face is too big for her here, so you even they need to make a here fuller because his face looks two big sets it's out of proportion now with this weird yeah, the styling has let this down more than anything in terms of studio lighting with their bottom and top light do you like that said yeah, I don't mind the lighting at all I mean, I like the light for me works you know what? This is a really good shot. You're almost there. You've done a really great job off lighting that I like the lines I like within lines of going with the running lines are like the lines of the railing I like the lines of the field and then you've gone and put the dumbest expression on your face it's like her mouth it looks like she's going, huh? You know, like I see that petrified looks like you wanted to look at something over there that could be interesting and intriguing to the to the on looker instead it's like I'm I'm just thinking man there's something over there that's scaring the crap out of her this woman is an athlete she's a runner she's er she's an athlete and she looks terrible so bummed out by this image I feel like it could be a remarkable image. I love the angles of it I love the composition and I like the sky too and then I get up to the face and the one thing I want to see more than anything is that face and it's gone it's the hardest thing I would say that the, um expression is the final ingredient in a portrait for me. Well, the thing is, peter is a portrait photographer, a swell as may my only thing is the expression because I'll take an expression over the rule of thirds are taken expression over even a cloth or fist north and debate because the expression is what sells my images to my clients, but I've got to say the commercial category is lacking an expression they're getting their lighting right there, getting the compositions right when they do but they're liking that one thing and there is connection so you get your portrait photographer on get your expression sorted out whoever took this ad like this is a cool scene like look at this you got the field looking great, the skies amazing like a violence in this position and had her I'd be like, oh my god, you know how amazing this is gonna look and get her excited so that she's fired up and then work with her on expression because you got everything else, every other elements there, you just need to need to have her, you know, get some juice out of her I have no idea what that is it's a diamond ring in the bottom of a champagne glass and I know this because it's I am a girl it's very telling you you are I can spot a diamond ring bring well it's a square ring the diamond is a diamond ring it's actually quite a neat shot it's a neat concept and I level the colors you put in it is just too close to be identifiable if you pull back a little but you identify more quickly is both a ring in the glass but intent of the way they've let you know let it I think it's correct yeah I mean I could tell it's a glass with something and I just didn't know that was a ring and it looks like a box or something I mean I guess I thought it was great I don't know how they got the multi colored light in there but it's actually really groovy I would have liked to have seen more sharpness on the ring if that's what you're selling maybe you're selling the engagement or the surprise of it and I would like to have seen a pull back a little bit more so it was instantly identifiable because it's just a little abstract that close that's all I like the tone yeah look I like everything but the short arm she's not model length she's riel size link so you've jordan you've done a great disservice by shortening here arm and shoulder national news yeah, but if you drop that shoulder down this a magnificent shot I don't know why this relates to the image but obviously has something to do with the location six cells of course we were voicing their I like her outfit I like what's going on she's posed between two couches, which doesn't really make sense with their effort but I would have to see it in the context of what commercial job it was for these guys obviously here for a reason in terms of being a really groovy image a lot but just a short down drop that shoulder down giving some space and they just haven't be sitting there and he couldn't get rid of him she well I couldn't get rid of those people get them out of there that like otherwise there should be other people right now are you just want those little people over there? Well that's true out of context it's interesting but I will say one thing I would have liked it more if they were sitting there with binoculars yes, that will be you know well then you're giving something to your image that has clearly there is some wet this is advertising some form off come and stay here because it looks like a guest place and front to be that sixty there's a reason that you'd want to come and stay there so I feel like it's almost voyeuristic to heaven there and that they should almost be watching think about what is compelling and image and what's not and it would be pretty easy to get rid of them if you didn't want him I just think this arm kills it you're right, she just looks the bundle of islamic except for there is just her face could have been there with that shoulder dropped but the color times the highlight low it you know, like tony on that I am man with x what he called those guys that climb trees and chopping down and do their stuff and no idea I love the deck and other trust or something arborist what do you think about the cutting like he's the foot's just barely making it under the friend. You know what? I like the idea of this image. I just don't think it's quite being lit on that up and therefore finished enough on like the pose and I like how it's done. I would like to see a little bit more color tone in there, it's very brown and very boring. And and I, um you could watch the light coming through the trees because it differently lightened it up and I want to see just a little bit more um I like the light that's on his face. I like that he's looking up towards the trees because clearly he's going to climb them I feel like we're slightly too long though for it he's a little I'm almost more my perspective of the camera raised a little bit yeah, I keep getting thrown out by these two but I guess it's you know it's a t shirt that's what is going to do? I would probably go in there and have a stylist grab it don't train us less noticeable e thing on his shoulder with the gear and I like the way he's holding the axe and stuff he looks like he's about to take this sucker down. I might want to see the tree that he's about to take down. You know what? I feel like this image when you see them there's more separation, more compression in the lean. So you there's too much detail in the background if if it was about him coming forward a little bit more with the same detail I feel like it would have been a really beautiful commercial image. I love this detail I did to you waited to see that maybe fall off there. Yeah, if they fall off the background and stay shopper at his fate that we're looking great I still like the shot I think he's looking a little bit high but I don't mind that, you know, I like it more the more I look at it I just want to see a little bit more than that whenever I do that I just shot a growing I chopped into our foot like about that much and I was like, I'm not happy with myself I feel like I gotta go it's interesting if he's if you photograph a cab it seeming looks like it's emotion by giving it their till like what is this? It doesn't need to be here what is that thing? But if it was in motion you would understand it but there's nobody driving it's you know it's not emotion so I'm very confused by this front by this foreground I like the tone of the image that you've chosen very different like this spy in the tree and the drop way there but I'm just so confused by this it almost looks like somebody's walked in front of the camera or that looks like the photographer's finger and that's probably the greatest greatest crime it wass thought it might have been that I loved the car though that's a cool looking car me I don't know why it's like so why don't we need to be looking at it like this and what do we need that? But I do like the tone and I think the tone of it goes with the color of the car really nicely yeah it does doesn't do maybe we could crop it yeah crap in turn this is another like did they not? Are these finished images like there's just my I went straight to this my highest and they thought the school I love macro photography and the close up photography and I like it when you can get into the working years but yeah, if you're going to study this genre or if you can fit a craft this sean, I have a look at the people that have gone before you and look at the detail in the cleanup that they've used is flawless more floorless you make this image, the more surreal it looks and then the more compelling it looks so a little bit more with to make this perfect would be great because it's still it's rough stuff going on here I like to see more saturation in the colors too and a little bit more contrast that the planets are beautiful they're in a good spot you've let this well it's nice in close good backdrop and yet the backdrop it's entirely clean you just haven't cleaned up the middle you know bank looks going so have a look at these images when you do see them in advertising the beautiful images there very sharp, very compelling and every claim and you almost have done the work of a face pools you know on them as opposed to a being middle still hold of dust in there what's going on yes a lot of deaths but and under the glass I feel like I want to see more of what's going on here this is if this is the best image that you got emotion than it would be a bit disappointing I would like to see a little bit more um that front arm's gone and looks strange yeah even though I love the motion coming up and over the top I'm I'm missing something and this image and I would like it and it's over let two for a black background so I just like to see a little bit more anything else I don't know what to say because like it's just strange that there's so much heaviness in the in the what is it chalk or whatever is being thrown and a lot less of this way so it kind of throws because it splits it into a cz well this looks smoking and that looks like it's more dense and whatever is being thrown around the power of the dancer or the para photographing dances is in the power of their body movement so I think it's very important that you are nearly down the final movement and I will photograph a dance that repeat the same body position five teen times until I get that shot where I know that their final pot's don't just let them free style and leaves it with a performance base we were just snapping away at a live performance and you didn't have the control in which case close but not an image I would put in my commercial failure I don't get what the shape of that bottle is at all what is that supposed to make? I think it's a fist it's a fist you with them with neco deft is already called the ring for us no closer to the brass knuckles say diesel and some coming around it's hard to get that out of that I think the lot the background with lines is unnecessary because there's so much going on I would keep a cleaner background well that's interesting so yeah, it looks like it shut on that plastic board that you know in a state agent you it looks like it's got that um political line through there would have been nice to have a few choices go into their maybe change it out but the lines are quite busy that mara was already busy now again it's got all this little garbage around it like they didn't clean the bottle and they didn't retouch it afterwards but they did enough they put the the tone arm and the venue and everything, but they didn't go in and clean up the bottle you've got to remember when you look a tw commercial images and magazines, you're not looking at dirty glass and you're just not looking at duty middle, you've got to clean up your product so perfectly the way we clean up models in fashion magazines is the same way cleaning your product shots up, you've got to make them flawless, and then nobody will criticize the glass or the dirt, or they're going to only look at the lighting in the composition and the emotion around the image is opposed to seeing all this rubbish that they don't need to see. I don't want to eat that I don't either thing it's poorly lit, there seems to be some natural light coming from the back and some artificial light coming from the front and it's too close. So it's something you see on instagram exactly exactly be fantastic. Giambra lynn food photography I'm not a food photographer, but I like to eat and, you know, we've got to make sure that we are selling our food. We're going to make sure that we are we're going to make sure that we're making food advertising and this is not an advertising image now I like this because his expression is rishi bhat. Yeah, I like this because they got plans and he's really smiling and that flowers flying. And I've just got wheat belly looking at this image. I like it. I love it. I just you just want to meet that you got you want that guy making your bread for you? You did that's the dude he's making my bread tonight. I need him. And I like this. And I like this. You know, it's not actually the strongest image in terms of I would have shot it a little bit lower. I would have decent training. What a retest. A little bit more. But the spunk in connection in this subject is enough to make this a good editorial image. You know, he's one hundred percent of what? He's, I want to meet this guy what's he all about it's? Awesome. Well, thank you so much, peter. Clearly, that's, how a commercial category. Um, what can we overall tell everybody out there to start working on the images? If you're going to create commercial failure images that you're maybe paying foreign styling yourself, make sure you're making a study of lighting reattaching for commercial work. There are commercial re touches on creative flight that have done really good commercial retouching wick shops. There are bet catalog ofthe brilliant food photographers, if that's your genre. If it interests you and you want to build a commercial failure, make sure you look at the people that are doing it really well that have made a business out of it there's always a creative life workshop for it uh upscale on your photo shop skills what else I would say what what fires you up? What is it? What what what do you want to shoot that really gets you going and then your attention to detail needs to go full bore like you need to get up on fire with your details it's on the details and the day I always say this I think the difference between ah fantastic photographer and whatever category there in and probably you is that they're like that much better than you probably and that much is huge but you have attention to detail will get you to that that much further and that much further in that much further and eventually you'll be that much better than other people. But you've gotta work out and you've got to really pay attention to everything that's in your in your frame every single thing that hits your frame you have to own it also it's very hard to emotionally disconnect yourself from an image when you're tied to it sometimes you have so close to what you think, but the best thing you've ever created and somebody like us just tears it apart and, unfortunately, you're right that this is my best work. We've all been there. I've been there when I was in my younger years. Somebody critiqued my work and just tore it apart, and it broke my heart. And at the time, I look back now at the work, and I laugh because it's, so obvious, what they were saying to me, just keep leaning and don't take it personally and just keep winning, because there's people out there getting paid that are doing better than you. And like you said, there any that far ahead of you. But they're flowers like a huge gap prime.