Lessons

Lesson Info

Commercial Image Critique

All right. Oh, that's nice. Yeah. It's a nice it's. A smoky look that's not made with smoke. I mean it's probably the marble background, the lights coming from the back. Those blue there's probably late going through some other glasses they're going on. Um I love the blue versus the red of the crawfish or whatever those are in there, that string in the front works but those two green pieces there just distract me. I'm not sure what they are. They may may belong there, but the color is just so different than than everything else in here that I think if those were out of there would even make the stronger makes me hungry. I just had lunch while I love the angle of it. The tom that's creative straight down I use that to with their wedding cake too. Sometimes instead of everybody inside just get way high up and shoot down on it. But a case that actually I would, you know, take down maybe the string a little bit, but I love it. It's it's a great photo. The chills. I find the composition rea...

lly interesting. I like effect and you can tell that the maker really understands how to compose a picture because he's got those three pieces and then he's balanced out those three pieces with the walk in the center with the crawfish and even the way the crawfish are placed in that pan with the forks on the right hand side, and then to finish it off with the string on the bottom I too I'm not feeling it with those two those two around things on the left hand side I don't know that they needed to be here, but still whatever the case is very nicely done very, very pretty, pretty girl here's what this's such a this is like one of those photographs you want to love, but you're not quite theory of this close it's her hand, her hand is part that's bugging me to death, which which we'll both of them, actually. But this hand right up here is too much of it looks a little bit to claw like and if they had taken, and just if you go like this with your wrist and you go and you bend, you put your finger in the center of the hand, you see how your hand naturally goes. It kind of just naturally gets very relaxed, even with her. If they bent that wrist a little bit more and had it had her lean in with her with this part of the hand, the palm of the hand I think that could have been a little bit softer looking hands are so important, I think she's also were also maybe seeing a little bit too much of the back of the hand. Your thoughts? Yes, same thing the handle in the hand that's on her arms really close, like even though it's hidden behind the other one. And you have the little sausages, as you would say, coming out of there again, you know, soft ballet hands on often say to people, you know, the thumb comes toward the middle finger and starts curving everything and just get aside here where the side here most people don't realize our hand is about his biggest our face and when the hands slightly forward in the face, whatever is closer to the camera looks even bigger for perspective. So you gotto really watch where you put the hands and I don't know this is commercial, yeah, way selling the bracelet, the necklace, the hearing, I mean, the ring that hearing someone took pains to get teo glow there, that blue there is that the ram that I'm not sure I mean, or it could just be an atmosphere shot that goes with a perfume ad or something, and then I look at a different way, you know, not knowing the background of it, it you think you have the hand across that jewelry because I think that's kind of a prominent piece in the in the work and then to cover it up little bit distracting and also I'm not a huge fan of shooting up the nose, so I think if the photographer took it a bit of a higher angle, it would reduce that were coming from the porch, a world in the commercial world and yeah, fume ads and the like I do often see that, right? But, you know, when I met with the portrait persons always no chin down, chin down shouldn't down a quarter inch even just a little bit people have a tendency when they get in front of the camera to do this and I queen and engage hello, baby this's fantastic! I really like this and I can't help it get all crazy about it because it's just created I love the way that little kid is looking at that chicken I mean it's like he's saying in his mind, lunch dinner next on I think that's, incredibly clever this's now this is a photograph that has some treatment on it that actually to me works for the picture andi I also think the maker did a masterful job look at how the lighting from outside that what's going on outside still is balanced to the inside, I think it's very, very clever the actually only area on this that I would like to have seen the maker clean up a little detail on is I don't know what that white line is coming down on the left side of the chicken, the vertical line. I don't know what it is, but it's pulling my island from that little child's face, I think I would not. I don't know that I would take it out, but maybe just tone it down just a little bit, but it is so I love to see when people take and not make something so literal, but tell a story with their imagery, and I think it takes a lot of skill. It takes forethought to be able to do that. One other thing going on here, though the white in the room isn't lit, I assumed the lights coming some light from the window and maybe from a window on this side because that's, where the light is on his face, but there's everything there's hard shadows under there. Now that I'm looking at, there is probably a hard shadow across his chest in a high right there, so maybe if that lamp was glowing, a little bit of might have had a little bit to it, but overall, I think it's really I think they should have turned that lamp on a little bit I feel like that and I feel like it's missing something because it's not on but still with that said I think that and I agree with you on the lighting I noticed that with the bucket that kentucky fried chicken bucket that it looks like it's being lit from a light that's a bit high and so it's cross from that little boy over but still it's the maker should be very, very proud of this photograph and you know, it's one thing to get your scene all set up properly and to get that all laid out finessed properly but also to get the expression on that kid's face it really that to me is what makes this an opera singer it's not just the composition and the fact that he put him here but that that kid has the look on his face like he's licking his chops over that chicken that's sitting on the table. Yes, so I'm just curious something that has been drawing my eyes how that behind the chicken, that chair I feel like the side of the chair is really lit and so it kind of it like I feel like if that chair wasn't there, there would be really great almost eye contact between the the kid in the chicken on I'm just curious if if that's something that you guys would agree with that jumped out at me but it's fine. Well, most of like here is coming from that side on I think that's just yeah, I think I would have just take toned it down I don't know that I would take the chair out because I kind of like that that a separation that I do agree with you that the light coming down from that one side is a little bit bright and so I think I would probably just in post production just pull it down just a little bit ok, scott you guys said it all month. Scott scott um well it's food it looks like sushi you want to eat it is good. Um uh it's I think it's you know, I think it's great for whatever its use is going to be used for you know, men you are going on, it really shows it could be a bit hot um, because I would like to see a little bit more detail in the sushi area there and there's not a lot of different color and that sushi. So, um I would probably like to see a little bit, uh detail in the sushi itself and whenever you're entering prince in competition this, by the way, is a really nicely done, nicely lit photograph of see sushi but when you're entering prince and competition you want to find unusual way to interpret those moments because if you don't, if it's just a nice picture of something it's not going to score is high. So think about that we talked a little about earlier about this when we talk about the portrait world that you know that there are things for our clients that we that we give them and that we take for them and that there are eloped things that we do for competition and so forth that's probably why this photograph is not doing quite as well in this particular category in commercial because it's a picture of sushi something we've seen before and we've seen many people do it with the chopsticks in this way, so not that it's a bad one it's a nice picture and it's well lit and I liked the flat lighting that they've used, you know, gives it a nice pearly look to it, but think about it when you're entering prints for competition specifically, if you're in this category, find an unusual, quirky way. So this is me, my project and I'm gonna find an unusual way to tell this story. Yeah, and I look at it and I'm coming again from the client perspective versus competition to this is something they put on a menu or something like that, but it's not going to be the feature shot in a magazine it's almost there a little more edge on the back a little more detail in the top stop this top of the sea she and just a little more edginess to it you know, one of the things that I've got some friends that do a lot of this that they just hire a stylist to come in and just stylized food and that isn't that is an art in itself, so if you're a photographer who's, you know, starting to do more food you may want to consider if you don't already toe have find a cilice to work with you because they can take your your food and just soup it up and make it look just crazy good I'm not sure too, if you'd put that with saab beyond the ginger in front there because I guess in the well, so I the ginger kind of works for him, but there was solving also with it being out of focus is yeah, just distracting but still would nicely executed this is a more interesting angle for me draws more interest to it. Um and I like the texture of the wood and, uh, feel like eating that super e s o in this particular photograph, I think that the maker didn't go quite far enough because he took it too literal, he said, I'm going I want to feature this soup are this stew or whatever it is? And you know we're going to show the cheese, but there are other elements that could have made this more interesting. What about, you know, pieces of the parsley or the oregano or whatever? You know, some strips of that around to show more about some of those those fresh ingredients that go into making this a new, appealing dish something that would give it that would take it from just such a literal this is a product, a picture of food to being something that would make you your mouth water for that food technical on this one it's not quite centered over the dish of the dish is becoming an oval and camera maybe too close, so it's giving some distortion if the camera can go up just another foot or two may fuses slightly longer lends them, but I think it'll around the the dish out, and I'm just seeing the perspective distortion there and for me, it's jumps out at me might not jump out to someone else. Well, he might, you know, it's kind of like you don't know if he's tryingto feature that cheese grinder thing you know, too, if that was the case, then maybe was set up differently because obviously are go straight to that say, if it was for the cheese ground, you're cropping to the plate just have maybe a corner of the plate yeah through tons and stuff so that's why we're assuming that that's due or whatever is the main focus of it but its overall it it's a nice feel the barnyard wouldn't like crazy this's brilliant as absolutely brilliant I love the color the texture makes goes now is this a studio thing? Was this you know have they create this? How did they get that weight background? I mean, that looks like it's outside but it looks like it's it's lit with this you know, thirty by forty soft bucks overhead and looks like a real car commercial but yes, and what I love about it is that you see how they took an inanimate object and they made you feel and they found unusual twist to it. I mean, because usually with like a little beatles were thinking beach the sun and sand I mean that's what the first customer of mine from me you know, it was in california and and so I mean, I had a beetle when I was kid and so I am you know, that's the first thing that comes to my mind but I love the contrast between the snow and the way that they outlined it I think was incredibly clever they really found a way to make this car stand out even though you don't see half of the car I mean that's really brilliant marketing if you think about it what a brilliant way to showcase a car not even show it historically it brings me back to the original volkswagen eight ads from doyle dane burn back those world black and white when they sometimes they just had the a bug in the bottom corners and some text on the pager and empty page with just a little bug and here we were doing it in color I'm from from new york originally and I'm used to a lot of snow like this and not used to the beach stuff I think every few uh you know vw dealership will love that picture somewhere in the office or something it's cool? Yeah, it really doesn't he belongs in a magazine you could also hang that it's a piece of art in your home and I think you know, when you have taken a photograph so effectively that it could go from one genre to the next you have done really well so to the maker good job and beautifully lit I love the way that they separated the top of that snow and that's really critical because you know either have that white background and then they got that white snow they had the and they had the forethought to make sure that they highlighted that snow to separate it from the back that's a tough one because for the the snow you're going for the diffused texture and some shadows and the like in there but when you're shooting a car usually not shooting your car you're shooting what's reflected in the car so they've taken too opposite ends of the of howto light things and brought him together here in one shot well that's interesting wow, this is very editorial very illustrative do you notice the fact that they're not sitting on anything or he's not and we can't see that she's got a chair she's sitting on this is very, very quirky this is one of those photographs that causes you to sit and really stare at it I'm trying to still try toe I'm trying to figure out what it's actually saying are they texting to each other? Are they breaking up and he's got this look in hitler's rescue just reading the scores and she's watching a soap opera yeah, who knows? So I do find it very interesting on one of the things in this category when you have photographs like this that caught that it's either you are I know for myself my emotions are all over the place with this I can't decide whether I love it or hate it, I really can I I mean it's like I keep looking at her and address really bugs me sitting out like that, but it makes sense with her because she's really she's very cartoonish and the groom, on the other hand, I love the expression he has on his face is well, I think this is what it is it's bugging me the background, the sky actually is what's bothering me a little bit of it? It seems like one of those of those dropped in skies and who knows? Maybe it was a real one, but but I feel that there's so much going on with the two of them, they're so editorial, and they're so, like norman rockwell ish, that I would love that I feel like that sky and that area back there was kind of pulling me away from the magic that's going right in front of our eyes. But when it comes to continuity and making things work with each other, there's a tree in the background that looks like it's blowing in, or maybe it's from of super wide angle lens, it's not corrected, that's leading, and maybe the background was done with a fish eye and stuff in the front is placed in, but then we have her hair flying her dress flying the candles on her side is sort of blowing that way, the candles on his side, not quite as much there's no movement in the tablecloth s, so I'm just I'm just trying to put them all together and go why you're something's flying and some are maybe it's part of the story they're trying to tell you know something's happening with her and he's just ignoring breaking up with her isaac guys always think that if you're texting they're breaking up you could be just like, you know, texting or certainly wants to date a thank you but that's a good point about about tablecloth being straight but whatever the case is, I think I actually all those contrasts are part of what I like about it but it definitely keeps you interested in the photo is a lot going on that so the maker keep keep doing this yes they moving this is a really quirky interesting thing and I'll tell you about the rid I'm not crazy about the red bottom, but I think the reason is we don't I'm thinking logically and I think if you have to think because this is not a logical picture, you can think of it that way as I said, what really bugs me is not the ground I just that the sky feels wrong for the context of everything else but still very interesting and congratulations maker for making us think it agreed the hard light works for the strength there, but as you know and then again this is the commercial area I'd probably lose whatever that is in the lower left corner there's a stadium or something that's in the background just don't want to worry about if if this was a portrait category I'd say let's go a little softer on the light I don't like the shadows of the I protectors it's the face and the highlight on the nose but in the commercial categoria it may work of work better yeah I like a little bit cleaner blackground on that um and uh um maybe the I don't know if it's the light is even enough for me for commercial point of view so that darkness on the elbow maybe if it was this more editorial I'd see this in the magazine story about her that's with a little differently than a commercial shot one of the things that I think the maker did a good job of or that they you can tell that they had a lots of distracting elements so that low camera angle really worked for this photograph and minimizing yet we still see the bus or whatever that is in the corner dump the bottom but they did a good job of making this subject this woman looked very powerful and also for minimizing any things in the background actually the area that but then I'm finding difficult is that she's a little bit in my opinion to flat lit she's too she's a little overlooked like her chest there's no, I don't see any I don't I don't see any texture coming across there and that she's got this great muscle tone going on her arms, and I feel like her arms because the lights around the front a little bit too much and I can't it's not that the camera position is in the same direction as the lighting is that that's what's causing that that arm tio I don't see as much of the detail aside like, so maybe if they moved it around just a little bit on the other side, I think I'd like the way it skimmed across her and maybe to fill in just slightly with the reflector, so we have some distinction between highlights in the shadows without making it a bit so flat lit and we are on commercial nail that lighting's other things I did to this side retouch the bottom of the bram, assuming that is and some of those lines out of there and make it a little cleaner if this is a commercial shot, good that's, a really good point, anything else got? Uh, no, I don't feel that there's enough in this photograph that makes me want to engage with it. I feel that it's it's one plus one equals two it's tomatoes, and I'm assuming that's olive oil, you know, could be honey and pepper. So what I would like to challenge the maker I think that they've done an adequate job of lighting this scene but I really think they need to just work on their style icing a bit you know too stylized is to make it look more appealing to us I don't feel that I wouldn't goes to look at this ago young me I gotta have that yeah like the tough tomato laney leaning toward us again like a portrait engage, engage and like the background to go darker so if this was lit from above another getting to go what we talked about have some black card under that's blocking some of the light from hitting the back there the peppercorns again working with the food stylist I mean I could see myself doing this and I'd probably do the same thing with the peppercorns and you know someone looking me that you knew stylist yeah, you know it's not interesting enough for me to make it compelling when it hit me it's like a nice photo it's you know we can see everything yeah, technically there's yeah please but it has to be a little bit more compelling. Well, you gotta love that and I love his motorcycles john do you want to address the lighting on this? Well, I mean it's a typical vehicle lighting it looks like there's a large soft bucks over the top um I'm feeling when I see you motives like this, the engine is a big part of it, and one of the cylinder heads is lit, what the other one is into probably want to get a little more fill in from there, I also feel like the camera position is maybe a little too close. It sort of feels like the back wheel is bending away from us if they backed up a little bit and it would flatten out and then you just use a longer lens. Um, but I'm really drawn to that it's so dark and enough, though it's a logo on the guest, hank there and probably you're shooting for the manufacturer you're going to want to have that will go lit up absolutely and you get I think you just have to have more lights when you're doing something like that like it, you know, vehicles are a lot bigger than people, so if you're a portrait artists and they're going to be doing just shoot like this, you're probably not going to bring enough yeah, I mean the highlight, the highlight on the top of the gas tank and on the front cowling it was nice, but it doesn't take back to the rear fender or the front offender, usually the tire in the back there that's totally must intothe what could a photographer do let's say they don't, you know, you know, you don't have a big strip light that you might need for that. What are some things that you could do to illuminate this particular product and do that long? Like, give me some like, like macgyver it for us, the guy over that's, a tough one, you know, reduce they go rent a studio that has way to run a few strip lights deal it's still going to take a lot of little lights, it looks like usually do one light up, maybe you want three or four softbank's above that air, touching each other, and then if you see any lines in the image later, you probably want to retouch those out. But, uh, it's it's a tough subject to do macgyver ish, you have to be shooting at, you know, f eleven to show all that detail, the one thing that you can do let's say you're in a situation where you don't have, uh, you're doing something like this, but you're on a budget you have to, you have to really go f eleven, but you have to turn your eyes so up a lot because you're going to need more light and so when you increase your eyes so it's going to increase the power of your flash uh, and so you have to have a decent camera. First of all, they're shooting at ia souls that you don't get a lot of noise, but cameras nowadays you can go to whatever you can bump this at eight hundred sixteen hundred and still pull it off. And so that's, what I would do first, if you're on a budget and then you can bring in actually even small portable flashes and get it stripped, lives with it to put it in there, and then you'll have enough juice to power things like kind of thing you can dio so I have another idea. Have the room dark, yes, and then you meet the motorcycle wouldn't like use flashlights or, you know, use a continuous light source, walk along if you walk fast enough and you have a very slow shutter speed, you can paint this whole bike right here just keep the shutter open and walk along and pain across the top. And I was one year with a group of photographers when our I t the photographers from our I t lift the intrepid in new york harbor the entire interest america right here for those who don't know, so if you don't have any lights to work with. And I really encourage your ought you audience out there I want you to make this a homework assignment I want you practices this is so much fun is to start painting with light so the idea is that so many times photographers get in a rut and we think I can't do that I don't have a budget I don't have this light and I don't have this toy when in reality you can't even do it with the flashlight thank you decide that you have to think outside the box I'm surprised that got just to say when you just put a pretty girl on it yeah that's true ok, I think this is really I like I think this is clean looking the concept I do too I like the concept a lot I like that thie the whisk the wire whisk I think looks really interesting right there um but it doesn't have enough to grab my attention. I'm distracted by this stuff in the top there that's way out of focus there and blown out the highlights and aren't sure if that's a handle from the whisker what's going on behind it there so that those things distract me quite a bit and especially in the commercial category the idea is to sell the product what is the product it is? Is it the whisk or is it the coffee cup? Maybe so if you can't tell what it is if you're not sure then that's not going to do your your sponsor or the first day that it was a bowl of whip something other than when your let's say if you're using a macro lens a lot of times yet they keep in mind that you have to turn your f stop up a lot more because it's going to give a shallower depth of field even at five, six or four so we remember to keep that f stop up really high social when you're using a macro lens, I'll take what I love love love nuts, nuts that's about in this picture I love the fact that the photographer tried to do something quirky and interesting I love the way that they took this girl and they put all these wood pieces all around her I think that is so smart and fun and interesting what I have a problem with unloved first of all, I love the background that moody, you know quirky weird stuff going on over here and then they killed it how they kill it look at the bright, crisp light on the right hand side and I'm sorry I'm not trying to show you disrespect if this is your image but I hope that you'll re do this and do it again because day at that left hand side she needs to be where you can you can feel her in that misty kind of arena and then all that bright stuff does when you she's real sharp and chris the way you live her it you have two pictures one of her holding herself up and then she did then because it's so portrait e we're going what the heck is that why is she in that pile of ways or that pilot maybe you're going toward it you know it's a trash fashion dress but to me I'm thinking joan of arc are they about to later on fire I see it as what do you guys feel like if you just take her and move over into the empty space yes oh you know so she has a cleaner back in that background is distracting to head in a clean spot it's very distracted and the lighting is to crisp and too sharp this actually she would have looked this would have been a much more compelling image had you killed the flash altogether and then obviously moved her where scott was saying but killed the flash and then just you left that natural moody light be the light source for this image because it's you have to fighting concept its literal and abstract and most of the pictures abstract and then you you I screwed it up basically by making it too literal in the way that you've you've the way that you let it but police think this could be an amazing fine art picture right if they naturally let it put it over and like made a dark and photos out so I want to see you do this saying I see the light that we've used here I don't want to see the light you see the picture yeah, exactly, but I'll tell you maker you've you're very you have a quirky brain I love it I love that idea you need to rein it in a little bit and take you need to get rid of your logical brain or not get rid of it, but you need to tone it down and that's what? You know, this is the thing about when you look at people the photographer in our community in the beginning many times we get so we're so into the logic ok, this has to be it f ate at a sixteenth of a second and then, you know, we have to do this particular lighting edited it up and when that fine art finally meets your foundation of good lighting that's when you realize how important it is that you kind of been that rule a little bit, so I'm happy that you know, kind of these rules you're not quite ready, you're not you're not good with him yet, but I got my start yeah, great overhead foods popular this year it's a little bit too um what do you call it uh monetise and ensuring the door what's the word for that static yeah the arrangement um I think could be a little bit more creative yeah and where the asparagus comes up and meets those those paws peppercorns I think that's part of what bothers because I want to see that I'd love to see the air the energy of those those green stocks coming up you know kind of having breathing room and that kind of cuts off the picture right there with peppercorns are there are too many things and the other thing that the photographer did that I'm having a little bit of the problem with this if they've used hdr and it's a little bit too it looks a little too pearly like that hdr kindly am I right or wrong I don't know uh I'm not a fan of hdr myself but I'm not seeing it that strongly in here for me my eyes went immediately like you to the peppercorns here because those are the only straight lines in there and they point right to him and I wanted a little air up there but I think the issue is it doesn't look natural enough and that's why you kind of feel that that's not that a little bit of a aged especially on that personally on the left and so that's where I feel it is in the parsley yeah, yeah food from overheads pretty popular I'm just gonna hit repeat on you know what what's what's wrong with this this image first also what I like I like the fact that the photographer chose to use contrast in colors with the little the little jar in the the little aqua jar and then you've got next to that you've got place that whatever those are issues radishes maybe so I like the idea I like where their mind is going but it's seriously off the charts messy it looks like a messy table which is not appealing and if I were if I were something through a magazine and saw this it would not make me first to be going what is that and I'd be going ooh that looks like I want to clean it up it doesn't look compelling and then there's that big white blob what the heck is that assuming it's garlic but always that I couldn't tell you might like the stash eo nuts there now the white people of no I know but you know what? It'll look like you just don't know what that well that's that's part of what we don't know what way don't know what it is but we got a bunch of vegetables and then there's the blood oranges or whatever they are there and how do they fit in with that? It is there may be a sell it that those combined these things everyone that knows me out there's left because I'm not a vegetable person, I love fruit and other things, but vegetables just I don't know what to call him, so I think the moral of the story is obvious you were just showing ingredients that you needed to for a recipe, you might be able to get away with something like this, but rather than doing it this way, one of the things that you can do is say you can't afford to hire a stylist and you're new in this start ripping out pictures from magazines. I am my magazine hound, I collect magazines like you would not believe, and I get so inspired, and every time I find a picture that I like and now I will, I'm ready to admit I'm a pinch terrorist addict static. I don't copy what I see in pinterest, but I am inspired by it, and so I have my own pinterest boards where I start collecting pictures of things that inspire me. So I like this this garment, the way this is laid out, I like the way this particular photo is the makeup is done in this picture, things like that, I start collecting them and that's a great way to get ideas for laying out your food if you're an experienced and doing something like that, I know what I did I shoot from metropolitan bride magazine and we had a whole pinterest board dedicated to the makeup that needed to be done so we could show the makeup artists and hairstylists you know, this is what we want this is the palate that we want to use so we could use a winter sport like that and so you could benefit by doing something like that and I'm sorry if you're going to become an addict like that I mean it's there's nice light on the watch we got edge like but I feel it's laying too much on its side I can't really read the name on it they do have the standard ten into, um arm positions for watches almost every clock get you ever see is going to have him there and I think that's just to highlight the name in between, but I'm losing losing the name on this I can't if it's a black watch, then it's done little nicer of dark pewter if it's a silver watch, it needs a little more work yeah, the nay I mean you don't even know the brand of the watch. I don't know, I mean, obviously you're selling the watch, but the name of the watch is not actually beijing the shadow in there goes right through the middle of it it's a bit kind of static to me just thiss straightness of it just although you're seeing everything it doesn't have enough interest so what would you do to correct that to make a better image of that? Hey john let me set your watch take it off. Okay? So here's your watch I'm the stand so you two boys what you going to do about this? How would you like and then focus on your face back there so we don't even way making a beauty shot ok, so one of the things that you could you do to make a shot of a watch look more interesting make people actually be more compelled with it you know, obviously you want to see the name but there's got to be more that we could do you know, to create something more interesting. I think I would maybe shooting this more this way here so I've got some shape or something of it than rather than off to the side because my head naturally wants to go like this to it whereas I just want tio there could be some angle but that this may be too severe andi it's tough because there's so many watch ads been done I know the person's probably trying to do something a little different I commend them for that but it's it's a it's a tough problem to solve um if you even put it on and an arm and get it and the human element in there. And, you know you were a hand model, right? Of course. Okay, I like this. I think this is really interesting. And here's, the things I like about this photograph, um, I love the fact that their side lighting her the way that that life skims across her dress if you see how it gives her bust shape, if they were, if their camera position was on the other side on the same side as the light, there would be completely flat lining her. So I like that I actually even like the fact that her face is in a bit of shadow. I think that works. Notice how her knee one of our knees has bent that actually works as well. And this this this he is one of the best things about this photograph. You see that back arm, the one that is that's closer to the light. Do you notice how they've got that aren't pulled back a little bit that's a new important element. Because if that arm is too around, if it's too close to the front of the of her body it's going to become an extension of her shape and it's going make her look heavier, what do you think of the foot hidden behind the other foot? I don't really have a problem with that because and here's why I don't have a problem with it because there's a little bit of a light trapped between her legs there, so I see that she has two legs now what do you feel like? I feel kind of its blown out a bit, I mean, like, the shoulder and someone losing a little bit of a detail, and, um, I'm not I kind of feel like, well, a composition of it is nice and so forth it's got that shadow that's going across it, but I want to see more of her, actually and the dress, so I'm kind of feeling like maybe it shouldn't have been, um, cropped in a bit, not maybe not crop, but shot a little bit differently. I don't know. I mean, I'm sort of distracted by the shadow on the side, either more of it or less of it. I love the triangle shadow in there and he's trying to match that shadow on the on the left, you know, the triangle saddle so even our shadows really interesting looks like to easter island heads back to back there, you know, see, I actually like the treatment I like the way that it's exposed, I think that there are occasions when the when the rule doesn't necessarily apply I feel the photograph I feel the warmth it's a summer dress it's that beautiful, you know, soft very summery kind of feel and then because they've chosen to overexpose it just a little bit I mean I still can see the dress quite nicely and to me if I were a buyer or if I was going to put an ad in a magazine I think that this ad would lay out very nicely in a magazine and be able to you know you'd see that dress and you think summer you think warmth and you know sometimes when you have your you know when you're out of that bright side it wouldn't want to be two perfectly exposed because I think that would take the emotional aspect down I'll just go back to the face here I mean it's it's broad lit but she's thin to the broad lighting works on that as we said before eyes or nose to the light between the light in the camera that's the opposite here but it works in this position because it's it's not a portrait it is a commercial piece this was a portrait of we'd probably routine this very different absolutely I kind of feel like it's interesting but not its helling right it's a start but right now it looks like a shot in front of a curtain and I'm distracted by the patterns lighten dark in the background behind it I'd like to see the background completely blown out so late really comes through those fruit. It looks sloppy. You know why it looks sloppy. There's like the glass on the end is is more full than the rest of the glasses are so that's me looks a little messy and then we have the glass and has the strawberry in it has like pulp and stuff and it looks to me it's not appealing it wouldn't make me want to drink that consistency. I mean, they probably put the fruit in after the water. The water levels may have all started at the same height and it was afterwards when they put the fruit and that has changed the heightened didn't notice the change, but here well, look that's ok, I'm looking at the colors of the straws. Some of them seem to match like the strawberry one matches the but the green and pink straws maybe should have been swapped in the second and third ones just just little details. If you're going to do a regular pattern that looks identical like the mirror or something that's identical, then you've got to really nail it right on and have all the water levels equal and all that kind of stuff or you could go the opposite have completely different water levels crisscross the straws and then go that way so if you're going to go this regular pattern than you better just line it up and just nail it and not make it like stopping food from above is pretty popular this year we'll keep going I'm just wondering what the green thing is sticking in the corner and the two lines coming up front and maybe that's a stem of the flower whatever um I think the stronger part of the composition is right in with the the jar and products next to it I can lose that side of that an image and make it stronger for me then it go you know, to maybe go to a square crop there something yeah, what do you think? So, yeah, I would like to have a crop differently this wasted space on that right hand side, but again, this is a commercial and a lot of times you need to leave space right? Copy wei have to think that we too so many competitions I've been part of you know you're too far away you left too much negative space, but you know as if you're a stock photographer or you shooting a need for an assignment of something, sometimes you do need to leave that spacey the recipe there so so right according to the use that it's gonna have so what do you think it was well illuminated or tell me what you thoughts are on the way it's lit um it's a little bit um maybe to that flowers over blown on the right hand side way lose the flour then I think it's pretty clean the rest of the imageworks nice there's some highlights on the tomatoes or whatever those are there like oranges oranges inside the jar okay, yeah, they almost look like they're glowing or something london right? You want to go? Yeah. Okay. And it's a nice concept there I mean it's the dogs that the sharp light on them that like the capture of the spray of water but I'm distracted by the background it's nice to know it's at the beach but uh lower angle right at the water would make more sky would get rid of the middle ground the background or from a little higher up we'll get more of the water behind the dogs and move the beach up. Um I think in her the pet owner you'd love it but as a commercial shot it's not strong enough um yeah there's too many distracting elements to it um we left bambi speech was something I kind of say I'm a dog you know, um what I like about this is I think that I like I think it's interesting when people drop random things things that don't belong and you know I think that that's an interesting concept however I must say this just hurts me but I think it's one of those invitations or maybe it's the person who got tired that brand switch to soothe on land staying there that is the water okay yeah I mean it does have a little edge on the bottom but not as much if you remember the fruit when earlier there was a little phil coming up from the bottom that defined the bottom yeah of the images I think they got the kind of kept the lens cap on so maybe maybe this is to demonstrate a waterproof linz but you know because I e I agree with you I would like to have seen a little more of a rim on the back seat on the cropping at the tops a little tight those splashes come right up to the edge and probably even it was just he had some black and post processing if that's where the frame that really ended if you had that lighting on the bottom just a little bit more up light and what do you feel about this toning down just a little bit the back light on the water so the lens would kind of uh the future of it go more of that same tone you guys are really good reason that we selected you to be oh I thought it was because we're all so cute that to me well, you know that's a given but really enjoying you guys so much thank you and people are also commenting about their own images that they submitted gabby mattei said hello there I want to thank all the guests for their positive words and congratulations to creative live team for this constructive week gabby made the image of the beetle in the snow on says and said that it was made on a trip on a romanian mountain resort no additional like just to rush shots one of the car and one for the sky together that makes it even more video well, I'm not sure gathered matteo I don't get it could be a boy it could be either one so thank you once again for the people we did critique I mean it's it's it's meant to be helpful and you have three people here you could have another three people here say something completely different about it. I mean, don't take everything we say as gospel, you know, I would encourage you to go out and do things your way and find your voice and but at the same time there's a reason that we're here and you know, I was I'm a little bit cautious when people say, you know, find your own path because you have to have some way you have to have a path that you're on and and so you do need to have some sort of foundation and that is with, you know, learning good, you know, concepts and lighting and lend selection and understanding what happens with the way light and shadow moves things. So then you have the ability to tell your amazing story if you don't know howto how to write, how can you write a story? So, you know, you know, it's like people who, you know, there's some amazing artists out there, as I said with, you know, when I think about super rice and and, you know, jennifer hudson and all of the many others that are out there, they didn't just pick up a camera and just say, ok, I'm going to go take pictures and be the amazing, amazing artists that they are today they learned how to work a camera, they learned f stop from a bus stop and they learned how to, you know, to be able to manipulate and photo shop in such and so if you just say, well, I want my own path and then but you don't know a thing about photos show how the world can you do composites, so it does take its a learned it's something that can be learned, you need to have it, I think that there are people who are born to be photographers and that are born to be artist and that are naturally gifted at that how do you get to carnegie hall? Yeah practice practice practice great. What we do have the twenty images from the commercial category. So why don't we look at those? And if we have any questions in the studio, aliens go right ahead. Commercial photography so I noticed that none of the images are black and white is that kind of the rule like you don't do black and white? Or is it just kind of it's just what happened to be submitted their lady in the wood and the mist um what you I have made a copy of that and flip it and then have the misty behind her they composite it I would re shoot it and here's why you can't just copy and move her because the lighting won't match see that because she's very crispy see how sharp her faces and the light on her arms it's very crisp and it's very it's, very lit and that other look at how soft and movie that background love that becker to it just a screaming and so if you put her on the other side it would be like it would you be so obvious that it was a fake so you know, I really would encourage the maker to go and to re shoot this any sense of any of the final questions? I have a question here from john mcclintock who would like to know, you know, commercial seems to be such a broad kind of category, and john would like to know, are there what are bad practices to avoid in commercial photography? Or is that something that you could easily not satisfying the client? Commercial photography is sometimes even more about the client aa lot of times of commercial photography you had agency calls you, they send, you lay out, and you have to match it. I mean, you can try maybe something's on your own afterwards, but you've got to get their concept right first, a lot of times, they're they're coming to you for your execution, up for your ideas, you know, a lot of I know a number of very, very well known commercial photographers, and they're given a picture to follow from the art director and the art director khun b right there, and they will tell you exactly what to do. Awesome. And one more final question, bam bam had asked. I think this is in regards to the first photo may be of the woman that we weren't sure if it was what they were selling, if it was the earrings, or if it was the necklace, and the question is if you don't know who the hero and the shot is, does there always need to be a really a parent hero in a commercial shot? Because you're obviously selling a commercial item? I wasn't just have given an all photography I'm just thinking that if you are doing a commercial shoot, you better have a hero and there better be what they're trying to sell. You don't want to confuse your viewer on what actually the main point of the images, the place that may changes in some perfume ads and the like sometimes it's just a conceptual thing in the background that has nothing to do with the perfume. But if it's a product shot, I think that's a good point actually, in fact, a company who has done this successfully, tiffany's tiffany's had an amazing ad where they had this woman embracing this man and her hand is is like just to run, and you barely see the ring on her finger and it's all about the romance. The hero is them it's the experience it's, not really the ring, and yet they sell jewelry and that's what they're trying to sell so the hero can be represented by other things.