Honest Advice for YOUR portfolio. =] (name changed)

NSFW

Dasha said

Thank you Gemma, really appreciate your thoughts!! :)

You are very welcome :D

Yes please if you have time.

Jade Janis said

I'd like your opinion on mine please!

Hello Jade,

This is a cool pose from you, technically it could be lit and composed better.

It's always good to show you can do catwalk work.

Not the best image technically but it could be argued this has its artistic merits although it doesn't do much for you as a model as the viewer can hardly see you due to blur.

This is a great concept to show your profile off and the colours work well but the image is out of focus and looks amateur because of this.

This is a really cool quirky image and looks professional. Those glasses really suit you.

Overall you have a strong look but I think you need to invest in your portfolio and hire a really good photographer to shoot with you as the quality of the majority of your images is quite poor. Take a look at Jason Perkins, Russ Freeman, Orson Carter and any other photographers with good references and a strong portfolio.

Thanks for taking part.

Elizabeth Crawford said

If the offer's still open then I'd love to hear what you think :)

Hello Elizabeth,

This image as absolutely beautiful, a great addition to your portfolio. You look great, the makeup suits you perfectly and your pose suits your setting.

This is a very striking image, your makeup looks great, your eyes captivate the viewer also.

Beautiful natural image.

Fantastic expressions in these photos.

Love your quirky expression and the look in your eye, it entices the viewer in to the photo.

So far I feel you are playing it safe with your expression, the images are good but I would like to see some variety in the style of the images and your expression within them.

This is great show you can work well with other models.

You have a couple of very similar images in your portfolio, I would suggest keeping one image from each shoot with a similar style in your portfolio to keep the variety and quality up in your portfolio.

I think it would be worthwhile shooting some more full body images with fitted clothes to show off your curves as at the moment you are lacking in this type of shot. 

I hope this helps

Thanks for taking part. 

Thanks so much for your opinion, and your kind comments! Much appreciated :)

Elizabeth Crawford said

Thanks so much for your opinion, and your kind comments! Much appreciated :)

you are very welcome 

Mine if you can - technical competency, variety of styles, what's missing (in either case), any that should go etc

Go for it - I'm aware I don't have that much photographic work in there yet though :)

Thank you so much  :)   Noted! 

Hmm.. I guess I'd be interested to hear what you thought about my shots.

I would be very interested in your thoughts. I've kind of gone in more of a photo manipulation direction of late and quite quickly getting addicted. Been thinking of trimming my portfolio for a while now so your thoughts would be gratefully received :)

Granite and Grace said

If you ever manage to catch up and get time, feel free to have a nosey :)

Hello,

This shot is lovely, very nice composition, model and location, If I were to suggest anything I would suggest selectively upping the contrast a bit on the rocks.

The image above is beautiful. The composition, lighting, framing and model work really well together, You have captured the waters movement perfectly without effecting the sharpness of the model. Very well shot.

In my opinion this shot is not as good as the other two I have commented on. You can see where you have cut around her to sharpen the background especially above her back, also the clone marks between her hand and foot are obvious as there is a pattern in the foliage that is unnatural. The contrast and sharpening look a little overdone. 

The colours in this shot are lovely but the bright green line in the bottom section of the image is distracting because it is so much more saturated than the other colours, even though it may be naturally this bright I would suggest desaturating it a little as it detracts from an otherwise strong image.

Overall this image is underexposed, do you shoot with a polarizing filter to help even out the exposure between the sky and foreground? Maybe try and brighten the ground and your model a little in photoshop to see if you prefer it with a bit more light?

Love the colours and composition, I bet those fisherman couldn't believe their eyes! This has a good straight horizon and a well lit model.

Overall your portfolio is pretty strong, you have a good understanding of lighting, framing and composition. You have a good variety of models and locations throughout your portfolio. I would advise being strict with yourself and keeping only the best images in your portfolio, if you are stuck with editing, maybe invest and get a retoucher to have a look, if an image becomes portfolio worthy then it's worth the investment. 

I hope this helps

Thanks for taking part.

mol said

I'd be interested in you critique and understanding of my work as I have no idea of why I do it.

warmth

mol

 

Hi Mol,

By experimenting with 3d imagery you have given yourself a niche and a unique portfolio in PurplePort. I don't have any 3d glasses so cannot appreciate this image in it's entirety but it does look promising. 

I don't really understand the reasoning behind this image or why there is a weird bushy thing where her genitals would be. I can see you have experimented with a spiders web, cracked glass effects, and whatever you would call the splattery effect top right but overall if the image doesn't communicate a message then it won't ever really make sense. The image itself is also really over exposed with completely blown highlights throughout.

same applies to this image as the one above, why have you created it? what is the reasoning behind the dolphins coming out of her head? Most images are created for one or more reasons, fashion to show off garments, art nude to show form, beauty to advertise products or brands, conceptual images to show off a personal idea with inspiration behind it etc. All I can see from this image is that you can photoshop some oddly shaped dolphins into an image, the water and dolphins are simply laid over the top, they don't flow very well together with the original image and the graphics look as if they are from that old school sega megadrive game 'echo the dolphin'. As for the model, what is the reasoning for editing her as you have? Images usually have some sort of meaning or message behind them but this one doesn't seem to have one and therefore comes across as a heavily processed headless woman with dolphins and water coming from her neck, it seems odd and confusing. 

As an image this shot is over exposed. I get the idea that stripes are linked to illusions but by simply wearing stripey socks doesn't make this model shot an illusion even with some extra faded feet and hands. Just simply as a model shot, if you had balanced the exposure better to reduce the highlights and straightened the image out it would have been quite a cool shot. 

Right, I understand what this shot is about because of the description. Were you trying to go for the shock factor in this image? As you say it is about her period, why would she have her with her hands cupped as if she was drinking her own period blood? and what is the thing that comes out of the image? I don't understand how she is sitting as so much of her body simply isn't there, so again I am confused about what you are trying to do, I thought maybe you were trying to get it coming from her vagina as some sort of evil period monster, but her legs aren't positioned correctly for that and the monster thing itself isn't distinguishable to be a mouth and teeth until you have been viewing it for a good couple of minutes. Again, although the idea is explained the execution and particular elements of the story don't communicate the idea. 

Ok, your portfolio has been difficult for me to 'critique' because I do not understand your motivation or intention with many of your images. If you are happy doing what you are doing then that is great, don't let my comments change that. But in order to communicate with a wider audience I think you need to think about the message or metaphor you are trying to communicate with your images and eliminate the unnecessary elements but also include the necessary in order to communicate your thoughts more effectively. Try losing the old school cheesy graphics and stuck on text, if your image works well in order to show what you want it too you shouldn't have to title it within the image as you have with the period shot. 

I really hope this is helpful and you can see how I am trying to help.

Thanks for taking part

Thanks for the critique. Mmmm. I think maybe the surreal mix I make are communicating something more than a wider audence can see. It's like if you can write it out, why put it together as a picture. The first image (lizard like) is simply something about the gorl suggested the image. She is depicted here like an oddity trapped in Amber or glass. The hint of light from the spidery like web is to enhance the idea of entrapment - the cracked glass: failed attempts to escape.The prominent bilge is t suggest her body tapers there differently to human - to add to the Alien suggestion.

It's a story in a frame!

The Dolphin one. It's a kind of spoof really. Loads of slow mo film clips around of beautiful women tossing their wet hair... and photos. I thought it would be amusing if they did that and an ocean poured out, or at least these beautiful creature. I was taking the mickey our of hackneyed and cliched imagery.

The menstrual period one.

I'm big on opposing the idea of advertisers conditioning women to think of themselves as disgusting when they menstruate. This conditioning helps them sell tampax. In fact - as a guy - I always found a menstruating women to be a very disarable and beautifl being. 1) She's fertile  2) She's powerful - more powerful than me: she can bring life into the world.

Where once we celebrated it and where once blood meant life - not death (Paegan), we now make it something best hidden. The girl drinks her blood relishing in her own womanhood. The snake or Serpent  is the spectre of contemporary thinking. She, the girl, is not moaning about her period. She is triumphant in it and a rebel against modern and twisted perceptions. Women without underarm or pubic hair... why? The hair is there for a reason. Ads aimed at women to wear tampax or feel embarressed by a spot of blood in their knickers. Why? What's wrong with us?  Are we now ashamed of being humans?

Actually, you just gave me an idea for my short films. I think I'll start making anti-ads. I 'll start with a Tampax ad. No kidding.

My images are dark satrire, statements, and cryptic content. Very literal and very logical people with a dfferent pattern of reasoning won't glimpse the concepts. Other people with more laterally motivated thinking will probably do better at seizing the ideas. One hopes :)

You also said: "images are created for one or more reasons, fashion to show off garments, art nude to show form, beauty to advertise products or brands, conceptual images to show off a personal idea with inspiration behind it etc."

Yes. I know. I thought I was doing the last of these. There is another reason so: biological. I wish to reinforce the idea we ae organic forms, of which - women are the superior. I am doing this now because in another generation, pure human bioloigical form will be a thing ofthe past as we merge ever more with our technology and surgical enhancements.

Some of my art is simply suggesting this is the last of us pure humans.

When I had exhibitions people fell into 2 opposing camps: great, I get it or rubbish, I don't get it. There were no in-betweeners.

Many thanks for your Critique. You have a thankless task, I think.

much warmth

mol

mol said

Thanks for the critique. Mmmm. I think maybe the surreal mix I make are communicating something more than a wider audence can see. It's like if you can write it out, why put it together as a picture. The first image (lizard like) is simply something about the gorl suggested the image. She is depicted here like an oddity trapped in Amber or glass. The hint of light from the spidery like web is to enhance the idea of entrapment - the cracked glass: failed attempts to escape.The prominent bilge is t suggest her body tapers there differently to human - to add to the Alien suggestion.

...

Many thanks for your Critique. You have a thankless task, I think.

 

much warmth

mol

 

Fair enough =] You are welcome.