Hello from the Critique Club again - no it is not a system glitch, I'm not really assigned to this photo but I had promised to review it.
I gave this photo a four. In my system (everyone's is different) five is average. Five is also about what I could do myself. So four is just a bit less than average. When you asked for a critique on "the Ole Plane" I searched and searched for an airplane.
Do you want the good stuff first or the bad?
This is a lovely idea that fell a bit flat in the execution. Theme well met - magazine matches the photo, no one can fault you for that. The old wooden plane is a visually interesting object. Putting it on a wood plank backgound emphasizes it's age and contruction. I also like that the wood floor is old and scuffed. The shavings are a nice addition. They indicate that the plane still works and they add color and texture to the total image. The shavings, being much lighter, smaller, and disorderly make a contrast to the finished wood boards and worn construction of the plane. Contrasts created: new/old, light/dark, rough/smooth. small/large, unfinsihed/finished. Contrasts catch the viewers interest and make them look a little longer at your work, gaining appreciation. I love all the wood tones and that the colors are all natural shades of brown.
And now for the "needs improvement", in no particular order.
A pet flaw of mine is the tilted horizon. Here your background is the wood flooring. It should either be exactly parallel to to the image frame or it should be more than 5 degrees tilted. If you intend for the subject to be tipped for dramatic effect it has to be more tipped. A one or two degree tilt just looks like a mistake. It is really easy to fix in any photo editing program. If you don't have an editing program, you need one. Search the DPC threads, there are some free downloads that work nicely. It's the modern equivelant of a darkroom. Almost all the photos in the challenges have been edited in some way. You can learn little by little how to improve your final product.
Photography is all about light. Light creates the image on the film (or pixels). Learning to use light is THE goal of a photographer. The best of the best are still exploring light. It looks like you have used an on camera flash to light your picture. Flash is never a good option (though a "fill flash" to bring out the shadow areas in a scene lit with another light source is useful). A front-on flash creates glare, like in front of the plane, and harsh shadows, like behind the handle. Suggestions? Use natural light if you can. Try to set up so the light comes from one direction, that will make some intersting shadow shapes. Diffuse the flash. People use all sorts of things, tissue, guaze, fabric, to put in front of the flash so the light reaching the subject is softer. Some use a simple index card in front of the flash to aim the light away from the object.
Consider the other comments on the photographic techinque: more contrast (this is done in the editing program), out of focus (is it really out of focus or does it look that way because of the lighting glare?), the shavings are "blown out" - over exposed.
Composition is a critical part of all art. There are arrangements that the human eye finds pleasing or disturbing. Either will get the viewer interested in your picture. One comment said the picture was boring. A simple but effective gimmick is "the rule of thirds". Placing the main point of interest off center in one of the "thirds" points has been used for centuries. Look are a collection of old masters paintings - rarely will you find anything in the dead center of the canvas. A centrally placed object is the least interesting composition. Leading lines are also another important part of composition. The human brain like to follw lines - is it a hunting instinct? If your lines lead into the photograph the viewer will be led in and will spend more time looking at it. As soon as the viewers eyes are led OUT of the image, the brain thinks "all done, next picture'. Your leading lines here are the dominant diagonals of the plane and the less strong lines of the boards and they all point me out of the image.
Several commenters suggested that they wished to see something more, more tools, the project that the shavings came from, the woodworker himself. Perhaps you needed another compositional element to create an interplay. Perhaps just the plane was not enough to make a captivating picture. The shavings were a good attempt. I thought they were enough, especially considering the assignment was a magazine cover where there would be lettering and you don't want a cluttered look.
Now consider the comments on composition: good start, would like to see more, boring angle, different angle would improve it, a bit too sparse.
This is a nice comfortable middle of the road picture. Try to make the next one more dramatic. Try something different. Change the angle you shoot from, experiment with another light set up, use an off center subject. Good luck!
focus on the wood seems a bit soft to me. I think that the angle and framing/cropping are good, but the lighting is a bit harsh on the wood chips. this could be why the focus seems so soft. I like how everything is wooden.
This is too boring, in my opinion. Its too much of a point and shoot, standing above the table kind of shot. Get some different angles, I think any angle would be more interesting than this.
Nice Idea. I think the light is a bit too harsh. Try a diffuser then get the light up really close. The closer the light the softer the light will be. I know it does not make sense, but that is what actually happens.
I dont like the horizontal format, and i think a different angle would improve this picture. I like the wood tones but don't like the contrasting color of the chips
This has a simple, comfortable feel to it, like something out of the past. It seems like the project he's working on should also be in the picture, unless it's the table itself, which it doesn't appear to be. Great idea!
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