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Lesson Info

Commercial Image Critique

So welcome back, everyone. Thank you for watching the slide show, and we're going to get right to our image critiquing for commercial. We have their same judges, so take it away with image one. All right, Who? 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 going on. I love the blue versus the red of the crawfish or whatever those are in there. That string in the front works with those two green pieces. They're just distract me. I'm not sure what they are. They may may belong there, but the color is just so different than then. 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 top, that creative straight down. I use that to with the wedding cake, too. Sometimes instead of everybody inside, just get way hig...

h up and shoot down on it. But a Actually, I would take down maybe the string a little bit, but I love it. It's It's a great photo of the chills. I find the composition really 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 string on the bottom. I, too, I'm not feeling it with those two little those two little round things on the 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 thesis such a This is like one of those photographs you wanna 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 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. Well, even with her, if they bent that wrist a little bit, Mawr and had it had her leaning 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 were so important. I think she's also were also may be seeing a little bit too much of the back of the hand. Your thoughts. The hand in the hand that's on her arm is really close, like even though it's hidden behind the other one. And you have the little sausages as you would coming out of there again. You know, soft ballet hands. I often say to people You know, the thumb comes toward the middle finger and starts curving everything and just get side here. Where the side here most people don't realize our hand is about as big a star face, so 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. Are are we selling? The bracelet, the necklace, the hearing? I mean, the ring that hearing someone took pains to get to glow there. That blue there. Is it 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'd look at a different way, you know, not knowing the background of it. It thank you have a hand across that jewelry because I think that's kind of a prominent piece in the work. And then to cover it up a little bit distracting then also, I'm not a huge fan of shooting up the nose. So I think if the photographer took a bit of a higher angle, it would reduce that were come from the porch, a world in the commercial world and, yeah, you, Mads and the like. I do often see that, right? But, you know, when I met with the portrait person, so you know, chin down, Chin day on, shooting down 1/4 inch, even just a little bit. People have a tendency when they get in front of the camera to do this lean and engage baby. This is fantastic. I really like this, and I can't help but get all woozy about it because it's just create. I love the way that little kid is looking at that chicken. I mean, he's saying in his mind, lunch, dinner next. And I think that's incredibly clever. This is 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, but what's going on outside still is balanced to the inside. Andi 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 vertical line. I don't know what it is, but it's pulling my IRA from that little child's face, so 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 assume the lights coming, some light from the window and maybe from a window on this slide, because that's where the ladies on his face. But there's everything's this hard shadows under there. Now that I'm looking at, there is probably a hard shadow across his chest in a highlight. This, um, maybe if that lamp was glowing a little bit of my head a little bit, too. But the overall I think it's really I think they should have turned that lamp on a little bit. I feel like that. 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 Ah like that's a bit high and so it's crossed 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 seen 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 on 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 eye is how the behind the chicken that share, 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, they would be really great, almost eye contact between the kid and the chicken. I'm just curious if if that's something that you guys would agree with that jumped out at me. But it's fine. Oh, 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 it would take a chair out, because I kind of like that, but a separation. But 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, okay? You guys said it all months. Got has got, um Well, hey, it's food. It looks like sushi. You want to eat it? I get, um it's I think it's, you know, I think it's great for whatever it's used it's going to be used for, um you know, uh, 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 in that sushi. So, um, I would probably like to see a little bit ah, detail in the sushi itself. And whenever you're entering prints in competition, this by the way is a really nicely done, nicely lit photograph of some sushi. But when you're entering prints 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 about earlier about this when we were talking at 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 like the flat lighting that they've used, gives it a nice pearly look to it. But think about when you're entering Prince 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 look at and I'm coming again. From the client perspective vs competition to this is something they put on a menu or something like that. But it's not gonna 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 sushi and just a little more edginess to it. 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 their 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 have find a Silas to work with you because they can take your food and just scoop it up and make it look just crazy. Good. I'm not sure to if you would put that LaSalle beyond the ginger and front there because I guess in the oil. So, uh, the ginger kind of works for me, but there was sovereignty. Also, with it being out of focus. Yeah, distracting, but still would nicely executed. This is a more interesting angle for me. It draws more interest to it. Um, and I like the texture of the wood. And, uh, I think so. 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 gonna I want a future, this soup or 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 no peeling 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, he'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 2 may fuses like longer lens them, but I think it'll around the dish out. I'm just seeing the perspective distortion there, and for me, it's jumps out at me. Might not jump out. 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 I go straight to that. If it was for the cheese ground, your crop in to the plaint, just maybe a corner of the plate. Yeah, tones and stuff. That's why we're assuming that that's do or whatever is the main focus of it. But its overall. It's a nice feel. The born yard would and, like crazy off this'll brilliant. That's absolutely brilliant. I love the color. The texture makes it goes Now. Is this a studio thing? There's this. Have they create this? How did they get that? White background looks like it's outside, but it looks like it's it's late with this, you know, 30 by 40 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 on an animate object and they made you feel, and they found unusual twist to it because usually with like a little beetles were thinking beach, sun and sand. I mean, that's what the first customer of mine, California. And so I mean, I had a beetle when I was a 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 after the car. I mean, that's really brilliant marketing. If you think about it, what a brilliant way to showcase a car and not even show it. Historically, it brings me back to the original Volkswagen. Eight ads from Doyle Dane Bernbach, those world black and white when they Sometimes they just had the bug in the bottom corner and some text on the page or an empty page with just a little bug. And here we're 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 being, uh, you know, VW dealership. We love that picture somewhere in the office or something. It's cool. Yeah, it really doesn t belongs in a magazine. You could also hang that 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 makers, 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. They had the forethought to make sure that they highlighted that snow to separate it from that background. That's a tough one, because for the snow you're going for the diffuse texture and some shadows and the like in there. But when you're shooting a car, usually not shooting your car, your shooting, what's reflected in the car, so they've taken to opposite ends of the of how to light things and brought them together here and 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 quickly. This is one of those photographs that causes you to sit and really stare at it. I'm trying to still try toe 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 yours Or is he just reading the scores? And she's watching a soap opera? Yeah, who knows? So I do find it very interesting in one of the things in this category. When you have photographs like this that call 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 mean, it's like I keep looking at her and her dress 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 as well. I think this is what it is that's bugging me. The background, the sky actually is what's bothering me a little bit. 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 there. So editorial and they're so like Norman Rockwell issue that I would like 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 again. 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 super wide angle lens. It's not corrected. That's leading. And maybe the background was done with a fisheye and stuff in the front is placed in. But then we have her hair flying or her dress flying the candles on her side air sort of blowing that way. The candles on his side, not quite as much. There's no movement in the tablecloth. Eso I'm just I'm just trying to put them all together and go, Why you're something's flying and some more. And maybe it's part of the story they're trying to tell. You know, something's happening with her and he's just ignored breaking up with her guys always breaking up, just like text in your love really wants the data. But that's a good point about the about the 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. So the maker keep keep doing this? Yes, vein 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 okay. Agreed. The hard light works for the strength there, but as a you know, and then skin, this is the commercial area. I'd probably lose whatever that is in the lower left corner there. Is it a stadium or something that's in the background? Just don't want to worry about it. 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 the eye protectors across 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 that I don't know if it's the light is even enough for me for a commercial point of view. Um, so that darkness on the elbow, Maybe if it was this more editorial, I'd see this in a magazine story about her that's with a little differently in 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 lots of distracting elements, so that low camera angle really worked for this photograph in minimizing. Yet we still see the bus or whatever that is in the corner down 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 difficulty is that she's a little bit, in my opinion, to flat lit. She's, too. She's a little over lit, 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 can't It's not that the the camera position is in the same direction as the lighting is that That's what's causing that that arm Teoh. 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 and the shadows without making it a bit so flat. Let and we are on commercial now, lighting So other things I do to this side retouch the bottom of the the Brahma. Assuming that is, and some of those lines out of there and make it a little cleaner, this is a commercial shot. Good. That's a really good point. Anything else got? Uh, no. Ah, 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. 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. Izing a bit, you know, stylized is to make it look more appealing to us. I don't feel that I wouldn't go look at this ago. Young me, I gotta have that. Yeah, like the top tomato leaning leaning toward us again like a portrait. Engage. Engaged like the background to go darker. So if this was lit from above another again to go. But 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 Look at me. You knew? Stylist? Yeah. Help. 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, you can see everything. Yeah, technically there. Yeah, but it has to be a little bit more compelling. Well, you gotta love that. I love this motorcycle. John, do you want to address the the lighting on this? Well, I mean, it's typical vehicle lighting. It looks like there's a large soft box over the top. Um, I'm feeling when I see you motors like this, the engine is a big part of it. And one of the cylinder heads is let what the other one is ended. 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. I don't know if that's the logo on the guest tank there and probably shooting for the manufacturer. You're gonna want to have that logo lit up. Absolutely. Did you got 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 doing to shoot like this, you're probably not gonna bring enough like the highlight. The highlight on the top of the gas tank and on the front cowling was nice, but it doesn't take back to the the rear fender or the front fender tire on the back there. That's totally a must into what could a photographer do? Let's say they don't. 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 light. Give me some like like MacGyver it for us, the guy. But that's a tough When I use the go Rent, a studio that has a way to run a few strip lights together, it's still gonna take a lot of a lot of lights. It looks like I usually do one light of 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 it's a tough subject to do MacGyver ish because you have to be shooting at, you know, 11 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 your doing something like this, but you're on a budget. Um, you have you have to really go F 11 but you have to turn your eyes so up a lot because you're going to need more light and, um, so when you increase your eyes so it's gonna increase the power of your flash. Ah, and so you have to have a decent camera. First of all that shooting it, I associate. You don't get a lot of noise, but cameras nowadays you can go to whatever you can bump this at 816 100 still pull it off. And so that's what I would do first, if you on a budget. And then you can bring in actually even small portable flashes and get stripped lines with it to put it in there and then you'll have enough juice. Power things like thing you can dio I Another idea. Have the room dark? Yes, and then paint the motorcycle with light. 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 paint across the top. I was one year with a group of photographers when our I t. The photographers from our I t let the Intrepid in New York harbor the entire interest 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 to practice this. This is so much fun is to start painting with light. So the idea is that so many Thais 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 You can do it with the flashlight, think outside. You have to think outside the box. I'm surprised that Scott didn't just say one. You just put a pretty girl on through. I think this is really I like I think this is clean looking concept. I do too. I like the concept a lot. I like that through the, um the whisk The wire was, I think looks really interesting right there, 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 highlights. And I'm not sure if that's a handle from the whisker. What 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, um, your sponsor or the pain that it was a bowl of whipped something or other you. When you're, let's say, if you're using a macro lens, a lot of times you have to 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 56 or four. So, um, remember to keep that F stop up really high. So see, when you're using a macro lens, I'll tell you 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. I love first of all, I love the background that moody, you know, quirky, weird stuff going on over here. And then they killed it. How did 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 redo this and do it again, cause dang it, that left hand side, she needs to be where you can. You can feel her in that misty kind of arena and that all that bright stuff does when you cheese roll Sharp. And Chris, the way you let her, you have two pictures, one of her holding herself up. And then she then because it's so portrait e, we're going. What the heck is that? Why is she in that pile of Wei's or that pile of Maybe you're going toward, you know, it's a trash fashion dress, but to me, I'm thinking Joan of Worker, they about to later on fire e c. It would be like if you just take her and move over into the empty space. Yes, you know. So she has a cleaner back on that background is distracting to head in a clean spot. It's very distracted, and the lighting is to crisp and two 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 let that natural moody light be the light source for this image because it's you have to fighting concepts its literal and abstract, and most of the pictures abstract. And then you you screwed it up basically, by making it too literal in the way that you you the way that you let it. But please 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. So I want to see you dio saying I see the light that was used here. I don't want to see the light. Yeah, I see the picture. Yeah, exactly. But I'll tell you maker, you you're very you have a quirky brain. I love it. I love that idea. You need to reign 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 were so into the logic. Okay, this has to be a F eight at 1/60 of a second. And then, you know, we have to do this particular lighting dented 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 can I start? Yeah. Great overhead foods popular this year. It's a little bit too. Um, would you call it, uh, monitor your 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 pods? Peppercorns. I think that's part of what bothers. Because I want to see that I'd love to see the air of the energy of those those green stalks 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 that the photographer did that I'm having a little bit of a problem with this that they've used HDR and it's a little bit too. It looks a little too pearly like that hdr kind of. 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 strong in here for me. And 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 want that 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 is not that a little bit of aged, especially on that personally on the left. And that's where I feel it isn't a parsley. Yeah, yeah, food from overheads. Pretty popular. Just repeat, you know what? What? What's wrong with this? This image, first of all, what I like. I like the fact that the photographer chose to use contrast in colors with the little the little jar in the little aqua jar. And then you've got next to that. You've got placed, whatever. Those are 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, Oh, 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, is that I couldn't tell you might not like pistachio nuts. No, no, I know that that's that's part of what We don't know. What's that 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 it? is there may be a sell it that those combine these things. Everyone that knows me out there is laughing because I'm not a vegetable person. I love fruit and other things, but vegetables just I don't know what the column. So I think the moral of the story is obviously if 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 if you can't afford to hire a stylist in your new in this start ripping out pictures from magazines. I am a magazine hound and 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 Pinterest addict. 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. 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 in doing something like that, I know when 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 gonna become an addict. I mean, it's there's nice light on the watch. We got edged 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 10 and to, um, arm positions for watches. Almost every clock did you ever see is gonna have them 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 or 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, uh the name of the watch is not actually vision. The shadow in there goes right through the middle and a bit kind of static to me. Um, just three 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 see your watch. Take it off. Okay, So here's your watch. I'm the stand. So you two boys, what you gonna do about this? How would you like a fire and then focus on your face? Back their way? Make it a beauty shop. Okay, 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 gotta be more that we could do, you know, to create something more interesting. I think I would maybe shoot it this more this way here, So I've got some shape or something of it. Then, rather than off to the side, my head naturally wants to go like this to it. Whereas I just wanted Teoh, there could be some angle, but that this may be too severe on. But 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 if it's a, it's a tough problem to solve. If you even put it on in a norm and get it and a human l women in there and you know you were a hand model, right? Of course. Okay, I am like this. I think this is really interesting. And here's the things I like about this photograph. I love the fact that their side lighting her the way that that light skims across her address. You see how it gives her bust shape If they were, if they're camera position was on the other side, on the same side of the light, they would be completely flat lighting her so I like that. I actually even like the fact that her face is in a bit of shadow. I think that works. Noticed how her me one of her knees is bent. That actually works as well. And this thing to me 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 arm pulled back a little bit? That's on important element, because if that arm is to around, if it's too close to the front of the her body, it's gonna become an extension of her shape, and it's gonna make her look heavier. What do you think of the foot but in 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 It's blown out a bit. I mean, like the shoulder and some losing a little bit of a detail and, um I'm not. I kind of feel like, Well, a composition of 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 should have been, um, cropped in a bit. Not maybe not Crop That 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. He's trying to match that shadow on the left. You know, the triangle saddle. So her 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 it to me if I were a buyer or if I was gonna put an ad in a magazine, I think that this ad would lay out very nicely in a magazine and be able to You'd see that dress and you think summer, you think warmth And you know, sometimes when you if you're you know, when you're out in the bright sun, it wouldn't want it to be too 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. So the broad lighting works on that. As we said before, eyes or nose to the light between the light and the camera. That's the opposite here. But it works in this position because it's not a portrait. It is a commercial piece. This is a portrait of We'd probably pretty this very different. Yeah, absolutely. I kind of feel like it's interesting, but not its Helling rate. It's a start, but right now it looks like a shot in front of a curtain, and I'm distracted by the patterns, light and 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 glasses, 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. And after the water, the water levels may have all started at the same height. It was afterwards when they put the fruit and that it changed the heightened didn't notice a change. But here, look, that's okay. 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 gonna go this regular pattern, then you better just line it up and just nail it and not make it look. Stop. E food from above is pretty popular this year. Okay, going. I'm just wondering what the green thing is sticking in the corner and the two lines coming up from under. Maybe that's a stem of of the flower or whatever. Um, I think the stronger part of the composition is right in with the jar and products next to it. I can lose that side of that that image and make it stronger for me. Then it's going to maybe go to a square crop there something. Yeah, 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 for right copy way. Have to think that way to a so many competitions. I've been part of your to far away left too much negative space. But you know, as a state. If you're a stock photographer or you shooting an ad for an assignment of something, sometimes you do need to leave that space. You need the recipe there according to the use that it's gonna have. So what do you think it was well illuminated. Or tell me what your thoughts are on the way. Its lid. It's a little bit maybe two that flowers overblown on the right hand side way. If we lose the flower, then I think it's pretty clean. The rest of the Imageworks. Nice. There's some highlights on the tomatoes or whatever. Those are oranges, oranges inside the jar. Okay, Yeah, they almost look like they're glowing or something like that, right? You want to go? Yeah, OK, And a nice concept there. I mean, it's the dogs that the sharp light on them that that like the capture of the spray of water. But I'm distracted by the background. That's nice to know it's at the beach, but 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 with we'll get more of the water behind the dogs and move the beach up. Um, I think it had a pet owner. You'd love it, but as a commercial shot, it's not strong enough. Yeah, there's too many distracting elements to it. Um, yeah. Get We left me speechless. I say I'm a dog. 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 in. You know, I think that that's an interesting concept. However, I must say, this just hurts me. I think of those invitation. Or maybe it's the person who got tired of that brand. Teoh There, that is water. It does have a little edge on the bottom, but not just much. If you remember the fruit one earlier, there was a little Phil coming up from the bottom that defined the bottom. Yeah, of the images I think they got. They kept the lens cap on three. This is to demonstrate a waterproof lens, but because I e. I agree with you, I would like to have seen a little more of a rim on the backside on the cropping at the tops. A little tight. Those splashes come right up to the edge. Probably even if was just had some black in and post processing, if that's where the frame really ended. If you got 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 be future bit go more of the same tone. Okay, is a really good reason that we selected you to be Oh, I thought it was because we're also cute. That, too Well, you know that's a given, but really enjoying 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 Creativelive team for this constructive week. Gabby made the image of the Beetle in the snow on and said that it was made on a trip on a Romanian mountain resort. No additional light just to rush shots. One of the car and one for the sky blended together. That makes it even more. I'm not sure, Gavin Mattei it could be the one thing he wants again. They for the people we did critique. It's meant to be helpful. And you have three people here. You could have another three. People hear something completely different about it. I mean, don't take everything way, say, as gospel, I would encourage you to go out and do things your way and find your voice. But at the same time, there's a recent network here, and you know, I was I'm a little bit cautious when people say, Find your own path because you have to have some way you have to have a path that you're on and eso 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. Think so. Then you have the ability to tell your amazing story. But if you don't know how toe to right, how can you write a story? So you know, it's like people who you know, there's some amazing artists out there, Liza said, with um, you know, when I think of that super rice and and, you know, Jennifer Hudson and all of the many others that are out there They didn't just pick up camera and just say, OK, I'm gonna 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 photo shop and such. And so if you just say, well, I want my own path. And then But you don't know nothing about Photoshopped found working. You do composites. So it does take. It's 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 artists and that are naturally gifted at that. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Yeah. Practice, practice, practice. Well, we do have the 20 images from the commercial category, So why don't we look at those? And if we have any questions in the studio right? 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 just what happened to be submitted? The lady in the wood and the mist? Um, would you? I have a copy of that and flip it and then have the misty behind her composited. I think I would reshoot 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 crisp. You 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 it justice screaming. And so if you put her on the other side, it would be like huh? It would. You would be so obvious that it was a fake, so I really would encourage the maker to go and to reshoot this. That makes sense. E. I have a question here from John McClintock, who would like to 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 can easily not satisfying the client. Commercial photography is sometimes even more about the client. Ah, lot of times a commercial photography, you an ad agency calls you, they send you, ah, layout and you have to match it. I mean, you can try maybe some things on your own afterwards, but you 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. 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 can be right there, and they will tell you exactly what to do. Awesome. And one final question Bam bam had asked. I think this is in regards to the first photo, maybe 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, because they're always need to be a really apparent hero in a commercial shot because you're obviously selling a commercial item. I was just a 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 in the lake. Sometimes it's just the 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 like just a 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