This makes sense, right?

This makes sense, right?

I’d love to be in the room when this concept was pitched. The logic is overshadowed by the shoddy execution. I wonder if the model was under the impression that the wheelchair would be photoshopped out?

I look good here, right?

Wincing is the new black

This one hurts on a couple levels because I know the model and she’s new to the modelling world. I hate to see her contorted like this.

One word describes this photo for me: uncomfortable.

No one ever said modelling was easy, but if you’re a decent photographer who makes good decisions, all that effort you put into balancing on something not meant to be balanced on will pay off in the end. Right?

Not in this case.

The pose and the composition of the shot makes me — and apparently the model — cringe. How, out of all the digital shots he must have fired, did he select the one wince-tastic one to decorate his portfolio with? And don’t even get me started on the obviously tweaked in photoshop color saturation…

Do it better:

• Choose a better pose
• Work with the model more than the cool architecture
• Make her smile

Photochopping Paradise

Photoshop Paradise

One of the things I cringe at whenever I hear it is “We’ll just fix it in post”. It’s an unacceptable excuse for ineptitude. If you can’t pull a concept shot off without resorting to pushing pixels, then don’t do it.

Everyone loves a vintage hawaiian theme, but what do you do when your female model and your male model can’t be there the same day? Fix it in post! See here as he seamlessly superimposes the two together.

One of the first things we learn in art class is perspective and this violates that very basic rule. It’s not artsy, it’s just bad.

Do it better:

• Composition your shot better
• Simplify the concept
• Obey the rules of perspective

Cry me a river

Can anyone tell me what is horribly embarassing about this photo? Anyone? Bueller?

Okay, I’ll go: She looks like she’s pissing a river!

Waterfalls by themselves are inherently beautiful creations of nature. The way the water gracefully falls from source to stream. But when shooting on or around a waterfall, you should mind where you position your model. Anywhere along the bank of this trickle of water would have been perfect, but you had to have her sit on it, huh?

Congratulations, photographer. In your effort to make this a sexy image, you’ve inadverdently created a winning watersports poster girl.

The lighting is harsh, causing it to look like you caught her peeing in the dark on accident.

Do it better

1. Watch composition!
2. diffuse the lighting

The only crime here…

A bad attempt at a CSI theme

…is the bad photography and photoshopping.

Sure, the composition is good — tough to mess up a very basic pose. But the two big things that annoy me are the lighting, or lack thereof, and the bad photoshopping.

That harsh lighting is causing a hard shadow behind her, which looks very unprofessional. And let’s talk location: where the hell is she? Because the shot is so tight, you can’t tell if she’s in a seedy alleyway (cool) or next to an elementary school (not cool). Because of the lack of context, the theme is lost.

And dude, if you’re going to photoshop something into a photo, study it in real life first. That lens flare is not fooling anyone. The flashlight would have to be pointed directly into the lens for it to achieve that, which it clearly isn’t.

Do it better

1. Make sure you get a wider shot, to show context of the scene.
2. Go for more dramatic lighting with a subject like this
3. Just turn on the flashlight instead of photoshopping it