What do you think of this work?

[Courtney]

http://www.sarahscotford.com/pictures/images/sarah_scotford_033.jpg

This is Paul Buceta's work, and honestly hes the best i've ever seen. He's one of 11 playboy photographers int he world, and for good reason. If you like his rork here check out his website. There's a ton of his work on it. he's definetly the best out there. www.Paulbuceta.com


by the way...the make up on all the girls he photographs he has is done by Lori Fabrizio. She has her own cosmetics line if anyones interested. www.fabriziocosmetics.com

chekc it out, these are the best of the best.

[tegan]

Sorry to contradict you, but I do not consider this shot to be the best of the best at all, and I have a wide and extensive background in photography and television.

It seems that make-up and hair is the first thing I should see and being absolutely great in this shot. Instead, what I see first is a very narrow face and a prominent chin with emphasis on the arms and poor posing and framing with a cut-off elbow. The crop at the top of her head also further de-emphasizes her hair.

Her hair style should de-emphasize her thin face and the straight across hair line at the top. A three quarter face shot would make her thin face look wider and her hair should be combed in a manner to assist this. We should also be able to see how the make-up is assisting the look, which is certainly not the case and the arms distract and should not be front and centre in the pose. How does hair and make-up dictate an emphasis on the arms?

Lots of weaknesses here.

Tegan

[Marko]

I dunno tegan...this shot works for me.

It captures what I would suggest was the intended feel of the shot...a free and easy feel of a good looking babe on the beach. Sure MANY things could have been done to the shot, but if you ask me does this shot 'work' - I say big time yes.

[tegan]

Portraiture at the advanced amateur and pro level involves or should involve attention to the smallest detail. That is the reason that most pros have a make-up person who works with them. That is also the reason that many of them take a lot of time to set up a shot just so.

Given that, when we look at a portrait, the first thing we look for, is how the basic important details were handled and whether they could have been done better. For a top pro photograher in portraiture (who took the shot) the opinion that it "works" fits the old expression of "damning with faint praise". It should do more than that by not leaving any details at all, open to critique.

With that in mind, posing, camera angle, framing, and hair which are basics for a pro in portraiture could have been handled much better and that is not a personal opinion but rather an assessment based on the accepted standards for portraiture at this level.

Hope you understand where I am coming from. :)

Tegan

[Marko]

I totally understand where you are coming from tegan! :)

For me though there is something about being able to break the rules once you know them. There IS a subjective quality to all of this.

Maybe a bad example is the peotry of ee cummings. Wacky stuff for sure - but no one can dispute his great contributions to modern poetry. Of course a poetry purist can tear him a new one anytime.

In a similar way many great photographers and photographs break the conventional rules all the time. Depending on who is critiquing the work and the background they come from, their reviews will surely vary...that's the subjective quality. Surely photography is not like math where there is only 1 right answer. There are of course some 'rules', but unlike a math problem there are often many right answers depending on who is correcting the test.

Just my 2 cents - :)

Thanks
Marko

[tegan]

For me though there is something about being able to break the rules once you know them. There IS a subjective quality to all of this.

In a similar way many great photographers and photographs break the conventional rules all the time. Depending on who is critiquing the work and the background they come from, their reviews will surely vary...that's the subjective quality. Surely photography is not like math where there is only 1 right answer. There are of course some 'rules', but unlike a math problem there are often many right answers depending on who is correcting the test.

Just my 2 cents - :)

Thanks
Marko

It is not quite as simple as following the rules or breaking them perhaps with the rationalization of being creative.

The bottom line is that any technique or compositional element either contributes to the overall positive and flattering effectiveness of the centre of interest and the image or detracts from it and is a weakness. There is no middle ground.

So, it comes down to the following: Does too tight a crop, cutting off her elbow and the top of her head contribute to the effectiveness of the image?
Any pro portrait photographer would say NO, therefore it is a weakness.
Does the location of her arms distract from her face and make-up or contribute to the shot? The obvious answer again is NO it does not contribute and yes it does distract, therefore it is a weakness. Does her hair style emphasize her thin face and the unflattering straight hair line across the top as well as a somewhat prominent chin? Again most pro portrait photographers would say YES, and therefore those factors are also weaknesses.

Rules may only be guidelines, but if you break the rules, it MUST be because you have created a better photo by doing so. If NOT, you are just creating a photo with deliberate weaknesses, that could be much better and of higher quality by following the standards.

Tegan

[tegan]

The purpose of a photography web site is to improve YOUR photography, not talk about someone else's work. As a matter of fact, posting someone else's work is questionable from a copyright standpoint.

Why are you not talking about or posting your own work?

Tegan

[AcadieLibre]

Just so you both know after reading this I laughed, someone posts someones work you both discuss it and they don't say a word, just thought it was kind of funny. I agree with Tegan though, you should only post your own work or only links to those you want to know how they do something or see a style you may want to emulate. Don't think you should ever Post their work, just the link.