Okay - here's my opinion with specific references to specific photos. If you don't have a thick skin. read no further.(posted 8784 days ago)First off, throw out all the solarizing, sabbatier, high contrast and collage stuff. I could tell you why, but that would just irritate both you and I. Is it sufficient to tell you that such work may be entertaining for the photographer to do once or twice, but for the viewer its boring? If we throw out all the solarized, hi contrast, etc., it gets rid of about half.
http://www.gadsby.net/annsm.jpg --- chopping people up into little artsy fragments shows us nothing about the people -- just their little parts. I'm not particularly interested in nipples and elbows without the people these parts belong to. You may as well be photographing fruit or flowers if you are going to abstract your subject in this way. On some level, to turn someone into an artsy fragmnent -- I think its kind of insulting to your subject.
http://www.gadsby.net/trishsm.jpg --- my rule of thumb: if it's not an interesting picture WITHOUT the hand coloring, it's probably not much better with it. If you want to use a brush, buy some canvas. There is probably no real good way to photograph someone wearing raccoon eye makeup squatting under a dark tree with the background blown out - maybe you should wash her face and bring her out into the light?
http://www.gadsby.net/jenna-jamesonsm.jpg --- is there any reason you like this picture other than the size of those tits?
http://www.gadsby.net/brainiacs_daughter.jpg --- too dark. I know your art teacher told you to print contrasty, but lets face it -- he didn't know what he was talking about. I can't see the woman's feet. I can't see the legs of the guy sitting on the bumper. The lower half of the picture is black mush. Availible light can only do so much when you want to shoot art rockers dressed in black in a garage. The guy on the left - his face is way too dark. These people look too posed for this to be a "casual" shot but not posed enough for this to be an effective group shot - in other words, they look uncomfortable and like they don't know what they are doing but theres this photographer there so... I mean, the way that woman is standing, it looks like there's a pole up her butt. Look at someone like Irving Penn to see how he photographs groups. Every gesture and body in a Penn is as carefully considered as a figure in a rennaisance painting -- and that applies whether he is shooting a garage band or a group of CEOs.
I know I haven't been very nice oin my review -- but I have at least tried to be honest. That should count for something. If you don't like my review, you can retaliate by a savage review of my work on this forum. http://alandale.freeservers.com