Around the beach in Porto

jssaraiva

Top Veteran
Location
Porto, Portugal
Name
José
Last edited:
José: I don't think the series is bad at all - but the forum's been very quiet as of late. I like your way of composing, as you well know, so I don't find a lot to critique at all; if anything, there's a lot of backs and half-turned shots that may not appeal to people - and others may or may not find those shots a bit creepy. I'm not one of them - you do your thing here. I'd have tried to get a little closer (i.e. zoom in) on a couple of shots, but that's about it - and that's a matter of taste or decency, depending on your approach. And you had to compose on screen - never easy after using viewfinders for a while.

M.
 
Testing the new beach holiday camera.
Day started very foggy (but very warm forecast for the afternoon) so tried to catch the mood.
All SOOC.

1
View attachment 126746
DSCN9471 by José Saraiva, on Flickr

2
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DSCN9470 by José Saraiva, on Flickr

3
View attachment 126749
DSCN9435 by José Saraiva, on Flickr

4
View attachment 126752
DSCN9412 by José Saraiva, on Flickr

5
View attachment 126753
DSCN9405 by José Saraiva, on Flickr

6
View attachment 126754
DSCN9472 by José Saraiva, on Flickr

What a lovely place
 
Foggy days at the beach are often really nice and calm :cool:

As for critique: with numbers 1 and 2, I might've tried zooming in (for a more personal touch)... but more likely, I would try zooming out until you include the sea or another subject in the photo, and cropping to a more panoramic format. That can be a great way to link different subjects without having them drown in a sea of empty space.

Strong crops do benefit from having lots of resolution in the original file. What kinda camera is this?
 
I like the colours and the hazy mood you've captured. I think number three has the most potential but I would have come forward more to cut out the extraneous ice cream stands in the foreground. I don't like critiquing..... each to his own and whatever pleases you is the most important thing :)
 
I didn't know from the OP that you wanted a critique and I tend not to do that unless someone asks for it. But now that you've asked for it, I can do all of them then. In no particular order, 5 could definitely do with zooming/ cropping in a bit more so as to emphasise the tent, sign and people more. 3 has various points of reference but nothing that dominates, it could have done with focusing on one maybe two things such as the sitting person, or maybe turn up the reds in PP - it needs something to draw the eye. For me the images are all interesting as the beach looks very different from what a lot us northern Europeans associate with the country (ie, Algarve, etc). You were restricted with what you had to work with as the light wasn't on your side. This becomes an obstacle to image 4. In these circumstances, I suppose the composition becomes a lot more important. In that regard, 1 and 6 are good images, with 6 the best of the lot as it has shapes, colours, the composition is really good and all of this generally dominates the haze. I also like 2, as it's composed well. By this, I mean it draws the eye, has a dominating point of reference and is very effective in it's simplicity. Hopes this all helps and it's only my very humble opinion.
 
José: I don't think the series is bad at all - but the forum's been very quiet as of late. I like your way of composing, as you well know, so I don't find a lot to critique at all; if anything, there's a lot of backs and half-turned shots that may not appeal to people - and others may or may not find those shots a bit creepy. I'm not one of them - you do your thing here. I'd have tried to get a little closer (i.e. zoom in) on a couple of shots, but that's about it - and that's a matter of taste or decency, depending on your approach. And you had to compose on screen - never easy after using viewfinders for a while.

M.
Thanks for the feedback, I believe you "captured" well my spirit on that morning. Had my mind set for a reportage style, trying to register on camera some details that might not be there for much longer, like the tents and some not so ordinary clothing.
 
Foggy days at the beach are often really nice and calm :cool:

As for critique: with numbers 1 and 2, I might've tried zooming in (for a more personal touch)... but more likely, I would try zooming out until you include the sea or another subject in the photo, and cropping to a more panoramic format. That can be a great way to link different subjects without having them drown in a sea of empty space.

Strong crops do benefit from having lots of resolution in the original file. What kinda camera is this?
The camera was a Nikon COOLPIX S9900. Bought it specifically to use on beach holidays, so went to try it on that environment.
Thanks for the feedback. Haven't thought about a different aspect ration, but I see it can work on some of the images.
 
I like the colours and the hazy mood you've captured. I think number three has the most potential but I would have come forward more to cut out the extraneous ice cream stands in the foreground. I don't like critiquing..... each to his own and whatever pleases you is the most important thing :)
Thanks for the feedback. I got a very similar comment to picture nr 3 on a Portuguese forum :)
 
I didn't know from the OP that you wanted a critique and I tend not to do that unless someone asks for it. But now that you've asked for it, I can do all of them then. In no particular order, 5 could definitely do with zooming/ cropping in a bit more so as to emphasise the tent, sign and people more. 3 has various points of reference but nothing that dominates, it could have done with focusing on one maybe two things such as the sitting person, or maybe turn up the reds in PP - it needs something to draw the eye. For me the images are all interesting as the beach looks very different from what a lot us northern Europeans associate with the country (ie, Algarve, etc). You were restricted with what you had to work with as the light wasn't on your side. This becomes an obstacle to image 4. In these circumstances, I suppose the composition becomes a lot more important. In that regard, 1 and 6 are good images, with 6 the best of the lot as it has shapes, colours, the composition is really good and all of this generally dominates the haze. I also like 2, as it's composed well. By this, I mean it draws the eye, has a dominating point of reference and is very effective in it's simplicity. Hopes this all helps and it's only my very humble opinion.
Well, I did not ask for critique, but appreciate getting if that is the case. Still, I've only asked for some additional feedback/critique since normally the nr of "likes" provides one with a sense of the quality of the images. On this instance they only got one at the point of my second post, hence the request.

Thanks a lot for the detailed feedback, my favorites are nr 1 and 6. Nr 1 for the different directions of the sign+tent vs the two ladies; nr 6 for the different elements "stacking" (maybe not the best word...).
 
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