She Wore Red Shoes
by Herblacklist12

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club:

This could have been a really interesting capture, I like the way the dog is walking into the frame from the top. However, this can't rescue this photo from where it finished in the challenge.

Any clarity of focus has been lost in the addition of noise/grain and also the small size of the entry just boosts the imperfections. Because the size is small the grain seems disproportionate and dominates the whole photo. It also seems to be partially desaturated, again this just confuses the viewer.

I know this must seem like a vendetta against your photo, but your usual results are so much better and I am sure you know that this was a mistake. We all make them, my entry for Delicate bombed out. I am sure some of the artifacts were caused when saving for web, but size really does matter when submitting an entry for a challenge.

Hope this wasn't too critical and was in some way constructive. I know your next entry will be back to normal standards.

Steve

"Until Death Did We Part"
by tmorninglory96

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club:

The challenge, Image Grain, was to use grain or noise to enhance your photo. Yoy did this well.

Technical:
The added grain looks pretty good on the background. Can't quite work out the pattern on the background, perhaps flowery curtains? There are blown out highlights on the nose and forehead which do detract from the dark look, had this been kept darker it would have added to the overall effect. I am guessing that a certain amount of burning was done around the eyes, cheek bones and neck. In my opinion the neck and shoulders area have been over burned and the result is almost a dirty look, rather than a shadowy look.

Composition:
Nicely composed with subject(daughter) being positioned to the right...makes you wonder what she is looking at approaching from the left. I can't find any faults with composition, the 'veil' fits well as does the brief glimpse of a dress on the shoulder. This reminds me of the French Revolution type picture.

Personal:
Apart from the things I mentioned earlier, there is a lot going for this photo, maybe worth a reshoot. Try to even up the exposure on the neck and shoulder with the face, avoiding those blown highlights and this is a winner. The whites of the eyes could be lifted slightly. All in all a fair result for what could have been a really high scorer. Hope this is helpful and constructive.

Steve

Dead Man's Curve
by SJCarter

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club:

The challenge was Image Grain and the use of grain or noise to enhance your photo.

Technical:
Thanks for including your steps for processing. I have spent some time studying this shot and something bugs me about the overall effect, whether it is too much grain, sharpening or Neat Image, I'm not sure. The trees at the top look too sharpened, as do the bones on the sleepers.

Composition:
It has a real old feel with the sepia toning and the tilting angle of the tracks. It does a good job leading the eye, past the bones and along the sweeping track. Nothing really to comment on with your setup and execution.

Personal:
I would like to see what the shot looked like with less grain and sharpening. It could be a little darker to bring the trees into the picture. However, the lighter top end of the shot does create an old world feeling. The bones are a nice touch. It is certainly more effective having the horizon tilting in the direction of the curve and the title is very apt. A worthy entry which was let down by the artifacts already mentioned, perhaps most of these are due to saving for web. If so, then you have suffered in your final score. As submitted I feel you scored around about the right mark. Hope this proves helpful and constructive.

Steve

Stefan
by bbright

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club:

The brief for this challenge, Image Grain, was to use grain or noise to enhance the shot. This you did, thereby meeting the challenge.

Technical:
It would have been nice to see the steps used to create this shot. But I am guessing you already had the grain/noise from using ISO 1600, perhaps a little more added in PS or a similar programme? The eyes appear to be the point of focus. Converting to B&W does add a certain appeal, however I think this could have worked as well in colour. I am not sure if it is the darkness of the shot or slightly off focus that makes the face appear on the soft side. Maybe you didn't use USM?

Composition:
The positioning of your subject works very well. Also the near square format with prudent cropping makes this a competent photo.

Personal:
I like most of what you did with this shot, but it looked a tad on the dark side for my taste. I do like the lighting on this, I don't know if you used off camera flash or reflectors but the lighting is even with no harsh shadows. The score appears just below what I would have expected, with it being nearer the higher end of the 5 or even 6. I hope this helps and is constructive.

Steve

Pink Little Flower
by annah

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club:

The challenge was Image Grain and your image certainly meets the challenge brief, as the comments and your score demonstrates.

Technical:
Execution is spot on. Despite the introduction of grain into your photo, you have managed to retain the finer details. The use of selective desaturation gives more impact. I noted that you put editing details in comments, a useful and helpful addition for other people who look at the shot, although I still haven't found yada, yada, blah in PS...I've been looking for ages:)

Composition:
It is an infuriating composition, hands are cut off at the knuckles on one hand, wrist on the other and there is no head...but it works well! The positioning of the flower to the right of picture also fits perfectly.

Personal:
As I have just stated, this infuriates and also intrigues. The eye is drawn round and round the shot, always fixing on the flower. The sepia works beautifully with the flower - which appears not to show grain? -and the colour of the flower is great. Your overall score was good, but I would have expected it to finish in top 3. Congratulations and keep at it. Hope this has helped and was constructive for you.

Steve

...Cutting Through Noisy Clutter...
by gurlwithapen

Comment:
Greetings from Critique Club:

The object of the Image Grain challenge was to use grain/noise to enhance or be an integral part of the photo. This has been done with your entry so as to meet the challenge.

Technical:
You have not put any of the steps or processes used to obtain this shot, so I will have to try to work out what you did. It would appear that you have applied grain using PS or a similar programme. There is over graining in the bottom right hand corner where the technique was applied too lavishly, other than that the overall effect on the paper looks acceptable. The flash used has cast heavy shadows around the fingers. Depth of field seems fine, perhaps too shallow as the scissors and hand are not quite in focus, but your focus is from the middle to the back area of the photo.

Composition:
Perhaps a little too tightly cropped, but this has not affected the impact of the shot. The focussing issue has harmed your overall score for this challenge.

Personal:
I like the concept of the shot and execution is well done. Had the hand and part of the scissors been sharper in focus, I believe this would have scored a lot better. I think the problem with the grain in the bottom right is possibly due to overuse of the process you used to create the grain or is an artifact of saving for web. Had I voted for this shot I would have given you a 6, without the items already mentioned I would have upped it to 7 or 8. A good effort and underscored by voters, yet you know that it is the voters that count at DPC. The skin tone on the hand, being soft in focus, looks almost like it has been Neat Image'd. I hope this has been constructive and will help you for future challenges.

Steve

Tranquility
by rjkstesch

Comment:
Greetings from Critique Club.

A good landscape scene in B&W.

B&W seems to have been the best medium to use for this challenge and you have chosen a photogenic scene for your entry.

Composition.
A nicely composed shot that would have done very well in a landscape challenge but falls slightly short in the Image Grain challenge, a fact that is evident in the scoring. The grain is evident in the hills in the background, but not so evident in the foreground. The border works well and is not obtrusive. There is a Zen-like quality to your shot which would work well in a straight landscape. Perhaps tighter cropping on the deck and 'pergola' would have accentuated the grain in this part of the photo. I cannot fault the composition, just the grain that evident.

Technical.
Your technique looks fine, but the extra sharpening of the rocks may have destroyed the grain that was inherent in the original. You did not lose anything in sizing and saving for web, which I assume you did, although it is not stated.

Overall.
I like the feel and stucture of your entry, it slightly missed the overall grain effect in the foreground. B&W was the right choice and I imagine the original would look great on anyone's wall. There is a real Japanese feel to this photo. With more grain evident in the foreground your score would have been higher.

Steve

Rustic Solar Lantern
by BrianR

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

As an entry to the Image Grain Challenge, it certainly meets the requirements. The concept is a good and saturating to give a yellow channel lifts it from a standard B&W image to something more.

Technical.
The use of added noise has worked well, especially in the glass around the yellow light and B&W was the right way to go for maximum impact. However, the solar panels seem to have taken on a life of their own and are not consistent with the rest of the photo. Perhaps this artifact is due to saving for web.

Personal.
I like the crop, and feel more background would have destroyed the impact of the photo. The use of the rust/brown colour for the lamp lifted it beyond a straight B&W shot. The difference in the grain on the grass and that of the lamp glass makes it stand out in the terms of meeting the challenge and attracting votes. The strange effect on the solar panels definitely hurt your scores. What could have been a 7, has been knocked down to 5, perhaps 6 due to this.

A worthy effort that suffered from saving for web. This could be an area that you could look at, refine or rethink for future challenges.

Steve

Delicate Condition
by jpochard

Comment:
The concept is good, altho it is a fairly standard setup. This genre of photos will always find a place in portfolios.

Your execution is good, the lighting is a touch harsh across the vest top and top of the 'bump', but these are notoriously hard to light as they tend to dominate the shot:) I like the facial lighting, background and body poses, but there is a bit too much grain and the focus is slightly off. Neither of these are too serious to make major impact on scoring, however DPC members do like sharp shots.

I would have scored this a six, almost a seven.

delicate
by rhipster

Comment:
You put this in the wrong challenge, it is a great photo and fits Delicate exactly anyway, I'm gonna give you a 10 :)