Photo Critiques -- K. Ablaza

Examples of Good Photos:

I chose this portrait of Rooney Mara (The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) because the lighting in this photo is very good and I like the way her emotions are captured in this portrait. In terms of photojournalism, I feel like a story can be told through this portrait about what kind of person Mara is, or at least how she likes to portray herself. Much like her role in 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', this photo adds a dark, almost eerie look to Mara's on-camera personality that makes her look sultry yet intimidating.

I like this photo's framing. The subject only takes up a small portion of the photo while the background makes the space in the photo look so much wider, though it is just a reflection. The contrast of Black-and-White also adds a lot of depth to the photo, making it look visually interesting without being too cluttered.

Examples of Bad Photos:

The framing in this portrait of the band, "Tame Impala," bothers me because it does not add anything to the photo that centering the subject cannot. This photo would have been better if more of the background were included in the shot. I can already tell that the photo would have had much better depth that way. Also, the photo crops a little bit of the head off one of the band members, which is an easy fix. I would also choose another angle for the shot since there are only three band members and the blank space in this photo can be filled more effectively.

The lighting in this photo of Beastie Boys' MCA, which was used in his obituary tumblr post by NPR Music, does not do him justice as an obituary photo. The light shining into the camera under his arm takes the focus away from him, as well as the light above his head. You must try very hard to look at the subject without squinting. I would change the angle of my shot if stage lighting were an issue in my photos, and try to take one where he isn't holding the mic up to his face at such an angle that it blocks his face from view.