# Photoshoot, thoughts?



## sactown024 (Aug 11, 2012)

first photoshoot, this was all done inside with no flash nor studio equipment just a couch a down comforter and a tripod. 

T2i with kit lens.


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## topazsol (Aug 11, 2012)

I think your photos are great!


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## MLeeK (Aug 11, 2012)

I love the idea of the first one! 

The second one has some color issues. Focus is sharp. It's a bit dark and has some shadowy issues. The line or whatever in the wall behind is a serious eye draw that hurts your balance a bit.
3 is incredibly uneven and the shadows on her face are really bad. These ones your subject should have been several feet from the background and that's hurting. 

They are an excellent start for a beginner!


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## AaronLLockhart (Aug 11, 2012)

The first one is outstanding. I think I'd do away with the text and have the message as an implied message, instead of a written one. However, that's just me.

I would also do some *minor* processing to the belly to smooth the skin in both one and two. The reflection of the light in both make her skin look oily and poorly maintained. 

Three has some terrible lighting issues on her face. I don't know if it would even be fixable using the dodge tool. You might be able to dodge the mid tones and then add some contrast in an adjustment layer. However, on my monitor, it looks as if the shadows in her hair are plugged, so I don't think that it will do you any good in this case.

Four I like a lot... and Five would have turned out better if a layer mask was used to control where you were desaturating from.


Even with all of that said. These compositions are outstanding for a first timer  Keep up the good work!


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## sactown024 (Aug 12, 2012)

Thanks everyone, I do understand that these have issues especially number 3, i actually hate this photo and the only reason i posted it was because my wife liked it lol. The background in these photos are not ideal by any means as they were all shot in my apartment after sundown with little light and very high iso. 

On number one, my wife wanted the text really bad and i needed some Photoshop practice so i went for it! I agree with everything everyone has said here and I will try to correct and hopefully get a better backdrop, i dont think the down comforter worked well haha.


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## sactown024 (Aug 12, 2012)

on number two, what is the best way to remove the reflection from the belly?


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## MLeeK (Aug 12, 2012)

So if you know these have problems and you know what you did wrong and you have every excuse why... Why did you post them for critique?


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## sactown024 (Aug 12, 2012)

MLeeK said:


> So if you know these have problems and you know what you did wrong and you have every excuse why... Why did you post them for critique?



i said *ONE* of them i knew wasn't good but my WIFE liked it, and i never said i knew what was wrong on any of them except that one. I said the conditions were not ideal which is not an excuse just a simple statement of why that ONE pic came out bad, so take the stick out of your ass and go post your bull**** somewhere else. 

to everyone else, thank you for the CC, i planned to take your opinions and put them to use.


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## mommy-medic (Aug 12, 2012)

Well, I was going to give some feedback, but I think I'll leave the stick in my a$$ and not risk pi$$ing you off. Well done fauxtog.


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## pixmedic (Aug 12, 2012)

#1 looks like an instagram pic. its cutesie. especially with her expression. 
#2 the color is off a bit, but you can probably fix in lightroom or photoshop. 
#3 I liked, but i personally would have swung around just a hair more to the right to square the blocks in the frame a little more. 
#4 is amazing, in my opinion. me and the wife love this one!  well lit, good color, great composition.  
#5 im not a really big fan of selective coloring. this one is ok. composition is ok, but again, i personally would have been a little more to the right. 

overall, definitely a great start!


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## AaronLLockhart (Aug 12, 2012)

1. Selected the stomach area using polygonal lasso tool with a 15 pixel buffer
2. Copied stomach area
3. Pasted stomach area onto new layer
4. Applied Gaussian blur at 9 pixel
5. Changed opacity to 60%
6. Duplicated layer
7. changed opacity on duplicated layer to 23%

voila


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## pixmedic (Aug 12, 2012)

AaronLLockhart said:


> 1. Selected the stomach area using polygonal lasso tool with a 15 pixel buffer
> 2. Copied stomach area
> 3. Pasted stomach area onto new layer
> 4. Applied Gaussian blur at 9 pixel
> ...



wow. amazing improvement there. that's the power of knowing your processing.


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## Derrel (Aug 12, 2012)

What? NO Butterball turkey *pop-up timer*????


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## sactown024 (Aug 12, 2012)

AaronLLockhart said:


> 1. Selected the stomach area using polygonal lasso tool with a 15 pixel buffer
> 2. Copied stomach area
> 3. Pasted stomach area onto new layer
> 4. Applied Gaussian blur at 9 pixel
> ...




WELL DONE SIR.... I wish I knew PS as good as you lol, ima try to do what you did see if i can follow your instructions!


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## sactown024 (Aug 12, 2012)

okay so here is my attempt to copy what you did, i copied your step by step but it doesnt look the same


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## sactown024 (Aug 12, 2012)

Derrel said:


> What? NO Butterball turkey *pop-up timer*????



good idea! I also wanted to do a bud light in here hand with the other hand down her pants like a beer gut!


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## AaronLLockhart (Aug 12, 2012)

sactown024 said:
			
		

> okay so here is my attempt to copy what you did, i copied your step by step but it doesnt look the same



Increase the blur on the first layer until you get the desired result you want


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## jamesbjenkins (Aug 12, 2012)

sactown024 said:
			
		

> i said ONE of them i knew wasn't good but my WIFE liked it, and i never said i knew what was wrong on any of them except that one. I said the conditions were not ideal which is not an excuse just a simple statement of why that ONE pic came out bad, so take the stick out of your ass and go post your bull**** somewhere else.
> 
> to everyone else, thank you for the CC, i planned to take your opinions and put them to use.



I was planning to post a couple of constructive paragraphs until I read this. If you want to get anywhere in photography, you better learn quickly to get some thick skin. Responding like a pissy child when you don't like someone's post is the quickest way I know to get written off faster than you can type " I'm sorry."


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## AaronLLockhart (Aug 12, 2012)

sactown024 said:


> okay so here is my attempt to copy what you did, i copied your step by step but it doesnt look the same



I just reviewed my previous settings... I had blur set to 9.8... sorry


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## AaronLLockhart (Aug 12, 2012)

I just spent about 5 or so minutes fixing your first one... but this is what I was talking about... there isn't a need for the text or the arrow, considering the overall message is implied.


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## AaronLLockhart (Aug 12, 2012)

and here is the last one I am going to mess with. i really did all these just to see what the possibilities were with fixing them... this is the best I could do with this one:


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## 2WheelPhoto (Aug 13, 2012)

AaronLLockhart said:


> and here is the last one I am going to mess with. i really did all these just to see what the possibilities were with fixing them... this is the best I could do with this one:
> 
> View attachment 16687








that just disqualified the pic from appearing on "youarenotaphotographer.com"


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## AaronLLockhart (Aug 13, 2012)

2WheelPhoto said:


> AaronLLockhart said:
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> > and here is the last one I am going to mess with. i really did all these just to see what the possibilities were with fixing them... this is the best I could do with this one:
> ...


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## amolitor (Aug 13, 2012)

MLeeK said:


> So if you know these have problems and you know what you did wrong and you have every excuse why... Why did you post them for critique?



Why the assumption that one should only post work for critique that one thinks is perfect? I post things I think have problems (not here) because I want to see if other people see the same problems, or because I can't fully identify the problems, or to see if there are other problems, or, or, or...


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## manaheim (Aug 13, 2012)

sactown024 said:
			
		

> so take the stick out of your ass and go post your bull**** somewhere else.



Hey welcome to TPF!


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## manaheim (Aug 13, 2012)

amolitor said:
			
		

> Why the assumption that one should only post work for critique that one thinks is perfect? I post things I think have problems (not here) because I want to see if other people see the same problems, or because I can't fully identify the problems, or to see if there are other problems, or, or, or...



Which begs the question... why do you not post them here?


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## sactown024 (Aug 13, 2012)

jamesbjenkins said:


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exactly why she shouldn't of posted it.... I never once said i knew everything and I actually thanked everyone for advice and said i would put it to use. Maybe i went to far but its annoying when people post things like "oh well if you think you know everything why are you posting here?" especially when none of that was ever said.


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## sactown024 (Aug 13, 2012)

AaronLLockhart said:


> sactown024 said:
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> > okay so here is my attempt to copy what you did, i copied your step by step but it doesnt look the same
> ...



Thanks dude, I am going to re-attempt this tonight. Yours looks amazing!


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## sactown024 (Aug 13, 2012)

manaheim said:


> amolitor said:
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why is it so bad to post photos here that you know isnt perfect but you want other peoples opinions on what you can do to make it better or shoot it better? Some people just love to troll on forums, that will never stop.


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## sactown024 (Aug 13, 2012)

AaronLLockhart said:


> I just spent about 5 or so minutes fixing your first one... but this is what I was talking about... there isn't a need for the text or the arrow, considering the overall message is implied.
> 
> View attachment 16678



I dont know PS very well but how did you edit this one? I really like the deeper shadow on the wall. On the last one you edited I really like how you brought the eyes out and lighten the face. Any tips are greatly appreciated!


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## CreativeSnaps (Aug 13, 2012)

I think you have done a grand job with the lack of equipment.  As said there are some colour issues but the 1st one Is great and I like the idea.
Good stuff.


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## amolitor (Aug 13, 2012)

manaheim said:


> Which begs the question... why do you not post them here?



I find that the feedback one gets on TPF tends to lean too heavily toward the technical and not enough toward the, for lack of a better word, artistic properties of a photograph. There are other forums where the balance is skewed more away from the technical, and that's where I look for critique.


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## sactown024 (Aug 13, 2012)

amolitor said:


> manaheim said:
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> > Which begs the question... why do you not post them here?
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thanks, thats good to know!


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## ghache (Aug 13, 2012)

sactown024 said:


> MLeeK said:
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> > So if you know these have problems and you know what you did wrong and you have every excuse why... Why did you post them for critique?
> ...




euuu, they all came out bad.

bad exposure, selective colouring, "ready to pop" ? really? picaza **** wtfbbqsauce.


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## AaronLLockhart (Aug 13, 2012)

sactown024 said:


> AaronLLockhart said:
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> 
> > I just spent about 5 or so minutes fixing your first one... but this is what I was talking about... there isn't a need for the text or the arrow, considering the overall message is implied.
> ...



To be honest, these were really simple tasks, *but I think I'd confuse you more than anything to list everything*. The bubble pic has a lot done, but it's not done in a professional manner, so I wouldn't advise recreating it. The only reason I increased the vignette on the wall behind me is because I didn't focus on keeping the gradient intact when taking out the text. So, the back wall looked like someone took black paint and smeared it all over the wall. So, I put a heavy vignette behind her so that you couldn't see it. however, you can still see it on the bottom right hand side by the couch.

I changed that photograph to show you what it would look like without the text, and it looks 10 times better. However, _*NEVER EVER EVER release a photo edited like that one to a client, or even a family friend or member. There are a thousand things wrong with the editing in that photo. *_From the wall job, to the fact that the patch on her arm still needs curve adjustment to match the lighting on the rest of her arm.

Like I said, I simply did this for a quick fix to see what it would look like. It took me 5 minutes, but in reality, it would take someone who doesn't know photoshop 45 minutes to an hour to do the same thing. 

Your last image was easy.... and I don't mind teaching you on that one.

all I did was select her face using the circular marquee tool with a 30px buffer.... then I got the dodge tool out and pulled it out to where I thought it was bright enough that the exposure would match the rest of the image... then I simply went in and put a *tiny* bit of contrast back (dodge tool removes contrast), and then selected the side of her face with a 10px buffer and saturated her skin tones back to a pinkish color (After the dodge, it was more yellow-ish). 

For her eyes, I just selected them with a 2px buffer and sharpened them a *TINY* bit.


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## sactown024 (Aug 13, 2012)

AaronLLockhart said:


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cool thanks, what patch on her arm are you referring to? can you elaborate on the issues with the wall? 

thanks


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## jaicatalano (Aug 13, 2012)

The idea of the first one is genius. I love that.


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## sactown024 (Aug 13, 2012)

jaicatalano said:


> The idea of the first one is genius. I love that.



apparently its a love it or hate it thing lol thank you very much though!


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## AaronLLockhart (Aug 13, 2012)

sactown024 said:


> AaronLLockhart said:
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The arm on the right side of the photograph was covered with a pink arrow head. So, I patched it using her other arm, and warped it to fit exactly. Then I adjusted the brightness to get close to the tone of the arm. It's not perfect, but I didn't want to spend 5 more minutes adjusting curves so that you couldn't tell there is a patch there. 

The background had text on it. I selected the text using the polygonal lasso tool, and then patched in using other parts of the wall. After this, I blended the edges of those patches using the spot healing brush tool, and it looked heavily photoshopped. So, to hide what I did, I selected the background using the polygonal lasso and a 30px buffer, and then applied a gradient matching the wall tone over the top of it, and then turned the opacity down to about 85%. If this were a professional photo, I would have restored using the healing brush tool, making sure the tones in the gradient on the wall stayed intact. Then I would have applied a very LIGHT gradient concealing my changes.


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## sactown024 (Aug 13, 2012)

AaronLLockhart said:


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okay gotcha, I thought you were reffering to a patch on her arm that i created with the original photo, thanks for all your help man, appreciate it!


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## jamesbjenkins (Aug 13, 2012)

sactown024 said:


> why is it so bad to post photos here that you know isnt perfect but you want other peoples opinions on what you can do to make it better or shoot it better? Some people just love to troll on forums, that will never stop.



My objection has nothing to do with your posting pictures that aren't perfect (for starters, there's no such thing). My problem is your response them medic asked a simple question, based on the perception that you said "I know" several times and made excuses for posting one of the pictures.

Telling someone who took time out of their day to answer you to "take the stick out of your a$$ and post your BS somewhere else" is the response I'd expect from a mouthy, hormonal teenager. So, unless that describes you well, maybe you should count to 10 before you type and post like an adult next time.

There are plenty of sharp-tongued, blowhard know-it-all's on this forum as it is. We don't need anymore.


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## MLeeK (Aug 13, 2012)

sactown024 said:


> MLeeK said:
> 
> 
> > So if you know these have  problems and you know what you did wrong and you have every excuse  why... Why did you post them for critique?
> ...


Hmmmmmm, just why would I ask you a serious question like that? 



sactown024 said:


> Thanks everyone, *I do understand that these  have issues *especially number 3, i actually hate this photo and the only  reason i posted it was because my wife liked it lol. The background in  these photos are not ideal by any means as they were all shot in my  apartment after sundown with little light and very high iso.


You  imply that you already know the problems with all of these and  especially #3. It seems as if you are telling us that we've wasted our  time to give you CC and encouragement. 
My husband loves a lot of really bad stuff I have shot... I am NOT  posting that on the internet for someone to CC me on because I know it's  problems. And I am sure not going to excuse it. I might SHARE it so we  can get a chuckle and rip it up. MANY of us simply share photos and  don't ask for CC on them. That's great. 



sactown024 said:


> On number one, my wife wanted the text really bad and i needed some  Photoshop practice so i went for it! I agree with everything everyone  has said here and I will try to correct and hopefully get a better  backdrop, i dont think the down comforter worked well haha.


You  really imply that you knew all of this and you have excuses as to why  you didn't shoot these differently. It seems as if we've spent time  trying to help you for... to waste time? So... pardon me if I felt you were wasting our time and asked you why. Take the stick out of YOUR ass.


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## sactown024 (Aug 13, 2012)

MLeeK said:


> sactown024 said:
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I cant tell if your serious or troll..... im glad you and your husband only post your perfections, just cause i know what i did wrong it doesn't mean i cant post and have someone tell me what else i did wrong. Shouldn't have to worry about ignorant people like you replying on the forums, if it bothers you that bad then you need a new hobby.

james- same thing as above.. i cant say "i know" without being flamed? So if I take photo knowing i didn't have a good backdrop i cant post to get other opinions on what else i can improve on?  Taking time out of their day for negativity, yah that's ignorant and rude. Why are you even wasting your time posting if your so worried about me wasting others time? every post i see you in on TPF is trolling, this thread is about photos and improvements so if you dont have CC then stop replying, go troll some other thread, end of discussion.


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## MLeeK (Aug 13, 2012)

Yep. I am a troll. Feel free to ignore me! I am happy to give help elsewhere.


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## pixmedic (Aug 13, 2012)

MLeeK said:
			
		

> Yep. I am a troll. Feel free to ignore me! I am happy to give help elsewhere.



A serious piece of advice..MLeeK is one of the most helpful people you will EVER find. Total opposite of a troll. Ignore her at your own loss.


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## pgriz (Aug 13, 2012)

@ sactown024:  I will echo what pixmedic said.  MLeeK is both knowledgeable and helpful, but she isn't a fool.  She WILL share her expertise, and does, but being rude to a legitimate question is not the way to get that help.

Most people post to get comments and to obtain feedback.  "We" may think something is absolutely wonderful, but "we" are also very unobjective.  So a reality check in terms of what strangers say is a useful tool.  Another very useful method is to show a shot, and say what you were going for and how you went about creating it - others may love the concept, but fault the execution.  Or we may say the image really works.  Or it may fall into that category of not bad enough to cause reaction, and not good enough to inspire praise and hosannas.  In which case, we get very little feedback.  That too, is a useful result.


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## manaheim (Aug 13, 2012)

pixmedic said:
			
		

> A serious piece of advice..MLeeK is one of the most helpful people you will EVER find. Total opposite of a troll. Ignore her at your own loss.



LIES!!! MLEEK IS THE CORE OF ALL EVIL!!! SHE IS THE FIRE OF THE CLOVEN HOOVED BETRAYOR!!!  SHE MUST BE PUNISHED!!!!



-chuckle-


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## jamesbjenkins (Aug 15, 2012)

sactown024 said:


> I cant tell if your serious or troll...



And if EVERY post you see me in on TPF is trolling, then we must all be some damn fine trolls here.

Typical know-it-all rookie, coming in here and then telling people to leave their thread. 

I clearly have nothing to offer you, as you already know everything.

Now pressing "ignore".


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## MWC2 (Aug 15, 2012)

OK after reading this thread I have a question.  

When I post for C&C I usually try and point out the issues I see with my image (in other words I try to give myself C&C) then I ask what I can do to improve those issues and if there is anything I am missing, should we NOT do that?  In other words, I'm posting images for C&C I know have issues but I'm wanting to know how to improve and move past those problems.  That is what I was taught/told to do when asking for advice, show you understand you are not perfect and prove you taking steps to improve so other people don't think they are wasting time offering you help.


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## MLeeK (Aug 15, 2012)

MWC2 said:


> OK after reading this thread I have a question.
> 
> When I post for C&C I usually try and point out the issues I see with my image (in other words I try to give myself C&C) then I ask what I can do to improve those issues and if there is anything I am missing, should we NOT do that?  In other words, I'm posting images for C&C I know have issues but I'm wanting to know how to improve and move past those problems.  That is what I was taught/told to do when asking for advice, show you understand you are not perfect and prove you taking steps to improve so other people don't think they are wasting time offering you help.


I don't know about anyone else here, but those are the best images to give C&C on. The poster knows they missed something or that they need help with something and by stating where it was short someone can give the targeted help needed. 
That's not what our OP did in this case.


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## Derrel (Aug 15, 2012)

THis ENTIRE thread reminds me of a CLASSIC movie clip...ONE phrase leads to a biiiiigggggg misunderstanding and a LOT of 'tude!

Goodfellas - "I&#39;m funny how, I mean funny like I&#39;m a clown?" - YouTube


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## MWC2 (Aug 15, 2012)

MLeeK said:


> MWC2 said:
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> > OK after reading this thread I have a question.
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thanks, for some reason I was thinking I was doing something wrong (would NOT be the first time).  OP sorry to hijack your thread.


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## tirediron (Aug 15, 2012)

*OP:  Just so that you're clear on a few things:  TPF has a wide range of photographers from full-time working professionals to brand-new beginners.  When you post an image for critique, you're going to get an equally wide-range of comments, ranging from a simple "It's nice" or "It sucks" to paragraphs detailing all of the issues with the image and how to improve them.

You may or may not agree with any or all of the comments posted, HOWEVER the quickest way to alienate your self and ensure that any future posts receive NO useful comments whatsoever is to lash out.  Members such as MLeek are both knowledgable and experienced, but they do NOT sugar-coat their comments.  You must understand that the comments are not directed at you personally, and no matter how rude you may think they are, 99.9% of the time, they are meant to be helpful and to assist you in improving.

Accept them that way.*


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## pgriz (Aug 15, 2012)

John, that is 'way too subtle.  You need a bigger font.


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## tirediron (Aug 15, 2012)

pgriz said:


> John, that is 'way too subtle. You need a bigger font.


Yeah... sorry 'bout that..  I've only got a small monitor here at work!


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