Hi, guys. I'm the photographer for the winner's photo.
A little background on me and the project. I actually do photo and recently video work for most of what little income I can bring in while also being a student, haha. Most of my photography work has been actor's headshots for the Hollywood market along with action/portrait work for martial artists (in this case, Jeff). My video work has been commercials for private clients and short indie action films:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5eH9gc8A1A&fmt=22
I'm very open to constructive criticism and if anyone truly felt it looked too amateur I wouldn't mind hearing about what made you feel that way. When Jeff approached me about the project I originally wanted to go all out and have the session in an alleyway with a larger crew and more controlled lighting, similar to the one in this photo for another actor:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m145 ... 6_8839.jpg
Jeff insisted on not bothering me since this was a "fun project," and so I spent about an hour setting up lighting and test framing in my roommate's room, instead. Most of what you see in the entry photo was pre-visualized, including the post-processing work. Everything from the torn poster in the background to the crumpled paper bag on the left side of the frame was meant to break empty space and add texture for what I wanted to be a "comicbook" look that still looked clearly like a photo rather than a drawing. The diagonals of the table line and rifle, wide-angle lens distortion, framing of the door, color of the thug's jacket, etc. The lighting setup was a single speedlite, snooted, and remote triggered to my camera.
The most difficult thing by far was the angle of the lighting. The reason being that since it was a very tight room and I didn't want to make Jeff feel uncomfortable by creating a more professional setup that screamed "I HOPE YOU FEEL PRESSURE CUZ I SPENT SO MUCH TIME ON THIS." Instead I had my roommate, Talia, stand on a chair and aim the snoot in the direction I called. Anyone who works with flash photography (without a modeling light) will understand how insane this decision actually was, and it showed. The majority of the shots were simply way too flat with the light bouncing around the room, especially when the light would hit the table square-on, as the it had a gloss coating. The one entered was one of the few where the lighting hit in the way I wanted. I was not the most happy with the framing (especially how the distortion and stacking of the pistol to the thugs neck hid too much of the pistol), but lighting came first.
In the end we had fun and some fun shots. This was the other entry we considered (and that I liked best), but decided that the final choice was more appropriate in accordance to the "show your arsenal" theme.
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m145 ... _7731b.jpg
Some outtakes that were not chosen mostly for the reason of missed lighting (and some where it simply wouldn't show enough weapons or the punisher chest):
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m145 ... G_7864.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m145 ... G_7852.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m145 ... G_7930.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m145 ... G_7948.jpg
If you felt that the entry was "too amateur" it does concern me a bit as I try to never display any serious work that didn't feel professional. My classmate's first reaction was literally, "It looks so professional! Oh, YOU did that?" which gave me confidence in my decision. I do understand that many frown upon the use of photoshop, but I believe any serious photographer by this time will understand its use as a tool in the workflow just as any other tool before the digital era. Film was post-processed for commercial display just as it is now. Nor did film ever record true to life colors for the simple reason that you would never want it to if you were after art (as opposed to simply recording an event). Because of the nature of headshot work I rarely did much post-processing on those. Here are some samples:
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m145 ... 6_1629.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m145 ... 4_7372.jpg
This project was a lot of fun and a learning experience for me as it was the most "creative" photoshop I'd ever done. For the record I shoot mostly film for my personal projects and digital for my professional work. =)
So yes, if you felt it was amateur it does cause a little bit of concern for me and if you could elaborate as to why it would help me keep these in mind. I do understand that several of you are professional photographers and videographers and so just know that your critiques will be well received. =)
Thanx to everyone who took a look and gave positive comments!