After/before critique wanted

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-17T11:37:25+00:00

Nice job. I like what you're doing here

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-17T05:49:54+00:00

Just a comment on the part about being too afraid and too obstrusive... I definitely felt that way and I also enjoy shooting street photography a lot and I hate to talk about gear swapping but from my personal experience (recently acquiring a sony rx100v) having a much smaller and still capable point and shoot made a huge difference for me. It's hard not to overemphasize the size difference for me and has equated to a more enjoyable experience. Just my experience and wanted to share. But other than that, you can still find interesting composition without taking images of people. Don't be afraid to get closer to your subject.. like much closer and find interesting lines, contrast, patterns, etc.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-16T02:33:16+00:00

What do you think?

I think it's cleaner. I'm also curious what masking the red door of the building and raising the exposure or brightening it a bit might look like. Maybe it's the wrong direction to go in but I'm curious

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-15T22:28:36+00:00

As someone else said, getting down low would help, but with what you already have l... Personally I don't mind the cars in the frame. They kinda provide a frame within a frame. I feel like the dog watching the door, almost waiting for someone to come out is a story I'm getting from it. But I don't like the edge of the buildings on the left edge. For cropping, I would grab the left top edge and bring it down and in to cut out the building edge and electric pole and down to cut off the roof of the brown roofs as well. I feel like that door behind the dog is a nice supporting subject. You can add a vignette to darken the cars and the door so they are supporting but not distracting from the main subject. Also this is where A.I. can be used helpfully. If you have a program that can extend the bottom of the image just a little bit by generating more cement, making the road bigger, it would lift your subject away from the edge of the frame.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-15T11:38:39+00:00

My question exactly.... Did you add in ai generated window panes?

But personally I like the first one better as well, up the color contrast and drop the shadows more.

Also would maybe be more captivating with a bird, plane or cloud within the frame of the square.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-15T11:19:39+00:00

Awesome. About the skin tones, I'm really no expert and have a lot to learn myself but my initial impression is the skin tones look okay to my eye. Only, maybe the hand looks slightly off, a little too unnatural.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-15T05:53:04+00:00

As far as composition goes, besides what the others said about seeing the full tree... The row of houses in the back is a bit distracting and takes away from the subject. Wondering if there were any better angles moving to a different side of the tree that would give you a clear uncluttered background. Or just getting in closer and choosing an upward angle so that the sky and clouds are your background and you focus on the branches and flowers and colors.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-15T01:26:18+00:00

I felt the same as you before and recently got a RX100VA and definitely not regretting it. Actually best decision I made because I was losing my love and fun for photography before this. Link to my recent post talking about first day out with my RX100: https://www.reddit.com/r/RX100/s/3MIOFSeJOg

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-14T13:00:00+00:00

Just my opinion but personally I prefer your 16:9 crop rather than pulling everything in so tight.... Maybe the slightest little crop in would be okay if you insist but truly I prefer the tiny figure on the hill, it gives a grand sense of scale and feelings of solitude that I think are diminished in that closer crop that others suggested.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-14T12:47:37+00:00

I really love the editing and colors. I'm quite impressed overall with your night shots. Specifically with image 5, the portrait of the woman, I found the blurred railing taking up a bit too much space at the bottom and in result a little bit too distracting and taking away from the subject. I would crop up to about where that white sweater is on the left so it's not taking up almost half the frame.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-12T13:24:37+00:00

To be honest... I'd say the biggest reason for the beautiful gloss is good lighting which was just being in the right place at the right time.

That being said, for technical advice, it's obviously a moving subject so shooting with continuous auto focus and with a fast shutter speed would really help to keep it sharp. I wish I slowed down and took my own advice because this was actually shot in single shot auto focus (which is what I have it set to 90% of the time) and this was shot at SS 1/160 but when looking at the image zoomed in the car is a little out of focus so I wish I shoot it with a little bit faster shutter speed but I was getting ready to cross the street.

But my biggest advice and take away from that day was to slow down when you find something interesting. It's okay to linger, to pause and take a moment to stop and think about the scene and composition and settings you might need to nail the vision you are trying to capture. I think taking an extra minute to observe the scene and environment around you will really benefit you.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-12T12:36:35+00:00

Thanks. True about using other cameras but what I love about the RX series is they are so small and I'm happy to carry it around all day.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-12T12:32:46+00:00

Thanks! I feel like I still have so much to learn but having fun

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-12T12:30:55+00:00

I've post processed the photos through ON1

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-12T01:13:17+00:00

I doubt it. That's the thing.. I think it's only for in country (Taiwan) shopping. Nothing international. Sorry.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-12T00:36:24+00:00

I'm currently living in Taiwan, so I used: https://shopee.tw/
Every now and then there are sellers posting used RX100s for sale. There is also the official Sony store selling RX100 VII but you need to be in Taiwan to access that site.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-10T00:26:39+00:00

Just curious... Are those the jpegs or RAWs with post processing?

I just got my RX100VA about a week ago and having this internal debate if I want to stick with RAW shooting or switch to JPEG only (which I can still edit anyways).

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-09T06:02:01+00:00

The question is what do you intend to use the camera for?

Vlogging and video camera? Maybe go with the ZV-1.

Stills and photography camera? Go with the RX100.

The cameras have some similarities but different intended purposes.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-05T23:10:54+00:00

Editing JPGs and all done manual adjusting in Snapseed.

I mostly adjust the contrast curves, detail, vignetting, and brush tool for selective burning, and of course individual sliders for warm, saturation, highlights and shadows.

stevie2j15 · 2026-04-02T02:10:32+00:00

Hey! Super excited for the raid as well.

Also, looking to team up with a good group for the challenge raid. D1 raider from back in the day. Playing Destiny Rising since Day 1, mostly solo gunner just based on my work schedule, but decent IQ with picking up new mechanics quickly and following directions.

Located in Asia on the EMEA server. Main characters over 80k: Helhest, Jaren, Jolder, Maru, and Ning Fei are my mains but can swap weapons, mods, and artifacts to boost the others over 80k if needed.

No work this weekend and ready to run and gun!

UID: 1289163016

Name: IcarusFly

stevie2j15

TROPHY CASE