Tina was the second commercial photographer who kindly agreed to provide feedback on a portfolio of photographs. We finally got to meet up over a Zoom call on the 24th April. Tina is a busy photographer photographing not just food, but weddings and events as well.
We went through all 30 images one by one with Tina analysing and explaining what she would do differently. It was very interesting having another photographer go through my images like this and I appreciated her time and feedback very much. We were on our call for 80 minutes – I was expecting 15!
I’m not going to record comments on each photograph, I took notes as we went along, but I think a summary here will suffice.
Firstly, I want to say that I took most of these photographs a few years ago and I was going through a bit of an over-exposed, very shallow depth of field stage. I’m don’t feel protective of my work and have found the process of receiving feedback invigorating and encouraging. I have always believed I can do better – with everything I do, not just photography.
Tina’s comments bore some similarity to my tutor’s. My high key images are less successful than my low key ones. I often crop in too tight and miss little details that from a commercial perspective spoil the shot. Just little things – a drop of sauce here, an out of focus name on a jacket, that sort of thing. I have found with the small amount of commercial photography I have undertaken that I’ll see something in editing that I should have corrected before pressing the shutter.
Photographs that Tina particularly liked also mirrored my tutors views. Low key, use of chiaroscuro creating a painterly, fine art feel. Good, because that is the side of food photography that interests me most.
A very different style of review from Danielle Wood but they have both been most helpful.
Robin Stewart 