Fstoppers Critique the Community: Landscape Photography with Elia Locardi

[@TomTomLo1]

I give the audio on this recording a two. I was in between a 3 and 4, but then I moved more than a meter away from my laptop and I couldn't hear it properly. The beards are a solid 4, but the audio just needs a bit more thought.

[@andrewford80]

Agreed. I also think there's a massive overuse of excessive post processing. It looks like everyone has watched the same tutorial on dragging all the sliders to Max or Min. Elia had some nice pics but they all looked way over done, to me. More subtle effects please!

[@jafargio]

+Thomas Lomax Go and get good laptop :D or at least use headphones

[@afrosymphony8207]

+Thomas Lomax hahahahah

[@jurajbenadik4049]

You just made my day. And you did it 2 years ago. Congrats!

[@freefallu]

The guy on the right likes himself too much

[@migsicangco1]

A photo speaks to a certain person. It's a matter of preference, guys. You guys are just too perfect.

[@heinzhagenbucher4714]

Thank you to both of you, it's a great critique on landscapes. I love the thoughts of Elia on how an image should look like. Would love to have a mentor like this. But being able to see his work, will perhaps help me already. Looking forward to see more. Wish you lots of good light and awesome subjects. Heinz

[@ro3843]

I like this guest. He seems respectful and intelligent. I hope him and his wife have had a great time on the road. Can't believe it's been 8 years!

[@smedz28]

I get some of the points they were making but to be honest most of their critique was a bit harsher than needed and mostly revolved around their own personal taste. Concentrate more on the composition, lighting/exposure etc rather than things like 'painting' trees out that you don't like in the shot

[@lankey6969]

How beautiful is it to find someone to wander the world with you? That's moving stuff right there. Very lucky people. Papa bless.

[@fxrober]

Mr. Locardi is well-spoken and insightful. Well worth the viewing.

[@quebecer4605]

Great episode! I enjoy how you critique by being constructive, not destructive.

[@FredBytes]

The bridge picture is Rainbow bridge by Donner Pass CA. Good critique episode btw!

[@jaspervanberkel766]

Can you please do more of those video's? I love those critiques, it's interesting, and it really helps me as an aspiring photographer. Thanks guys

[@Samtagri]

Elia seems to know his stuff. I like this critique episodes. Like the halos in the clouds, I will keep an eye out for that when working on my photos. If you hate HDR then you will have trouble looking at landscape photos. Cool video.

[@oBCHANo]

People hate shitty HDR, which is what most people do. If somebody uses HDR properly then it can look great.

[@Samtagri]

Since Lightroom gained the ability to process 32 bit images, this is how I do all my HDR processing. It comes out pretty natural.

[@JeffCutler]

City with clock tower is Boston, MA.

[@lPaulSaltzman]

LOVED the critiques...Will watch again

[@skyneary6449]

Can't wait to see the video y'all make for landscape!

[@TheNeo052000]

I do agree with most, that the critique scale is all over the place, you go from paying for a photo to would you hang it on your wall at home which are two different things. You should be consistent with the rating, my suggestion would be to find these photos on Instagram and rate on would you Like or Not Like the photo. Then Like the photo on Instagram, that would be awesome! Another thing is that the photos and the work Elia Locardi has done is great work don't get me wrong but at the same time being a little harsh on the critiques because as landscape photographers know it isn't easy to photograph mother nature. For instance the photo with the moon and clouds that will never happen again to look exactly like that in a million years, yes it could have been a better photo at the time it was taken and post but keep in mind we never would have seen that with our own eyes if the photo was never taken and my opinion is that that should be taken into consideration.

[@DaveyD4419]

Really liked this video guys... During the video I was thinking about how there were no 5 stars given, and I was hoping that some would be woven in to see what the pro would rate them, im glad in the end you mentioned maybe doing that next time. Cant wait for the landscape video!

[@evankokoska1206]

Love this format - thanks guys

[@keagandevilliers2832]

Please bring this series back!

[@bond2k3]

This was great. Very good Feedback.

[@tdawg719]

33:00 appears to be the great sand dunes in CO and pretty much every picture I’ve seen brings the beauty of dunes alive way more.

[@Ocinematique]

Photography is hard: color tonality, composition, depth separation, separation of tonalities… many stuff that you can't get wrong! That's overwhelming.

[@PlamenPanchevStudios]

Hello guys, did you do this Landscape Critiques again? If not, please tell me when it is going to be the next one. :)

[@grahamgross1]

Hearing you from critique photos that are much better than anything I could take I think will help me work on my photography. Perhaps I'll submit an image at some point and get my one star rating at some point.

[@jardom6044]

The Iceland one looks like something that Peter McKinnon would do in post with his red crush.

[@TheKisei]

I like the premise of these videos. I think Elia can concentrate a little more on the overall compositional issues in the images (of which I think most of the photos were not that strong) rather than complain about watermarks or focus immediately on the post processing. Agree with most of the comments on where the processing was not well done -- but the basic critique should focus on where composition can be improved.

[@BMSWEB]

One of your best!

[@afiwubh4go9aiosugb]

You can take 10,000 photos of the same thing but not every photo is the same.

[@gsogso3444]

thank you guys

[@marcin97]

Very interesting episode. Well done.

[@prophysiotherapy9994]

are you guys doing this critiques to the community again? i would like to share some photos I have which i would love to get some feedback on :)

[@paintfree1]

the 10:21 image is a 5* for me....don´t know why but i love it.

[@tarry2140]

agree. i could look at this picture and think about the scene. making people think is great.

[@christopherreily1895]

Fantastic, they know Dubai right off the bat and don't even hazard a guess for Boston...Come visit Boston Elia!!

[@toysoldier739]

How many people noticed the dog?

[@austinw638]

Elia Locardi DOES have skill...but I do not like his surreal and "fake coloring" style of post processing that just saturates the hell out of photos. Unfortunately, most landscape photos deemed "pro" these days have little to do with composition and the actual subject matter of what the image should represent. Instead, landscape photographers take a high resolution image of a simple landmark and then saturate, saturate, saturate. To me, the photo should SAY something and have meaning. But everybody is different. Also, they slammed that one photo for the watermark. I know plenty of professional photographers that have had work stolen and used in commercial applications. Watermarks protect the photographers property online until the image is sent to print or until it is licensed to someone who wants to pay for it. Plain and simple. I thought the image was great.

[@gamerN77]

+Austin Weideman I get what you're saying. Indeed, it is always something personal. I do agree with you that photos shouldn't look oversaturated. But in my own opinion, Locardi doesn't oversatuarate to a point when it looks cheesy. I personally think he grades his images very well und does a great take on the HDR-technique by not doing it over the top. In the end, HDR - when it's done right - is much closer to the way humans see than 'regular' photos. And in an interview with Locardi, I think he mentioned this particularly. He wants his photos to represent the way you felt when you were there on location with all the beautiful light and vibrant colors. But again, you're right, everything comes down to personal preference.

[@stenmartens7179]

Welcome to every big instagram page ever (with a few exceptions)

[@Rammykazemi]

do u guys do more critiques?

[@marlenek8845]

Hi Lee, what breed of dog is that please? X

[@Wizzgigging]

This is really cool. Definitely do this again! I would love to send in one of my images for critique.

[@PostWarKids]

These guys are so different from each other.

[@aaronechols3984]

I love getting both perspectives; the commercial side from lee and the artistic opinions from Elia. I do have to disagree with Elia however; icon shots are so boring. One can only view the same angle of Yosemite Valley or the Eiffel tower so many times.

[@hluvukanihobyane3426]

Great insights!

[@JohKemStYl3]

Am I the only one thinking that the Iceland shot may be time blending shots from dusk and dawn and that is where the different colors come from?

[@xll6933]

the city in 20:00 is Boston

[@anasousa5592]

for me, the last une is a 5!

[@Doeniel02]

25:57 the composition is great? the mountain is cut out...

[@Karataron]

The last one reminds me somehow of a picture taken by Erik Johansson ^^

[@RulovskyPharaoh]

that one at 8.00 it's acapulco mexico

[@Josh-qo1dl]

The picture in 29:22 is way better than 29:58.

[@raven6720]

i know this was 3 years ago, but you're absolutely wrong

[@xcaliber6002]

you had me 15s in when the puppy walks out behind Elia. PUPPY!! ...wait what was this video about

[@snapshopped]

DO it again! Good idea! :)

[@RBPNZ]

How was New Zealand? :D

[@Djquevz68]

The Iceland picture is over saturated and the mountain is cut.

[@KiterTMK]

Or a unicorn barfed all its colors on it.

[@ThePhlogPhotography]

Thats my picture btw and you're totally right on this one, haha :d

[@imsgoalie1]

8:50 I think these guys are missing a lot of what makes this image really cool. If you look at the reflection, it's all vertical lines. Then the city itself is composed of mostly dots of light, the mountains are all blacks, and then the sky is that awesome texture created by the moon behind the clouds. It's four very, very different "textures" (for lack of a better word), that are in horizontal bands, stacked vertically. If the photographer just submitted a vertical crop, it would eliminate some of the dead space around the illuminated portion of the sky, and fill the entire width of the frame with the interesting texture created by the clouds, which would really drive home that whole "stacked textures" thing im talking about.

[@Rifatrim]

Sorry I kept looking at the dog... So cute.

[@jardom6044]

U sure it's not sentiment speaking when it comes to pic nr 2?

[@afrosymphony8207]

Ahhh the perks of being american...you dont really need a visa to go to any part of the world even if you need one its usually no big deal as its pretty easy process, unlike we africans...getting a visa is so fucking hard and expensive that when whenever we get one there is like a huge celebration cause its such a big deal.

[@mxskmg4]

Looking through Elia's portfolio I can say I like a lot of the ones he gave 2 more than his. He seems to be way to formulaic. You don't have to use a wide angle lens for every shot and just because there is a subject doesn't mean its necessarily interesting. pretty vanilla stuff. Do all 3-4 photos have to be a wide angle long exposure.

[@DbackNF26]

It's Bostonnnnnnnnn.

[@Naspletan]

i thought that horse bend was 4..

[@Ocinematique]

Very good one! Most critiques that I saw are too nice! This one I think was real, not nice!

[@gabrielherman8930]

The city is boston

[@Azilyx]

there should be a 6 for world class, since no one ever gets it

[@Allpall]

whose puppy?? so cute ah

[@Lousicle]

Jordankbuckway needs to straighten his horizon lines.

[@cameronjohn-lewis8142]

I can't believe some of the ratings they are giving some images in this critique. 😂

[@ThungHoang]

Phê bình cộng đồng, video hay lắm bạn ơi, cảm ơn bạn đã chia sẻ video hay và hữu ích lắm, mình rất thích video này của bạn, chúc bạn mạnh khỏe, hạnh phúc, thành đạt trong cuộc sống nhé.....Chào bạn, kênh của bạn dạo này phát triển tốt không, mình vào nhà bạn và ủng hộ kênh của bạn, rất mong bạn có thời gian rảnh mời bạn ghé qua nhà mình chơi, chúc kênh của bạn luôn luôn phát triển.....

[@stephenhopkins1068]

Looks like Boston.

[@tdawg719]

No way that waterfall on the mountain is a 1. You have to stick to your rating system

[@davidyanceyjr]

"I always think of the type of person taking the image.", nice sentiment but a stretch brother. Good photographers can take bad pictures or even great snapshots.

[@stgodless]

When Lee said that, he didn't know the photographer personally. What he meant was, he could figure out the thought process of the photographer by looking at his finished product and that leads him into knowing the kind of person behind the picture

[@quasicesium]

I concur with the view that photography these days relies too much on post processing, which is apparently presented by many of the images in this video. Instead of enhancing what's already there and telling the story from "unusual" perspectives, excessive post processing has removed the "soul" of the scene/composition. Alas, some photographers are more than happy to show off their "photoshop" skills. Anyway, in my opinion, I would give the last one 1.5. It's obviously not a 1 because the one who took this picture knew how to implement the Tv mode professionally. I mean I can appreciate the motion in the foreground, however, the sky looks dull, the house looks sorta corny with straight lines. The house would look much better if placed at an angle which would also bring out a better appearance with the silo, and maybe the rule of thirds can be appreciated here.

[@42pyroboy]

man, i dont know where this photo is taken so it sucks. Jesus that is stupid.

[@peterandrews326]

Totally agree.

[@snapshopped]

I called myself a landscape photographer too for a long time. Now I completely stopped doing it. It is boring. Pictures you take on "normal places" people don't like, because it's not iconic. So basically people always take the same shot at the same place. My whole facebook newfeed was full of Lofoten islands, Kirkjufell and so on. It's so repetitive, no vision, no art. Just pure repetition. That's why I'm so bored of landscape photography and totally done with it. So I totally agree with you.

[@benjaminwurtz1811]

dat puppy doe

[@afrosymphony8207]

i just went through elia's 500px page to see the work of someone who judges so harshly and i must say...his work is barely 4stars and am just being honest and his colouring skills are kinda basic.Just look at TUCHIWSKY's work and you'll understand what am talking about

[@fatsamcastle]

afro symphony I have wondered what the pedigree of these two are.

[@SwissplWatches]

The "not sized" watch bracelet keeps distracting me.

[@arielrglaze]

How can you afford to travel the world?

[@efemerum]

Elia is an artist but the cap guy is not very clever

[@jackboyd2352]

what if it is the best he can do it is fortunate that you can be homeless and have the financies to travel the world i certinly can afford to catch the buss to places of interest

[@ritesh26101989]

This Loacardi guy looks like bearded Messi

[@DorothyCarterArchive]

If he doesn't have a home, how can he photoshop?

[@seldomfollows]

Jack Strait's Unofficial Channel They make these great, mobile computers now called "laptops."

[@DorothyCarterArchive]

Eric Follows and I suppose he has the world's longest extention cord running to the nearest target?

[@stubones]

Jack Strait's Unofficial Channel When he says homeless, doesn't mean he sleeps under a bridge :)

[@jaevnstroem]

Laptop... You know, I imagine he stays at hotels and what not... Homeless isn't the same as poor and living in alleys.

[@brianminkc]

personally I thought there was a couple 4 images. The smokey mountain one at dusk and some others. I learned one thing though.... just because your a famous photographer does not mean you know what art is.

[@yassinethegrey3945]

Can you please critique more based on a professional neutral point of view rather than a personnal preference matter

[@jamesfindlay7150]

50:55 a 3 WTF? It's a 1 the dust on the sky above the barn, the motion looks like a dull iPhone snap. No way that is a 3 NEVER.

[@xp3rienc]

I can see at least 10 sensor dust spots... 2 at most

[@lucasfreeman9469]

I would personally give it a 2 as well, but not for the reasons you did. I think the blur is what makes the image work. This was probably taken from a moving car, but what it really makes me think of after looking at the image for a minute is a barn in the middle of a great wind, or even a storm. The dust spots only give that context for this image more credibility. Everything else is shaking (even the sky has a bit of softness depicting motion), except for the building in the middle. The photo tells a kind of story in this way. Everything you see around the middle building is tense and stressful, but the building itself is calm and secure. There's a lot you could draw from that. I would say the black and white adds to the effect, really emphasizing the importance of the event unfolding, rather than the time of day or season of the year that color would make you focus on in the picture. I don't think it's a 3 because it's not visually pleasing enough. I wouldn't hang this on my wall.

[@nretful]

I like it very much

[@seongslee]

I think they gave it a three because it captured the scene well - wind, mood, etc - regardless of how sharp the image is.

[@yusufercan6768]

Just talk about money? no?

[@bunhead8]

you guys need to stop saying "so unique" and "very unique" geesh, learn the English language...

[@tb2m]

Failed experiment? No.

[@Eichetheking]

"They compare it to the Horseshoebend. They say, this is the horseshoebend of ... " No. Only 'Mericans do that.