The Idol Blog Pic Appreciation/Criticism Thread

[Farrah]

Duck face = the epitome of cute in Japan. Seriously, after a few models became popular for naturally having that weird upward curving upper lip, everyone's been obsessed with mimicking it. Unfortunately, it looks incredibly stupid, especially when done by someone who doesn't naturally have that lip shape. Of course it's popular in the states, too, but I feel like it's used more to look "sexy", rather than cute.



Risako's blog photos are some of my favorites. I always like the outfits in Ai's, but she overuses instagram filters to an almost painful degree. "EVERYTHING, ORANGE. VINTAGE. I AM NO LONGER MORNING MUSUME. I AM HIPSTER MUSUME."

[Anderei]

Takahashi was Hipster Musume even before she graduated, too!



Risa loves herself the duck face. I honestly think she's the worst about it:

[Shoujo Q]

Takahashi also has a tendency to overuse the frames Apps on her iPhone. But what I really don't like, and hate it when she does it. The <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... >/ohmy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':o' /> face.



It's one of her favorite faces. I call it the surprised fish look.

[Ap2000]

Fan service for the wotas.

[AurA]

^ Haha, that's horrible.

[star]

[quote name='Ap2000' timestamp='1363741632' post='147463']

Fan service for the wotas.

[/quote]

I appologize for this next comment. You will either be greatly offended, or laughing your ass off. So please read only if you really want to know. I know I'll probably regret this later, but ...

Spoiler: [+]

Who wants to bet there are guys who print out her picture, cut out the mouth, and tape it to some sort of hole.

[AurA]

Hahaha, WOW. Kids grow up fast on the internet.

[Melon]

They've come a long way from the scrambled PPV channels.

[Ap2000]

[quote name='Star' timestamp='1363742449' post='147465']

[quote name='Ap2000' timestamp='1363741632' post='147463']

Fan service for the wotas.

[/quote]

I appologize for this next comment. You will either be greatly offended, or laughing your ass off. So please read only if you really want to know. I know I'll probably regret this later, but ...

Spoiler: [+]

Who wants to bet there are guys who print out her picture, cut out the mouth, and tape it to some sort of hole.

[/quote]



Let's rest it at "I've seen some shit"... <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... nfused.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[star]

[quote name='AurA' timestamp='1363744104' post='147468']

Hahaha, WOW. Kids grow up fast on the internet.

[/quote]

I was educated about such things at a young age. My grandparents never hid anything from us, and always answered questions honestly. Factor in the trashy television I watch/watched and the fact that my entire family is dirty-minded, and you have a logical reason for why I would say that.

[rallyleo]

[quote name='Star' timestamp='1363745514' post='147474']

[quote name='AurA' timestamp='1363744104' post='147468']

Hahaha, WOW. Kids grow up fast on the internet.

[/quote]

I was educated about such things at a young age. My grandparents never hid anything from us, and always answered questions honestly. Factor in the trashy television I watch/watched and the fact that my entire family is dirty-minded, and you have a logical reason for why I would say that.

[/quote]



And that's why we love you <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... smooch.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='=3=' />

[AurA]

Serviceable. Not good, but serviceable. Takahashi Ai



I scrolled through the top 50 pages of Ai's blog on Hello!Blog Project and found 4 images that I thought were OK. I picked my favorite 2 to actually work on. None were really presentable on their own



First up



The colors are still off a little, and the image is annoyingly small. Lots of color changes, and some pretty heavy noise reduction to get to this image. Also darkened, and increased the contrast quite a bit. The reflection is neat, and the fact she didn't make a stupid face is a huge plus.

Here's the original image



Next



Rotation and crop brought down the overall size significantly, some color corrections, and a boost to contrast.

Original



Here are the other 2 images I liked.

First

I planned on taking the top right picture and cropping it.

Second

Overall a pretty boring image, But Mizuki is gorgeous.

[Ap2000]

[quote name='AurA' timestamp='1363759879' post='147518']



Next



Rotation and crop brought down the overall size significantly, some color corrections, and a boost to contrast.

Original

[/quote]



But why would you rotate and crop it ?

This is one of the few exceptions, where an angle and having other stuff on the screen actually makes the picture much more interesting.

[yuzuriha]

I still love the picture of Ai with the Starbucks stirrer up her nose though, not gonna lie.

[AurA]

[quote name='Ap2000' timestamp='1363789741' post='147540']

But why would you rotate and crop it ?

This is one of the few exceptions, where an angle and having other stuff on the screen actually makes the picture much more interesting.

[/quote]

Ya it was more interesting, but I found it a little hard to look at. I think the angle was too much. I think it would have been a great photo if they had kept the framing, but put her on a level plane.

[AurA]

I found this on Reddit.

[Ap2000]

General tip: the more heavy eye makeup they wear, the more likely it is that they look very different.

[showraniy]

Fucking damn it girls and their beauty/body issues. Do not have the energy right now.

[yuzuriha]

I dunno, I can do a lot with makeup (see the fashion/beauty, etc thread) but the transformations most Japanese girls seem to be able to do seems like straight up sorcery. So kudos on the skills, boo on the deception.

[AurA]

Great stuff, keep up the good work Iikubo Haruna



Can you see what's wrong with this picture?



Nothing! that's right, a grand total of 0 things. The framing is good. it's close to keep the background from being distracting, off centered nicely, and not at a stupid angle.



The expressions are fantastic, simple and beautiful. The lighting is good, no dumb filters, everything is great. Iikubo takes self shots that actually make her look BETTER than usual, and of course Ayumi looks great too.



And this is no exception, Iikubo consistently takes great photos. However she will sometimes overdo the clipart and stamps.



Another great picture



Nice expression, interesting subject, lighting, framing, filterless, all good.

[rob]

Is it just me or are the two above photos examples of photos that fans want to see instead of some girl in a bikini looking bored, cold, lonely and feeling awkward?

[Anderei]

Nope, I'm pretty sure there's lots of fans who would still like the bikini.

[rob]

[quote name='Anderei' timestamp='1363823209' post='147636']

Nope, I'm pretty sure there's lots of fans who would still like the bikini.

[/quote]



Just me then.. well then I shall continue to ignore photo books exist then <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... umbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



Seriously, I've always thought these photo books could be so much more interesting, use them to tell stories, or have an interesting theme or something.



P.S. the one thing wrong with that Haruna and Ayumi photo is the foot in the top right <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... nceman.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':danceman:' />

[AurA]

[quote name='rob' timestamp='1363823338' post='147639']

P.S. the one thing wrong with that Haruna and Ayumi photo is the foot in the top right <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... nceman.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':danceman:' />

[/quote]

What foot?

[Ragen]

I've to squint really-really hard and long to see that foot.



Still, you wouldn't notice it unless you look for it since the subject matter is staring at you right in the face. :)

[Ap2000]

[quote name='rob' timestamp='1363823338' post='147639']



Seriously, I've always thought these photo books could be so much more interesting, use them to tell stories, or have an interesting theme or something.

[/quote]



That's not what the wotas buy them for.

[Madara]

[quote name='AurA' timestamp='1363820640' post='147622']

Great stuff, keep up the good work Iikubo Haruna



Can you see what's wrong with this picture?



Nothing! that's right, a grand total of 0 things. The framing is good. it's close to keep the background from being distracting, off centered nicely, and not at a stupid angle.



The expressions are fantastic, simple and beautiful. The lighting is good, no dumb filters, everything is great. Iikubo takes self shots that actually make her look BETTER than usual, and of course Ayumi looks great too.



And this is no exception, Iikubo consistently takes great photos. However she will sometimes overdo the clipart and stamps.





[/quote]





Problem is, I don't recognize either girl. I'm guessing from the context that they're Haruna and Ayumi, but they don't look like them. Shouldn't a good picture mean that they're at least recognizable?

[Vikitty]

[quote name='yuzuriha' timestamp='1363705140' post='147386']

Risako takes the best blog photos. I use some of the same apps she does now.





I AM NOT BIASED.

[/quote]

Which apps does she use, just out of curiousity? I like some of the filters she uses.

[Anderei]

[quote name='Madara' timestamp='1363879668' post='147697']

[quote name='AurA' timestamp='1363820640' post='147622']

Great stuff, keep up the good work Iikubo Haruna



Can you see what's wrong with this picture?

[big photo]

Nothing! that's right, a grand total of 0 things. The framing is good. it's close to keep the background from being distracting, off centered nicely, and not at a stupid angle.



The expressions are fantastic, simple and beautiful. The lighting is good, no dumb filters, everything is great. Iikubo takes self shots that actually make her look BETTER than usual, and of course Ayumi looks great too.



And this is no exception, Iikubo consistently takes great photos. However she will sometimes overdo the clipart and stamps.





[/quote]



Problem is, I don't recognize either girl. I'm guessing from the context that they're Haruna and Ayumi, but they don't look like them. Shouldn't a good picture mean that they're at least recognizable?

[/quote]



They're recognizable to me. What about them looks so different to you?

[yuzuriha]

[quote name='Valerie' timestamp='1363880007' post='147698']

[quote name='yuzuriha' timestamp='1363705140' post='147386']

Risako takes the best blog photos. I use some of the same apps she does now.





I AM NOT BIASED.

[/quote]

Which apps does she use, just out of curiousity? I like some of the filters she uses.

[/quote]



My favorite that she uses (that is free) is Vintage Deco. She also uses phonto (which is basically for adding text), pudding cam (which gives you different "cameras" and films to take pictures with!), and Be Funky. There were a few others she mentioned that I didn't get because they cost money and I'm not a huge photography person, but she posted them on one of her blog Q&As if those aren't what you're looking for. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /happy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='^_^' /> I think one was called Lumie and another was called Hanko?