JA3.jpg
by debitipton

Comment by debitipton:

Originally posted by jpochard: The thing I notice from both your shots vs. the inspiration one is the angle. The jinky shot is more from the side and less in front of the model and that might work better here. Just a thought.

The only place we could think of to try this was at our local Historical Museum. This was in the door way of a 1900's one room school house. Dead center in the room is an old iron stove used to heat the building. Since it had been there for over 100 years -- moving it wasn't an option. I needed to be a bit relaxed with how I did the shot. As I tell my kids -- You get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

Lauren's World
by debitipton

Comment by jpochard:
I really like this trio. It's wonderful having each parent on one side of the trio. I think maybe the white is a tad overdone...a little too much of it IMO, but I really love the idea. I'll bet the parents will love it too! I can see how Jinky inspired one like this!

JA3.jpg
by debitipton

Comment by jpochard:
I wish I had a place to try one like this with my daughter. Yours looks a bit uncomfortable in this position. I think her legs down a bit might have been better. Technically, good shot. Maybe a little soft to my eye.

The thing I notice from both your shots vs. the inspiration one is the angle. The jinky shot is more from the side and less in front of the model and that might work better here. Just a thought.

JA Assignment1.jpg
by debitipton

Comment by jpochard:
What a nice shot. Your daughter has a beautiful face and smile. I like this the way it is quite a lot, but I agree with not centering the composition quite as much. Still, a very nice polished looking shot.

Street Musican
by debitipton

Comment by bcoble:
I like candid shots. The colors are nice. Good photo!

Street Musican
by debitipton

Comment by CLarson557:
Hi Debi,

Composition:
This is a very interesting photo of a very interesting person. I am not really familar with Paris and men's fashions there, but pink pants on a man in Montana where I live would be very odd (he'd automatically be considered gay, I suppose) I would think that a gay man, no matter where he was from, would have more fashion sense then wearing pink pants with a blue t-shirt and worn out sneakers. Perhaps this person is homeless and gets his money from playing his accordian on the street. Anyway, my point, is that this picture offers a lot of questions about who this guy really is. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words and this picture fits that mold. I like how you have a portion of his bicycle in the picture. I might assume that this is his only form of transportation. From what I can see of it, it is rigged to carry things on it. Perhaps he can't afford to take public transportation to get himself around. I like how he is posed with his attention away from the camera. Perhaps he is shy or ashamed to face the camera or make eye contact. However, he is comfortable with his instrument.

Technically:

This picture is well done. The lighting is good. There are no shadows to hide his features or the instrument that he is playing. Color is good, even though his clothing is weird. It may appear that you have desaturated the background as there is no color there. Again, as I'm not familar with Paris, the buildings in the city might not be all that colorful. However, if you did desaturate it, that technique worked well here and provided you a way to concentrate fully on your subject. Also, if this is the case, I am glad that you left the color of the bicycle as that would confirm to me that it belongs to him as well. I really like the DOF. Your subject is in good focus while the background is blurred which is the way it should be. The picture is cropped well. Debi, I cannot find a single thing in this picture that I would change or correct.

Overall:

This is not a picture that I would necessarily hang on the wall. Except you saying that you took this picture while vacationing, I would not know that this was taken in Paris. It is a very well executed photo that makes a nice addition to your vacation memories. It would say, however, that this would be an excellent photojournalism picture on, let's say, a piece on street musicians from Paris or the homeless making a living. ...And on last thought, perhaps the producers from "What Not to Wear" would want to consider this guy for their show.

Hope this was helpful
Connie

JA4.jpg
by debitipton

Comment by Artyste:
I'd keep the square crop, but the skin tones here definitely look more vibrant and natural. For this one, you'd have to reshoot to get the compositioal changes I was talking about, but I'm not worried about that for this. It was more a "reminder for next time" sort of thing.. unless you're really wanting to reshoot for it for your personal album or whatever.

JA3.1.jpg
by debitipton

Comment by Artyste:
Oh wow.. yes. Awesome.

JA Assignment1.jpg
by debitipton

Comment by jenesis:
What a great photo! This is really lovely. I kind of agree with Artyste about the composition as it would've added a tad bit more interest but still and all this is really nice. :-)

JA3.jpg
by debitipton

Comment by Artyste:
Once again, your lighting is practically dead on here. You've got an incredibly strong eye for emulation, and you seem to know what you're doing, and how to get there.

Just two things to touch on for this one (and the other one, I chose this one to put the comment on). #1 is your contrast. Your blacks are not quite as black as they could be. This may be a monitor calibration thing, or other sort, but I'd suggest going in and using either a +5 - +8 contrast boost in Brightness/Contrast, or use a selective color adjustment layer and bring the "neutrals" black slider up a few notches, and the "blacks" black slider up a few notches. This should help get your blacks blacker while leaving the rest of the shot toned well.

#2 is your sharpness. This has a softer feel than the shot you were emulating. The contrast boost will probably help this out too, but I'd suggest also using a small sharpness increase too, either with USM, or with the regular Sharpen, and then using the "Fade Sharpen" under "edit" immediately after applying it. (If you're using PS CS or one of the PS above 7). For USM, I'd just apply it lightly, say starting at 85%/0.2/0 and going from there. This will just help crisp the photo up a bit, and give it a stronger feel.

As always, these comments are based on my personal opinion, on my observations between your photos and the ones you were emulating, and on experience. They are meant as a guide, not as "set in stone" rules or anything. You've done a wonderful job with both your photos, and you should be proud of your work. You'll be a mentor with Sher and I in no time :)