| Author | Thread |
|
|
07/21/2005 10:42:29 AM · #176 |
| bump...making sure everyone sees that Assignment #2 is posted. |
|
|
|
07/22/2005 08:45:39 PM · #177 |
Hey since this assignment is focused mainly on composition and setting, is there any objections to shooting film? I know this is a digital site but it's just that I have a film slr and better lenses and I can control the dof and focus better than with my point-and-shoot. Si? I'll shoot both, how's that?
brian
|
|
|
|
07/22/2005 08:50:42 PM · #178 |
Originally posted by briantammy:
Hey since this assignment is focused mainly on composition and setting, is there any objections to shooting film? I know this is a digital site but it's just that I have a film slr and better lenses and I can control the dof and focus better than with my point-and-shoot. Si? I'll shoot both, how's that?
brian |
The main purpose of these mentorships is to learn to get the most out of your digital camera that you can, and to hopefully learn things that you can apply to any digital camera.. not just a dSLR. I'm not going to say no, you can't shoot with film, but I'd rather see you try these assignments with your digital, and if you have any specific needs and questions regarding it, please contact Sher and/or I, and we'll be happy to help you, or point you in a direction where you can be helped.
Personally, I think it's defeating the purpose if you use a film camera. You have a digital, it's why you're here, and you're only hurting yourself if you don't try your best to learn to get the best out of it.
|
|
|
|
07/22/2005 09:03:00 PM · #179 |
|
|
|
07/22/2005 09:41:26 PM · #180 |
Originally posted by briantammy:
No problem. |
I just wanted to add that we're really not looking for amazing, award winning, great photography here either... so don't worry over-much about quality. What counts is trying and learning :)
|
|
|
|
07/23/2005 07:49:21 PM · #181 |
I'm having a real problem getting my head around this one. I've gone back to look at the galleries Sher posted and I think I know where I'm going... I think my problem is with the posed aspect. Of course, many of my images are posed, I just don't start out that way. Does that make sense? How about spontaneous posing? :)
d |
|
|
|
07/23/2005 07:52:12 PM · #182 |
Just do your best dahkota, and get what you can. We'll discuss things afterwards :)
|
|
|
|
07/23/2005 09:45:24 PM · #183 |
Here are my shots. I didn't look to make anything breath-taking as I figured composition wins out on this assignment. After re-reading I'm thinking fill lighting (reflector or flash) would have been acceptable on this.
Shot while on a walk with my wife in north Ga. Shot with Canon EF 17-40 f/4 L @ a ISO 100, f/7.1 and 1/250th. Zoomed to 40mm
Original
(underexposed by about 2/3 stop. Cropped to remove extraneous background (I didn't want to abuse her willingness to pose while I changed lenses).
Edited
Set black point and adjusted white point by eye (may have gone a little too far as some details started to blow on the top of here hand/arm). Added some Brightness/Contrast. Hue/Saturation +14 or so. USM
Jump in, water's warm. ;)
Kev
|
|
|
|
07/24/2005 01:34:05 PM · #184 |
assignment#2
only thing i dont really like here is her feet placement. she was so fidgity today! i tried to get her to reshoot but it is real hot out today so Im letting her off the hook....for now.
ok...i talked her into going back out for a few minutes because i really didnt like how her feet were and the legs of the little chair were cut off....heres take two
Message edited by author 2005-07-24 13:47:21.
|
|
|
|
07/24/2005 04:45:11 PM · #185 |
Well here are mine, as much as an 8 month old can be "posed". My attempts at getting my husband and two boys to pose failed miserably. With two of them being very unenthusiastic and the other too young to care, I got two terrible shots off before I just sent them on their way. So this is what I have to offer this week. A tad bit better than last weeks, but not quite on the topic of a "posed" shot. I need a more willing model. :-)
 ...
Message edited by author 2005-07-24 16:46:20.
|
|
|
|
07/24/2005 09:56:03 PM · #186 |
Here is my photo for the second assignment. Since it has been unbearably hot here getting anyone willing to pose for me was laughed at so I'm submitting a photo from a wedding we shot last night. I would have liked to step back about 2 more feet but I would have ended up in the pool rather than pool side.
Unedited  |
|
|
|
07/24/2005 10:13:58 PM · #187 |
Thanks for letting me join this group -- i need a TON of help and cc!Here are 2 photos for this week's assignment. I'm not sure which is more in line with the assignment. It has been crazy hot here as well, so getting outdoor shots is next to impossible. So, I chose 2 shots out of the 200 or so i took of my son.
These are both straight out of the camera with the exception of me resizing the image file. I really think the first one needs some serious cropping!
Thanks!!!
Message edited by author 2005-07-24 22:40:15. |
|
|
|
07/25/2005 01:37:40 AM · #188 |
Hello. I haven't had any time today to really go over your photos and whatnot, and I'm not entirely sure what Sher had in mind for this stage.. lol. Oops.. been a very busy week for me. I'll get a hold of Sher soon though, and we'll get things moving.. Thanks everyone for posting.. there's still time for those of you who haven't got your shots in yet!
Hang in there.
Oh, btw, here's my original. I shot this tonight. I wasn't going to do one for this assignment, but I got this shot, and it's a lot like what I usually shoot, and when we get to processing, I wanted to show some tricks that I did with this for you guys too.
Message edited by author 2005-07-25 01:55:49.
|
|
|
|
07/25/2005 02:44:37 AM · #189 |
I shot some family portraits today and thought this might be more "in line" with this exercise. If not, just use my original shot.
Had a 4 year old in the studio. First shot shows no cropping or editing. 2nd shot shows cropped and processed proof. The final will have more editing done if chosen. To balance this shot, his older sister is in the next photo but she is sitting in a mirrored position to his. It just struck me as I was working on these images that this is one facet of composition (although the composition isn't terribly strong in either of the shots, together they create a stronger impression with the poses).
Original
Proof
Kev
|
|
|
|
07/26/2005 01:04:02 AM · #190 |
Okay...a busy photo weekend, but no opportunity for portrait work. Here are two recent originals.
  |
|
|
|
07/26/2005 01:12:29 AM · #191 |
I decided to dig out a shot from a few weeks ago for composition and ended up writing the load of hooey that you are about to scroll through while thinking "OHMIGOD . . . I wish he'd just stop typing at some point." I hope this isn't too forward of me but its easier for me when I have subjects who want to pose and since I was already using a little trick I employ for portraits I figured I'd share. Take it for what its worth.
One of the photos from a previous session
Ahhhh, OK. An attractive subject. Nice tan, kinda cool lighting with the sun behind the subject and fill flash employed to bring out her features. We get the effects of rim lighting by putting her between the lens and the sun.
Slightly different camera angle.
Little editing done; mostly touching up skin blemishes and a quick Levels edit.
A crop for effect (I wanted to emphasize the diagonals and get rid of some of the overblown sky)
I also edited to bring more color out in the skintones
Finally tried something that may have gone too far. I used NeatImage to provide a skin-blending blur. Due to the strong sunlight the effect may go overboard and give the impression of soft focus. I also lightened the face.
One way to lighten an area without losing too much detail or making it stand out too much is to create a 2nd layer, apply a layer mask. Choose black (F6 brings up the color palette, click the top left color and type zeros for R,G and B values).
Use the PaintBucket ("G" in PhotoShop), to paint the whole mask black. Now double-click the top left color swatch in the Color palette and type "255" for R, G and B values. At this point I hit F6 to get rid fo the color palette (but I'm a freak about screen real estate and with my max resolution at 1280x1024, I'm dying with too many palettes open). Use the "B" key in PhotoShop to select the Paintbrush. Make sure you have the black layer mask selected in the Layers window (F7 will bring up the Layers window if its not visible). The layer mask should have a double line around it to denote that its selected. Before we begin painting, let's make sure that we will be able to see a difference as we go. In the layer menu
let's set the Blend method to "Screen". Screen blending will cause any visible selection to brighten the image A LOT! To help mitigate the amount of brightening, lets set the Opacity down to around 30%.
Now whatever we paint with the white paintbrush will start to appear lighter. Remember, though, we must paint only in the layer mask.
 - see how the layer mask has double lines around it?
Now let's choose a brush tip that will keep our selection from standing out too much. The size of your brush tip TOTALLY depends on the resolution of your image. Because I've already cropped this image and I'm dealing with 1000x1400 pixels on my computer, I chose a brush tip with a master diameter of about 15 pixels. Perhaps more importantly I chose a hardness of around 50%. This way I get a softer edge to what I paint and since I want this to blend well I think the softer edge is better.
Now we can actually begin the work that we wanted to start earlier. Let's lighten the face of our subject just a little. Start to paint around the edge of her face and follow her jawline until you've painted over her entire face.
To make my changes appear more evident I've upped my Opacity to over 60%
You should notice that everywhere you've painted is visibly brighter. You also should notice that since we haven't applied any sharpening yet there is no loss of sharpness or clarity. Once you have the whole area painted in, you can adjust the level of brightness by adjusting the Opacity of the layer up or down.
This isn't the only way to lighten up a face or any other area of a photograph but its certainly one way that can produce results that are virtually unnoticeable to anyone except someone who's seen this step-by-step type of instruction and knows to look for the tell-tale signs of brightness. Most viewers of photographs expect the face to be brighter, if you underexpose by a little and then use this technique or a similar one to "help" the viewer see what they expect, you'd be surprised at how someone not versed in this style of editing will gladly take your edit for "face value" (I'm so sorry for the pun but its late).
Hope this helps and gives you some ideas or steps to try on some of your photographs.
Conversely, if you want to darken an area, simply set the Blend method to Multiply and paint your way to a darker tomorrow.
Kev
|
|
|
|
07/26/2005 01:18:44 AM · #192 |
Caveat - its always better to get your lighting "right" in the composition. The method I posted is just to help . . . pull out that extra little something when you almost got it right.
For those who want to know I shot all the images of that post using the Canon 1Ds with the Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 L IS USM lens and the 550EX flash pointed straight up into the LumiQuest ProMax 80/20 Pocket Bounce with the silver insert. Focal length was 115mm, f/10, 1/250th, ISO 100. I don't remember what I had the flash dialed to but it strikes me that I may not have set it to High Speed sync at that point otherwise I think I would have probably used a larger aperture with a faster shutter speed to get a slightly shallower depth of field.
Anyway. See, I get sleepy and BAM, I start typing.
|
|
|
|
07/26/2005 01:48:30 PM · #193 |
Hello.
First of all, let me thank KevinRiggs for his write-up. Nice work Kevin, and very helpful.
Next, I'd like each of you to discuss with the group *WHY* you chose the compositions on the photos that you did. It seems to me that a bunch of you were more concerned with getting a nice "pose" than you were with getting a composition you wanted.. and maybe that was a simple misunderstanding with the way the assignment was worded.. I don't know. However, what was *most* important here was researching composition technique and trying to photograph something similar. If you've done that, please explain to us why you've chosen your composition, and your reasons behind choosing it, and why it appeals to you. Then, explain, if you can, what you would like to achieve with the photo for post-processing. (You can also do the post-processing, just don't put them up at this time).
Please don't quote your first thread post.. but just start a new one with only your original photo and what I've asked you to write.
This will give Sher and I a much easier time with commenting and pointers than just going willy-nilly on all the photographs posted so far, not knowing exactly what you were trying to achieve, or why you chose a particular composition.
|
|
|
|
07/26/2005 01:59:05 PM · #194 |
I'll start, to give you an idea of what we're looking for:
This is a compositional technique that I've seen from a great number of people all over the photographic community. On DPC, one of the most noticeable is Librodo. The technique, seen here (or at least attempted here), is to include negative space to either side of your subject(s), for a more dynamic feel to the image, and to give a sense of the environment, or a sense of space. I enjoy this compositional technique a lot, as it gives an impression of realism and naturalness more than a close-in shot does, and conveys less of a "studio" feel, even if it has been done in a studio. It certainly won't work with every photo, but it can sure turn an ordinary portrait into something a little extra when the conditions are right.
For the final, edited version.. I'd like this photo to be less dark and dreary, and not so cluttered. There are elements here that are not needed (the wood on the right, some extra space at the top), that could clearly go. I'd like to make the children stand out more, and the background become less prominent. I'm also not entirely keen on the colors, or the color cast, so will probably want to try and fix that up as well.
Please offer any insight on this photo that you may have that could help me process this.
|
|
|
|
07/26/2005 02:36:12 PM · #195 |
I chose this comp because i like the rule of thirds but i have a hard time remembering to use it. I seem to want to put everything smack dab in the centerand have to consciously correct it. I chose this one because it captures her innosence(sp?) and her very girly nature.
For the processing i want to straighten her up (she looks like shes about to fall over backwards). i would also like to lighten her up and maybe darken the BG out but im not sure yet. i see(in my minds eye) a bright BG for this photo. maybe crop out the patch of sky above her head. Im not sure what else i want for this yet. I will just see how things go in PS i guess
|
|
|
|
07/26/2005 03:24:10 PM · #196 |
Originally posted by Artyste:
The technique, seen here (or at least attempted here), is to include negative space to either side of your subject(s), for a more dynamic feel to the image, and to give a sense of the environment, or a sense of space. |
Can you provide an example of the compositional style you're trying to follow? Which shot inspired yours? It would help to see the effect you are trying to employ. Maybe if we could all post a compositional example we've seen and then our image beside or beneath it that would allow the other members of the group to more easily evaluate how effectively the compositional style was executed and also give us something to consider about what it is that sets one composition apart from another.
Kev |
|
|
|
07/26/2005 04:10:11 PM · #197 |
...Examples:  ...
Okay, for this one I was going for more of a traditional type composition. I set up outside under the shade of a tree in front of some sea grass, used the shell as prop (but mainly I would hope it would hold his attention long enough to keep him seated, it didn't really work) :-) I was trying to get eye contact but in the ones I did, I didn't get the expression I wanted. I had smiling shots but he wasn't looking at the camera of course. Looking at it now I wish I had just a smidge more room on the left but it's hard with a moving target. So because of that I'll probably end up cropping more off the right and alittle off the bottom. Will definetly lighten it, clean up his face (drool), and bring out some highlights in his eyes, may blur the background a little, not sure.
... Examples:  ... ...
I did this angle on purpose to add a little interest to the composition. I chose the location for it's light (probably a little harsh) and the wood tones. I will crop off the bottom, and either clone out the toy on the left or crop it out, and probably a little of the right as well. Will work on the shadows on his face. And maybe darken and/or blur the background a little. I used the program mode this time and it worked much better but I couldn't get the dof I really wanted as I had to be quick. So feel free to make to comments to whichever of these two you'd like on how they could be improved.
And thanks for the tutorial Kevin!
Message edited by author 2005-07-26 18:08:29.
|
|
|
|
07/26/2005 04:18:07 PM · #198 |
Glen, I'm a big fan of that type of composition having a close crop with the subject weighted to one side with negative space to the other side. I prefer portraits much more in landscape orientation as opposed to portrait. They just have more impact on me. Some examples that I like:
 ...
|
|
|
|
07/26/2005 05:09:13 PM · #199 |
Originally posted by KevinRiggs:
Can you provide an example of the compositional style you're trying to follow? Which shot inspired yours? It would help to see the effect you are trying to employ. Maybe if we could all post a compositional example we've seen and then our image beside or beneath it that would allow the other members of the group to more easily evaluate how effectively the compositional style was executed and also give us something to consider about what it is that sets one composition apart from another.
Kev |
A good idea, but I'd rather people not post images that aren't already on DPC..
So people, if you want to post an image that inspired you, and it's not a DPC member's shot on DPC, please only provide a link, instead of a thumbnail or image. Thumbnails that are DPC images are fine.
Message edited by author 2005-07-26 17:34:51.
|
|
|
|
07/26/2005 05:20:29 PM · #200 |
Originally posted by KevinRiggs:
Can you provide an example of the compositional style you're trying to follow? Which shot inspired yours? Kev |
actually, my specific shot wasn't inspired by any one shot.. and Jenesis has now linked to a couple of shots that are close to what I was getting at :)
|
|
