Lookin for some brutal honesty

[EIngerson]

I wouldn't second guess yourself at all. I'm really loving the framing of all three.

[TPF Sponsor]

[The_Traveler]

After reading through posts on this forum, I'm second guessing my abilities- did I just get lucky? Did I intuitively know what to do? It's been so long since I shot, who knows, but I'm getting back into the re-learning the technicals again- but these pics are definitely what I needed to find my love for taking pictures again

I take out workshops on street photography and go through the technicals, show people some shots, talk about 'seeing' the pictures before the happen and when it comes down to shooting, some people have 'it' and just need a little shove to send them off, most people don't have 'it', won't ever get 'it' and will just be clicking the shutter their entire life. So, if you got 'it', it will show, no need to worry.

[manaheim]

Thanks everyone! I got these on my canon rebel xti with a 50mm @ 1.8- right off window light. I shot in AV priority mode. After reading through posts on this forum, I'm second guessing my abilities- did I just get lucky? Did I intuitively know what to do? It's been so long since I shot, who knows, but I'm getting back into the re-learning the technicals again- but these pics are definitely what I needed to find my love for taking pictures again

Don't let TPF rattle you. This place is a double edged sword. People without a clue speak just as loudly as those with one. It's hard to judge who is who. You'll notice I'm not placing myself in either category here. I'm honestly still not sure which bucket I belong in.

[The_Traveler]

Don't let TPF rattle you. This place is a double edged sword. People without a clue speak just as loudly as those with one. It's hard to judge who is who. You'll notice I'm not placing myself in either category here. I'm honestly still not sure which bucket I belong in.

I know, I know
Call on me, pleeeeez

[unpopular]

They are all very nice, and any knit picking here is just that:

1: Too contrasty. You have blown hilights and plugged shadows. I am not crazy about the framing, and I wish I could see more of the pen to get an idea of what the child id doing. Excellent capture of that peaceful intent play you get at this age, and seem to loose in a couple years.

2: I really don't like the blown hilights in this one, but DOF is great. It appears that the hot hilights were created in post, which makes the transition from the child's profile to the background harsh and uninviting.

3: Shadows very plugged up, to the point that the neck and chin blend into the torso. I am very much not a fan of the background here; seems "boxed in" rather than framed. Blown hilights in the arm and hair, but not terrible. If data is present, perhaps mask in the hilights in the wrist area.

[manaheim]

Don't let TPF rattle you. This place is a double edged sword. People without a clue speak just as loudly as those with one. It's hard to judge who is who. You'll notice I'm not placing myself in either category here. I'm honestly still not sure which bucket I belong in.

I know, I know
Call on me, pleeeeez

The floor recognizes The (Potentially Abusive) Traveller...

[The_Traveler]

Don't let TPF rattle you. This place is a double edged sword. People without a clue speak just as loudly as those with one. It's hard to judge who is who. You'll notice I'm not placing myself in either category here. I'm honestly still not sure which bucket I belong in.

I know, I know
Call on me, pleeeeez

The floor recognizes The (Potentially Abusive) Traveller...

"Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life. "
(Manchurian Candidate - 1962)

[thelittlewhimsy]

I wouldn't second guess yourself at all. I'm really loving the framing of all three.

Thanks Eric, really nice words!

[thelittlewhimsy]

After reading through posts on this forum, I'm second guessing my abilities- did I just get lucky? Did I intuitively know what to do? It's been so long since I shot, who knows, but I'm getting back into the re-learning the technicals again- but these pics are definitely what I needed to find my love for taking pictures again

I take out workshops on street photography and go through the technicals, show people some shots, talk about 'seeing' the pictures before the happen and when it comes down to shooting, some people have 'it' and just need a little shove to send them off, most people don't have 'it', won't ever get 'it' and will just be clicking the shutter their entire life. So, if you got 'it', it will show, no need to worry.

Definitely! There's certainly something to be said about quality over quantity, right? My goal this year to consistently produce shots that connect, not just shoot to shoot. I think in the only time and practice, and patience will tell

[thelittlewhimsy]

Thanks everyone! I got these on my canon rebel xti with a 50mm @ 1.8- right off window light. I shot in AV priority mode. After reading through posts on this forum, I'm second guessing my abilities- did I just get lucky? Did I intuitively know what to do? It's been so long since I shot, who knows, but I'm getting back into the re-learning the technicals again- but these pics are definitely what I needed to find my love for taking pictures again

Don't let TPF rattle you. This place is a double edged sword. People without a clue speak just as loudly as those with one. It's hard to judge who is who. You'll notice I'm not placing myself in either category here. I'm honestly still not sure which bucket I belong in.

Ha- you too? I wouldn't even dare label myself at this point either.

[thelittlewhimsy]

They are all very nice, and any knit picking here is just that:

1: Too contrasty. You have blown hilights and plugged shadows. I am not crazy about the framing, and I wish I could see more of the pen to get an idea of what the child id doing. Excellent capture of that peaceful intent play you get at this age, and seem to loose in a couple years.

2: I really don't like the blown hilights in this one, but DOF is great. It appears that the hot hilights were created in post, which makes the transition from the child's profile to the background harsh and uninviting.

3: Shadows very plugged up, to the point that the neck and chin blend into the torso. I am very much not a fan of the background here; seems "boxed in" rather than framed. Blown hilights in the arm and hair, but not terrible. If data is present, perhaps mask in the hilights in the wrist area.

Thanks for the C&C! My only disagreement is probably the framing (except on the 3rd- my bad) but otherwise, my framing was intentionally on him and his emotion.

Thinking about it, I did my initial adjustments in camera raw, and I'm wondering if I screwed something up in post production..... I'm gonna go back, re-process the raw file, and post it back for your thoughts!

[thelittlewhimsy]

Are these any better? I realized today that when I initially processed them in ACR, I didn't bump down the +50 contrast that always comes up, so I bumped that down, and used recovery

[MTVision]

Are these any better? I realized today that when I initially processed them in ACR, I didn't bump down the +50 contrast that always comes up, so I bumped that down, and used recovery

I'm on my phone - so no comments in the image. But in ACR - if you want all the sliders to be at 0 when you open an image you can do it. Just set everything to 0 (or whatever you want) then go to the preset tab, click on the little corner thingie so the drop down menu comes up. Choose save new camera raw defaults. That way you can choose exactly what you want everything to be depending on the image.

[thelittlewhimsy]

Are these any better? I realized today that when I initially processed them in ACR, I didn't bump down the +50 contrast that always comes up, so I bumped that down, and used recovery

I'm on my phone - so no comments in the image. But in ACR - if you want all the sliders to be at 0 when you open an image you can do it. Just set everything to 0 (or whatever you want) then go to the preset tab, click on the little corner thingie so the drop down menu comes up. Choose save new camera raw defaults. That way you can choose exactly what you want everything to be depending on the image.

Good to know, I'm so doing this!