3 bad sessions in a row...confidence shaken

eyeye · Dec 13, 2008

On a few of them the back came out dingy...not enough light on the background?

jcolman · Dec 13, 2008

eyeye said:
Thanks so much! I did shoot my kids on the white backdrop and I can really see the bonus of that. It reflecting light is really nice too. So my black is "in the shop" until I get a boom, strobe and strip soft box. it isnt worth the agrovation! The white seemed good with the speed light for fill, the strobe + octagon soft box and reflector

One thing I liked about the black is you can make the wrinkles disappear where you cant all the way with the white. Any ideas with that?

Yes. Spend $57 on a white seamless roll of paper. Of course, you'll also need some stands and a pole to hold it.

If you want to use a white sheet, then shoot at a wide aperture so that the depth of field doesn't extend very far and place your subjects well in front of the background. Also, watch your shadows on the backdrop so that you're not accentuating the wrinkles. Placing a couple of lights to evenly light the background will help in hiding wrinkles.

eyeye · Dec 13, 2008

man I really thought it was better, my kids drove me nuts but I got some cute captures but the white so didnt work...I need another light.

My background needed to be 3 stops higher then my subject. Sigh. My 5D mkii is getting further and further away

eyeye · Dec 13, 2008

seaain.gray said:
I think what might be happening is that you are about to have a breakthrough. A plateau and some discouragement usually happen to me when I am at a place where I need to grow and am, in fact, about to take the next step ... UP. The pain is just that. Growing pains.

I like thinking of it this way. It could be. I have been studying the zone system and really havent had time to practice it. Maybe I need to get away from the rugrats and spend some quality time with my camera :blushing:

JerryPH · Dec 13, 2008

Normally, I would not wait till 3 sessions would pass before I started asking some serious questions... and that would not be negative ones that caused me to feel bad, but more along the lines of...

- Is it an issue across all the pics or just some of them?
- what did I do wrong at this shoot that I could have changed?
- What went wrong with this picture and how could I have avoided the issue?
- Am I sure that my lack of comprehension of the basics is not impeding me from doing better? If yes, what do I need to do to change that?

As an example, I came in from a nice day long photo shoot myself just a few minutes ago, and you can bet your last penny that these are some of the same questions I will be asking myself... no matter what the results are.

Learn and move on as mentioned.

eyeye · Dec 13, 2008

I evaluate after each shoot. It went like this:

1) followed a really great shoot, my best ever. I picked a bad location (It has alot of filtered light which I thought would be good for two active kids but my camera did not hold up to the demands of low light at all). Chalk it up to a learning expierence...want new camera

2) Kids were crazy, my lighting not good. I re-evaluate my kid skills, come up with some new ideas. Read and think alot about the lighting issue I was having. Consider buying a second light but decide to try it with a reflector.

3) One kid cooperative, other a little but kids cant be any cuter. Good captures, crap lighting...lighting plan didn't work. Feel bad, disappointed, kick myself, doubt my ability and resign myself to being just another mom with a camera, post here, re-evaluate again. Order new light and look for book on lighting.

I knew studio would be hard, but I didnt really expect it to be this hard. I feel like I am starting all over, I have been shooting outdoors a year. But its good, its a good step. I am going to squeeze in some more fun shooting.

On the up side, all these shoots costed was a donation of thier choosing to my favorite charity and the parents are all quite pleased...I still think they are better then the walmart studio.

jcolman · Dec 13, 2008

eyeye said:
I evaluate after each shoot. It went like this:

1) followed a really great shoot, my best ever. I picked a bad location (It has alot of filtered light which I thought would be good for two active kids but my camera did not hold up to the demands of low light at all). Chalk it up to a learning expierence...want new camera

2) Kids were crazy, my lighting not good. I re-evaluate my kid skills, come up with some new ideas. Read and think alot about the lighting issue I was having. Consider buying a second light but decide to try it with a reflector.

3) One kid cooperative, other a little but kids cant be any cuter. Good captures, crap lighting...lighting plan didn't work. Feel bad, disappointed, kick myself, doubt my ability and resign myself to being just another mom with a camera, post here, re-evaluate again. Order new light and look for book on lighting.

I knew studio would be hard, but I didnt really expect it to be this hard. I feel like I am starting all over, I have been shooting outdoors a year. But its good, its a good step. I am going to squeeze in some more fun shooting.

On the up side, all these shoots costed was a donation of thier choosing to my favorite charity and the parents are all quite pleased...I still think they are better then the walmart studio.

Sounds like you learned from this experience which is good. A new camera however won't solve your problems. You really aren't taking advantage of your current camera.

You've still got a lot of learning to do so practice, practice, and practice some more. Read all you can about lighting. Learn how to use aperture to your advantage. Make sure you use a fast enough shutter speed when shooting in ambient light to insure a sharp pic. Learn how to use fill flash.

Once you feel confident in all this...then think about a new camera.

eyeye · Dec 13, 2008

I think I have aperture, shutter speed and fill flash down pretty well. If you cant shoot above 400 (anything 400 and above on the XTi is crap), it limits quite a bit. I am sure I could still learn alot with my XTi, on the other hand, if I can get something better, I can learn alot with that camera too. I do need to learn more about ratios, stops, lighting set ups...a ton of other stuff. I mean, years and years of learning ahead of me.

jcolman · Dec 14, 2008

eyeye said:
I think I have aperture, shutter speed and fill flash down pretty well. If you cant shoot above 400 (anything 400 and above on the XTi is crap), it limits quite a bit. I am sure I could still learn alot with my XTi, on the other hand, if I can get something better, I can learn alot with that camera too. I do need to learn more about ratios, stops, lighting set ups...a ton of other stuff. I mean, years and years of learning ahead of me.

Yes, your camera does have it's limitations however it's still a good tool. You really don't need to shoot above ISO 400 for the majority of your work, except if you shoot weddings.

The only time I've ever shoot above 400 is for wedding work. Take a look at some of my work if you'd like to see for yourself what you can do with just a few lights.

www.jimcolmanphotography.com

eyeye · Dec 14, 2008

you have a really nice site

jcolman · Dec 14, 2008

eyeye said:
you have a really nice site

Thank you. Every one of the pics on my site was shot between April and November. All you have to do is get out and start shooting and your results will improve.

Alpha · Dec 14, 2008

Good news: You're doing a lot of things right
Bad news: They do really suck
More bad news: Most of it's in your lighting and processing

stsinner · Dec 14, 2008

I'm only a beginner, and that may be why I think your pictures are GREAT!! The first one is lackin in brilliance of color, but fall is a blah season, so it kind of fits with the leaves on the ground.

The second one is awesome, and I love the depth of field.. It has the boy's hand in his mouth, but that proably captures the little heathen's true attitude..

The third one is just priceless, and I don't see any problems with it-it is a perfect candid moment captured as a portrait!

And I even think the 4th on of the little Asian girl is adorable, as well..

Keep shooting, and you don't need a 5D MKII to take good pictures.. Many people that own them can't use them correctly, anyway.... Don't let money be an issue in your camera choice. It's not the camera-it's the photographer, and you seem like a good one.