A few more senior photos

jowensphoto · Jul 24, 2013

C&C always appreciated

I do like the concept of the last one, but I wish I'd had to her turn slightly - it's too "football player shoulders" right now. The clarinet shot, LOVE it, part of a collage I did for her.

The first two, yes I know they are horizontal - I dig it

We are shooting again in the fall/winter for the second part of her senior rep photos.

tirediron · Jul 24, 2013

C&C per req: I can't really comment on the colour/WB on this monitor, but it does seem that the red channel might be a wee bit high in 1 & 2, and the DoF a tad shallow. Based on your setitings, your DoF was only around 1 - 1.5" max which, IMO, isn't ideal. I really, really, REALLY dislike the use of the brick wall background. Remember that the eye is attracted to bright and follows linear elements, and what you've done is allowed the grout lines to become a target for the eye and guide the viewer right out of the image. I would have liked to have seen #1 with her chin pushed forward and down a little; see how much younger and slimmer looking her face is in #2? If she were looking toward the camear, that would have been the $ shot!

I like the clarinet shot as an image, but since I can't see who's playing it, I don't know it's her. I think some images with her sitting back casually, holding the instrument would have worked well.

I think the grass and bricks in the brolly shot are a bit too hot; I think you can probably recover that in post, but her legs look over; a big reflector panel would have helped here, and for the other side, I agree, a little too square on, as well as a bit hot on the skin. A big diffusion panel image left and a touch of fill flash camera right would have nailed this.

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

jowensphoto · Jul 24, 2013

Thanks for the detailed response, as always John.

I do have a few shots of her with the clarinet, full bodied - they're part of the collage, but honestly the on-camera external flash was harsh and I know better. It was tough not having anything to bounce off of. I was really excited to get that shot though; I love that you can see the graduation year on the ring (if you look close enough). You're probably correct about the reds in the first two; I was using a brick was to the right to bounce the flash - while it did NUMBERS for the exposure, the WB suffered. Will have to adjust a smidge more in post.

I have the inner diffusion panel from my 5-in-1. Gonna have to break that bad boy out.

In terms of DOF, this is something I'm finding myself struggling with, especially since I got a "new" lens. I'm using an old Canon 70-210 f4. I've noticed that f4 on that lens, and probably because it's a zoom (I have a basic understanding of compression), it seems to let in a LOT more light than my 50 1.8 - a fellow photographer also mentioned that when she was playing around with it. I'm guessing it has something to do with the science behind the lens.

jowensphoto · Jul 24, 2013

And regardless of the technical aspects, these are some of my favorite photos I've taken. Reason being, the gal in the photos, according to her step mother (with whom I've been friends for my entire life) said she doesn't have a great selft esteem or a lot of confidence.

I showed her a quick peek on the LCD and she gasped, "Awww I'm so pretty." It really sounded like the first time she'd ever said that about herself. Damn near brought me to tears. That's what makes this worth it; I love when people, especially women, feel good about their appearances.

tirediron · Jul 24, 2013

jowensphoto said:
And regardless of the technical aspects, these are some of my favorite photos I've taken. Reason being, the gal in the photos, according to her step mother (with whom I've been friends for my entire life) said she doesn't have a great selft esteem or a lot of confidence.

I showed her a quick peek on the LCD and she gasped, "Awww I'm so pretty." It really sounded like the first time she'd ever said that about herself. Damn near brought me to tears. That's what makes this worth it; I love when people, especially women, feel good about their appearances.

That's what it's all about!

jowensphoto · Jul 24, 2013

tirediron said:
jowensphoto said:

And regardless of the technical aspects, these are some of my favorite photos I've taken. Reason being, the gal in the photos, according to her step mother (with whom I've been friends for my entire life) said she doesn't have a great selft esteem or a lot of confidence.

I showed her a quick peek on the LCD and she gasped, "Awww I'm so pretty." It really sounded like the first time she'd ever said that about herself. Damn near brought me to tears. That's what makes this worth it; I love when people, especially women, feel good about their appearances.

Click to expand...

That's what it's all about!

I thought that was the Hokey Pokey?

tirediron · Jul 24, 2013

jowensphoto said:
...I've noticed that f4 on that lens, and probably because it's a zoom (I have a basic understanding of compression), it seems to let in a LOT more light than my 50 1.8 - a fellow photographer also mentioned that when she was playing around with it. I'm guessing it has something to do with the science behind the lens.

It shouldn't. F4 is F4 is F4 and F1.8 is F1.8... aperture (when expressed as an F stop is a constant and relative to the focal length; that's why you don't need to factor in focal length when using a light meter. Helen B can give you a LOT more of a detailed explanation than I can, but bottom line is, F4 is slower and lets in less light than F1.8. Period.

Consider making a BIG diffusion panel for work like this; if you're handy with a sewing machine, two yards of white, rip-stop nylon and some 1" PVC sprinkler pipe can become an awesome diffusion panel for <$50!

tirediron · Jul 24, 2013

jowensphoto said:
tirediron said:

jowensphoto said:

And regardless of the technical aspects, these are some of my favorite photos I've taken. Reason being, the gal in the photos, according to her step mother (with whom I've been friends for my entire life) said she doesn't have a great selft esteem or a lot of confidence.

I showed her a quick peek on the LCD and she gasped, "Awww I'm so pretty." It really sounded like the first time she'd ever said that about herself. Damn near brought me to tears. That's what makes this worth it; I love when people, especially women, feel good about their appearances.

Click to expand...

That's what it's all about!

Click to expand...

I thought that was the Hokey Pokey?

WHEN will I learn???? :waiting:

jowensphoto · Jul 24, 2013

Thanks, the technical stuff is always the hardest part for me to grasp onto.

I'm assuming that I can get away with a pretty small aperture in the right conditions, the DoF seems really shallow, even stopped down to around f/8.

tirediron · Jul 24, 2013

You gotcherself a smart-phone? Get a DoF calculator for it. There are hundreds for all platforms from free, basic, to expensive (~$5) sophisticated ones.

manaheim · Jul 24, 2013

The legs/umbrella shot made me chuckle. Cute. Not sure how much it says about her, but it's cute.

My one comment would be to really try to avoid brick walls, and particularly NEW brick walls. At least the old brick has character.

I won't comment much further because john pretty much already gave you a ton.