A few portraits from this weekend

[Braineack]

scissor sisters? Not quite sure, but they are all sorority sisters, so it had something to do with that.

do NOT google scissoring.

 

[paigew]

#3 is my favorite. I don't mind grandma in the shot at all! In fact I think it really helps tell a story.

 

[pixmedic]

#3 is my favorite. I don't mind grandma in the shot at all! In fact I think it really helps tell a story.

well....
come on now...
I kinda get the "photo telling a story" bit for some pics but...might be reaching just a little on that one.

what story is grandmas hair telling in that shot? that grandma has a new hairdo? that her new shampoo is giving her that extra bounce and added sheen shes always wanted?

sorry, but im afraid i have to call that one like i see it. grandma got in the way of what would have been an excellent shot.

 

[paigew]

Really? /\ I mean it would have been a totally different shot. It would be a shot of a wet kid wrapped in a towel, looking at the camera. Yes cute But totally, different.

When I look at the photo the way it is, I see something that happens so much around my house. A cold kid, fresh out of the water running up to an adult..."warm me up!". Grandma lovingly wraps her up all snug in the towel and braineak peeks around just in time for a snap. Candid for the win I say :cheers:

I would like to see it in b/w...with the shadows brought up and extra clarity to really bring out the drops

 

[paigew]

Actually thinking of it more, I don't think it would be nearly as good without grandma..seeing as how the light is not really optimal on her face. If it was a portrait of just her I would expect her to be well lit. In a candid moment we make the best of what we have!

 

[pixmedic]

Actually thinking of it more, I don't think it would be nearly as good without grandma..seeing as how the light is not really optimal on her face. If it was a portrait of just her I would expect her to be well lit. In a candid moment we make the best of what we have!

maybe....
but you wouldnt know WHAT that was if the OP hadnt told you it was grandma...
and with that being the case, i think it makes for a poor "story telling" aspect.

heres a better question..and possibly more relevant.
what do YOU think of the picture Braineak?

 

[paigew]

Actually thinking of it more, I don't think it would be nearly as good without grandma..seeing as how the light is not really optimal on her face. If it was a portrait of just her I would expect her to be well lit. In a candid moment we make the best of what we have!

maybe....
but you wouldnt know WHAT that was if the OP hadnt told you it was grandma...
and with that being the case, i think it makes for a poor "story telling" aspect.

heres a better question..and possibly more relevant.
what do YOU think of the picture Braineak?

Well I wouldn't know it was grandma. But I could safely assume it was a caring adult...

 

[robbins.photo]

#3 is my favorite. I don't mind grandma in the shot at all! In fact I think it really helps tell a story.

well....
come on now...
I kinda get the "photo telling a story" bit for some pics but...might be reaching just a little on that one.

what story is grandmas hair telling in that shot? that grandma has a new hairdo? that her new shampoo is giving her that extra bounce and added sheen shes always wanted?

sorry, but im afraid i have to call that one like i see it. grandma got in the way of what would have been an excellent shot.

Pshaw. Absolutely there is a story here with Grandma being in the photo. She's saying, look you little whippersnappers! You're never to old to photobomb!

 

[Derrel]

(please excuse the cut and paste typeface)

I'm more concerned with the visual pull of the empty space off to the left, and that bright,bright, bald highlight that goes all the way to the floor on the left of the frame. I think the original shot would have had the field of view more centered on the girl, but the way it's framed is not that compelling. If the woman were shown a bit more, it'd be better, but this looks to me like a shot that got ruined when somebody walked into it, and a last-second decisoon was made to swing the camera to minimize the woman's presence, and that ruined the shot that HAD BEEN there.

ALso, the thing is, it's very backlighted, and the bald highlight emphasizes that, but the FACE of the girl, and her eyes, are rendered very flatly. To make this really compelling, the shadows need a very,very careful black point established, and then a VERY careful adjustment of the curves, to bring out some separation in the lowest tonal values and colors...this just looks like what people used to call "digital". The highlight brightness might have overly influenced the light metering, but no matter what, the most-important parts, the girl's face and eyes, are not rendered with enough SNAP...I can see it's backlighting, but the "feel" is not pleasing. If it had been shot on color negative film, it'd look better...that's the feeling I want to see on backlighted portraiture--detail in the shadows, contrast in the shadows, and a nice roll-off to the highlights, not clipped, detail-less high tones, the way digital does. As shown, the lower end looks crushed, compressed, way too much,. The shadows need to be opened up, and I would burn that brightest area waayyy down. Or maybe even crop it off.

 

[robbins.photo]

(please excuse the cut and paste typeface)

I'm more concerned with the visual pull of the empty space off to the left, and that bright,bright, bald highlight that goes all the way to the floor on the left of the frame. I think the original shot would have had the field of view more centered on the girl, but the way it's framed is not that compelling. If the woman were shown a bit more, it'd be better, but this looks to me like a shot that got ruined when somebody walked into it, and a last-second decisoon was made to swing the camera to minimize the woman's presence, and that ruined the shot that HAD BEEN there.

ALso, the thing is, it's very backlighted, and the bald highlight emphasizes that, but the FACE of the girl, and her eyes, are rendered very flatly. To make this really compelling, the shadows need a very,very careful black point established, and then a VERY careful adjustment of the curves, to bring out some separation in the lowest tonal values and colors...this just looks like what people used to call "digital". The highlight brightness might have overly influenced the light metering, but no matter what, the most-important parts, the girl's face and eyes, are not rendered with enough SNAP...I can see it's backlighting, but the "feel" is not pleasing. If it had been shot on color negative film, it'd look better...that's the feeling I want to see on backlighted portraiture--detail in the shadows, contrast in the shadows, and a nice roll-off to the highlights, not clipped, detail-less high tones, the way digital does. As shown, the lower end looks crushed, compressed, way too much,. The shadows need to be opened up, and I would burn that brightest area waayyy down. Or maybe even crop it off.

So we've got a crazed grandma on the loose photobombing the unsuspecting and your worried about visual space?

My god man this woman is a menace!

Lol

 

[paigew]

Not saying this is the best image in the world here people. Just that I, personally liked it best. And the brains must have liked it too...seeing as how he did post it I certainly don't think it warrants the title "ruined"!! It would be a keeper in my book.

b/w edit...she is so cute!

 

[Designer]

#3 is my favorite. I don't mind grandma in the shot at all! In fact I think it really helps tell a story.

If grandma was actually in the shot, but she's not. Just some blurry hair. Blurry hair hiding part of the subject's face. Not much of a story, IMO.

 

[Derrel]

Here's the way I see it. The child's placement looks like it was a snap decision, with her thrown over against the side and lower right hand corner of a tall shot--mainly because--Do'ahhh--Grandma just bent over and got into the shot! Snap decision! Yes...Grandma's out of focus partial head of hair ruined the shot that COULD HAVE been made. It's been demoted to a B-list image.

Making it B&W shows the water droplets on her face, and she now has eye sparkle, and the new processing helps a TON to eliminate the distractions it has in the frame. In color, it was not very exciting, due to the water being barely visible, and the bright, detail-less lower left corner and that big, empty edge all competing for attention. But the framing is poor. It's a cute memory shot, yes, and she's an adorable child, but it's not a very good composition at all. And any storytelling, which was talked about above, is all from the text that has been provided. You can snap images like that all day long of a kid. Some of them will be better than others. This one has an OOF, partial head of hair, and a big, empty space from top to bottom. Yes, she is cute. But no, that doesn't make this shot any better. What if she were an ugly child? What if she had leprosy? What if her back was turned to the camera. Would this still be as good? How well do you think this shot would do in a competition for family photography with PPA judges, or even amateur photo enthusiuasts?

I am separating the subject matter from "the photography". Cute kid does not equal good photo, nor good technique. Grandma's head ruins this shot. The big, empty space that does nothing in color hurts the shot. A lot.

 

[AmberAtLoveAndInk]

Number #3, (the towel shot) is actually my fav. Gives me a warm feeling of home giving my own little one a bath. There's so much laughter at that time of the day in my house. Wish her face wasn't as pink/red but that ones a keeper for me. Very photo journalistic.

 

[Braineack]

what do YOU think of the picture Braineak?

I like it, but i agree it's not the strongest. But I kinda liked that grandma was in the shot a bit. I like a photojournalist approach; and really don't like to posed shots. I used to shoot photo for yearbook way back in HS.

(please excuse the cut and paste typeface)
I think the original shot would have had the field of view more centered on the girl, but the way it's framed is not that compelling. If the woman were shown a bit more, it'd be better, but this looks to me like a shot that got ruined when somebody walked into it, and a last-second decision was made to swing the camera to minimize the woman's presence, and that ruined the shot that HAD BEEN there.

spot on. Couldn't focus fast enough, then she walked in frame and i moved the camera. She was posing for me, but grandma's ain't got time for that.


The b&w edit brings out a lot of what I was seeing in the shot. I never thought of converting it and I'm glad I have now. Hell I almost binned the shot because it's not entirely in focus but something held me back from, and I even went as far as uploading it (something I try to only do for the photos I think are stronger).


btw i appreciate everyone's input here.