B&W for C+C

cardonalj · Sep 5, 2011

Took this while I was in Central Park. Its of my gf and was trying to get that whole silhouette feeling.

Coming or Going? by LJCPhotos, on Flickr

honoryourlife · Sep 5, 2011

I like it a lot actually.

Its got a feeling to it.

KmH · Sep 6, 2011

Going. The composition is fine, the conversion is ok.

Because of the focal point distance and 50 mm focal length, a well blurred background was apparently out of the question, so f/1.4 was not really needed.

Wide open most prime lenses have diminished focus sharpness. Using at least one stop less of aperture (f/2) would have helped the sharpness while still letting you use 1/250 for the shutter speed, and the DOF would not have changed appreciably.

You could have reduced the lens aperture another stop, to f/2.8, and gained some more focus sharpness. By changing the ISO to ISO 200 you could still have used 1/250 as the shutter speed.

Since the main motion in the photo is perpendicular to the plane of the image sensor, less shutter speed is needed to stop motion than if the motion were parallel to the plane of the image sensor.

I recommend a square crop, and a little cloning work to remove the other people from the photo:

PerfectShotPhoto · Sep 6, 2011

Nice work on that crop, like the adjustments done, buts a lot more focus on the subject

amandalee · Sep 6, 2011

KmH said:
Going. The composition is fine, the conversion is ok.

Because of the focal point distance and 50 mm focal length, a well blurred background was apparently out of the question, so f/1.4 was not really needed.

Wide open most prime lenses have diminished focus sharpness. Using at least one stop less of aperture (f/2) would have helped the sharpness while still letting you use 1/250 for the shutter speed, and the DOF would not have changed appreciably.

You could have reduced the lens aperture another stop, to f/2.8, and gained some more focus sharpness. By changing the ISO to ISO 200 you could still have used 1/250 as the shutter speed.

Since the main motion in the photo is perpendicular to the plane of the image sensor, less shutter speed is needed to stop motion than if the motion were parallel to the plane of the image sensor.

I recommend a square crop, and a little cloning work to remove the other people from the photo:

KmH can I just carry you around in my pocket?...k thanks!

WesternGuy · Sep 7, 2011

KmH, you beat me to it, I was going to suggest something along the lines of what you have done - very nice editing...the only thing that I would do is to crop out that street light in the background (content aware fill?) as it detracts from the young woman's silhouette.

cardonalj - nice conversion - would you care to share with us how you did it. Thanks.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

Lux_Artifex · Sep 7, 2011

Weird. I posted a shot very similar earlier. It was actually my first photograph with my first camera. Mine isn't quite so silhouetted, though, to give the feeling she is going into a light.

I do agree with the decision to crop off the top and bottom as well. It gives more room for the subject to fill the frame. Also, the purse or bag she is holding to one side makes it seem as though she is ... "lumpy" for lack of a better word. I'd have her hold it a bit away from herself, enough to see light shining through and to define her shape as a woman.

cardonalj · Sep 8, 2011

Thanks very much for the input. It is very much appreciated. I had just gotten my 50mm 1.4 hours earlier so I was all set to try it out. I do agree that the bag does kinda make it look oddly but trying to get her to placer the bag in the tunnel would have been an argument so I just let her hold onto it.

As for how I did got the shot, I just stood in the tunnel, and told her to walk towards me. In the color version you can actually tell she was wearing white pants and could see the clothing. When I converted it and changed a few things in lightroom she came out silhouetted, which was the look I was going for when I took it. I tend to fall in the class of "Minimalist Editing" when it comes to my photos. And I do mean very very minimal editing. I'm sure once I get used to Lightroom and Photoshop I can o more, but for the moment I'm taking the stance of a minimalist editor, if that makes any sense at all.

tevo · Sep 8, 2011

KmH said:
Going. The composition is fine, the conversion is ok.

Because of the focal point distance and 50 mm focal length, a well blurred background was apparently out of the question, so f/1.4 was not really needed.

Wide open most prime lenses have diminished focus sharpness. Using at least one stop less of aperture (f/2) would have helped the sharpness while still letting you use 1/250 for the shutter speed, and the DOF would not have changed appreciably.

You could have reduced the lens aperture another stop, to f/2.8, and gained some more focus sharpness. By changing the ISO to ISO 200 you could still have used 1/250 as the shutter speed.

Since the main motion in the photo is perpendicular to the plane of the image sensor, less shutter speed is needed to stop motion than if the motion were parallel to the plane of the image sensor.

I recommend a square crop, and a little cloning work to remove the other people from the photo:

we need a midget version of you to carry around (for travel convenience of course)

i was going to suggest a crop, otherwise nice photo

reminds me of this