Finally got out to shoot some. 4 for CC :)

Geaux · Mar 21, 2011

With Mardi Gras and St. Patricks day festivities all coming to a close, I finally got a chance to go out and shoot some. Not many keepers for the day, but here are 4 that I enjoyed. The editing style might not be up some peoples alley, but I've been trying to find an editing "style" and for right now, I'm really liking a "cool" (temperature) vintage style of editing. Most vintage you see is very warm, but I wanted to go a different route. I have the originals edited too if you'd like to see them.

1.

2.

3.

4.

*BONUS* First time Moon shot

Thanks for looking

RockstarPhotography · Mar 21, 2011

I like number 3. backgrounds are too busy on the other shots......except the moon.....

Geaux · Mar 21, 2011

Thanks. In a tourist town like New Orleans, its hard to not get busy backgrounds lol. Especially on a beautiful day like today was.

RockstarPhotography · Mar 21, 2011

try a tighter crop and play with your angles, you could shoot up on the musician to include the buildings, but less people

crimbfighter · Mar 21, 2011

I like these. I think #1 has enough separation from the background that the busy background isn't too distracting and the exposure looks good.

I think #2 would actually benefit from cropping off the right side (especially the cars), putting the donkey center and burning the sky a little bit to darken it.

I really like #3, +1 on being the strongest.

On #4, the only thing that is really distracting to me, is the guy walking away on the sidewalk. He just doesn't "fit" with the essence of the photo. But, that's the luck of the draw with candids...

Cool Moon shot! I tried to get some photos of the Super Moon, myself. Unfortunately the cloud cover wasn't having it...

Just my opinions, and I could be wrong!

Geaux · Mar 21, 2011

crimbfighter said:
Just my opinions, and I could be wrong!

It's your opinion, don't every apologize or say you could be wrong lol. I appreciate your CC, thanks. I actually tried the crop you suggested in #2, but found it too constricted and centric. I'll try it again tonight and post it when I get home. Unfortunately, the pic of the moon is the night AFTER the "Supermoon" lol.

Texas Aggie · Mar 21, 2011

I don't think you should change anything with these...I really dig them. To me, they seemed to really exemplify New Orleans, and I thought that before I even read the text in your post.

Thanks for sharing them.

o hey tyler · Mar 21, 2011

There is a recurring theme in your photos, and that every subject in this set lies on the left hand side of the frame. I usually try to mix up compositions and think outside the box, but I can understand that if your creative juices haven't been flowing due to lack of shooting, it could be a hard habit to break. My parents were just down in New Orleans on Thursday.

Texas Aggie · Mar 21, 2011

Also, what post processing did you do to get that effect? I try to achieve something similar but it never turns out quite like yours. I like it a lot.

rambler · Mar 21, 2011

Main complaint for #1, 2 4 is the background. You do not want the background to distract from your main subject. In #1 could you blur out more of the background? Maybe crouch down so only sky or something else easier to blur out is there. The location of the statue is not important, right? If so, the less we see of it the better. For example, let's say you have a picture of a cowboy on a horse. It might be important for your photo to know that the cowboy is on a prairie or in a canyon or part of a rodeo. His location is important, so you would have it shown clearly in the background. In #2, the mule is the main subject and it might be important for us to know that he is towing that wagon. So, move a few steps to your left, fill the background with the sign and wagon seat to go along with that nice animal. Or, maybe if you had moved a few steps to your right, you could have included more of the horse and buggy that is slightly in the background to let us know or understand the situation of why the animal is there. In your photo there is too much on the righthand side. #4, same thing. Get rid of the guy with the shorts. He adds nothing. He is too much in focus, leading our eyes away form the main character. May be if you had moved just a bit to your right with more of that background in there, the musician would have been more dominant, and we could still see he was on the street. So, I would suggest, take more of the same subjects from a variety of angles and pay a lot of attention to background. Cropping, too, can really help your main subject stand out. In #1 crop out the guy on the far right with the white shirt, then erase out the arrow-shaped awning. When your main subject was the musician, let him fill the frame! Your photos are interesting, sharp and in good color, and # 3, great! Go back, take more shots.
PS, Looking back at that mule. Try a close-up of just the head. or move slightly away from straight ahead and include more of his body, even better if you got him to turn his head. Get close to his nose and mouth, zoom in on just that, or maybe just one eye and blinder. Have fun!

Geaux · Mar 21, 2011

o hey tyler said:
There is a recurring theme in your photos, and that every subject in this set lies on the left hand side of the frame. I usually try to mix up compositions and think outside the box, but I can understand that if your creative juices haven't been flowing due to lack of shooting, it could be a hard habit to break. My parents were just down in New Orleans on Thursday.

Wow, I never noticed the left hand subject before! You're totally right, I need to start composing better. I always look at my images as someone looking from left to right at them, so I guess I compose like someone is reading it haha. I'll definitely keep this in mind as I shoot. 1,4, and 3 sort of have to be subject left b/c horse head facing direction, musician facing direction, and sunglasses on the left eye didn't show reflection as well as right eye. But with the horse, I could definitely see it being swapped up. Left side though would have been more people on the same dof plane, so not sure how that would have turned out. Thanks for pointing this out though, really never noticed before haha.

Texas Aggie said:
Also, what post processing did you do to get that effect? I try to achieve something similar but it never turns out quite like yours. I like it a lot.

I used a vintage action that I had downloaded a while back, but it had a warm tint to it. I actually add the action, then in the History tab, go back about 10 steps and go from there. I adjust as the image calls for it, so it's never the same settings lol.

rambler said:
Main complaint for #1, 2 4 is the background. You do not want the background to distract from your main subject. In #1 could you blur out more of the background? Maybe crouch down so only sky or something else easier to blur out is there. The location of the statue is not important, right? If so, the less we see of it the better. For example, let's say you have a picture of a cowboy on a horse. It might be important for your photo to know that the cowboy is on a prairie or in a canyon or part of a rodeo. His location is important, so you would have it shown clearly in the background. In #2, the mule is the main subject and it might be important for us to know that he is towing that wagon. So, move a few steps to your left, fill the background with the sign and wagon seat to go along with that nice animal. Or, maybe if you had moved a few steps to your right, you could have included more of the horse and buggy that is slightly in the background to let us know or understand the situation of why the animal is there. In your photo there is too much on the righthand side. #4, same thing. Get rid of the guy with the shorts. He adds nothing. He is too much in focus, leading our eyes away form the main character. May be if you had moved just a bit to your right with more of that background in there, the musician would have been more dominant, and we could still see he was on the street. So, I would suggest, take more of the same subjects from a variety of angles and pay a lot of attention to background. Cropping, too, can really help your main subject stand out. In #1 crop out the guy on the far right with the white shirt, then erase out the arrow-shaped awning. When your main subject was the musician, let him fill the frame! Your photos are interesting, sharp and in good color, and # 3, great! Go back, take more shots.
PS, Looking back at that mule. Try a close-up of just the head. or move slightly away from straight ahead and include more of his body, even better if you got him to turn his head. Get close to his nose and mouth, zoom in on just that, or maybe just one eye and blinder. Have fun!

I really don't understand everyone complaining about the background of #1, I thought it was blurred enough to point out that the horse head was the subject. Plus, as I've stated before, New Orleans is a tourist town ... people on the streets constantly. There were other heads around on quieter streets, but I felt this one (with its multiple colors and glitter paint falling off) really caught the essence of the city and the tourists in the back added to the image.

I totally agree with the musician shot, that guy in the center kills it for me, but cloning will be VERY difficult with the car that is behind him. Trust me, I thought about it. That shot was more of a 'street photography' type shot, as I was down the block from him.

Thanks again for all the compliments and suggestions for next time