Loving It!

Thayli · Jun 13, 2012

Recently got into this whole digital photography hobby, and after scouring the different forums decided to throw some of my own shots to the wolves as it were. These were shot using an old Olympus E-20, which is decidedly old hat for most of you from what I can see, but its my first SLR so I'm loving the two-pic-a-minute monster to death.

The first three were taken with a 120w work light, which is all I had. Poor girl was almost blinded. Even then the exposures were about 1/20 F2.0 as anything above ISO160 on my camera tends to get very grainy. First time I had ever tried to do 'proper' portraits, and as such is still some of my fav pictures.

Experimenting with white balance.

The concentration of washing dishes.

Well I've literally just got myself two studio strobes and I'm now throwing myself into not blinding my subject permanently with work spotlights, but my first adventure into portraits is still fresh in my mind. If anyone has any comments or tips, ranging from WB hilarity to 'just put your camera down and step away' they would be greatly appreciated. I'm very thick skinned and even ridicule is welcomed if you tell me what bit you're insulting. Thanks again!

Oops and a quick note to say I've just put several more shots in my member gallery, including a few of me using the strobes if anyone wants a laugh.

dandaluzphotography · Jun 13, 2012

Gorgeous eyes!

pickle788 · Jun 13, 2012

^agree^

slackercruster · Jun 13, 2012

Very nice!

Send in more!!

tirediron · Jun 13, 2012

Considering the equipment used, those turned out very well. A couple of thoughts: Shoot in RAW and include a white-balance target (this can be anything pure white, even a sheet of white printer paper will get you close) to correct to in post. This will provide a consistant colour across your images, watch yoru backgrounds. I really like the look of the model in the third image, but the messy background really detracts. Look for plain backgrounds; even a white wall can work.

Thayli · Jun 13, 2012

dandaluzphotography said:
Gorgeous eyes!

pickle788 said:
^agree^

Thanks very much, its my wife. I really wish I could take some credit for her eyes as it tends to be the most striking part of the photograph, but alas mother nature got all the glory there. This was an attempt I made at some arty cropping to isolate the phenomenon.

slackercruster said:
Very nice!

Send in more!!

More of the girl, more of the set, or just more pics in general? All of which I've got. And thank you for the compliment, unless you were only talking to the girl in which case she says thank you!

tirediron said:
Considering the equipment used, those turned out very well. A couple of thoughts: Shoot in RAW and include a white-balance target (this can be anything pure white, even a sheet of white printer paper will get you close) to correct to in post. This will provide a consistant colour across your images, watch yoru backgrounds. I really like the look of the model in the third image, but the messy background really detracts. Look for plain backgrounds; even a white wall can work.

And this was the kind of reply I was hoping someone would have the patience for. Now, without getting into a massive discussion and being shouted at for being in the wrong area, a question.

I sometimes do the whole WB correction thing, but I often really like the moods that are lent to shots by having the balance all over the place, (the pseudo-avatar blue pic up there is a prime example), and I often use a lot of red to liven up my wifes skin which is naturally quite pale which she hates. Is this fascination just regular novice folly that I should be staying away from and aim for 'perfectly' balanced shots each time, or do you bigger boys do this yourselves on occasion?
As far as equipment used, I've since got a couple of strobes, (incredibly cheap and nasty ones, but I still cuddle them at night when my wifes not looking), but as much as I love the results I find it hard to get as much 'atmosphere' or mood into a picture. Could just be me staring at them too much though. Ive also started using black and white backgrounds as well with the strobes, the wonderful world of blowing out white backgrounds and ummmm..... shadowing? black backgrounds has now opened its door to me. Oh, and as much as I love RAW, it takes my camera 38 seconds to write a RAW to memory, my subject tends to get a bit upset when Ive got a worklight 3 feet from her face. I tell her you must suffer for art but...:er: Ive started using it much more with the strobes.
Thanks very much the tips though, its massively appreciated, and thank you all for being so nice about them.

Ernicus · Jun 13, 2012

I like pic 3 best. The messy background didn't bother me quite as much as I was locked on her eyes (although without that furniture and blue thing on it, would have been much much better...that is distracting)...and being locked on her eyes I couldn't help but notice the reflection of light in her pupils...that kills the eyes when it does that...I'd keep an eye out for that, you don't want the pupil to be lit up with light reflections.

SisterChicks · Jun 13, 2012

I like the last two you just posted best, she looks different. In the top three pictures, she sort of looks similar to Debra Messing. All beautiful shots!

Rosy · Jun 15, 2012

Thayli said:
Recently got into this whole digital photography hobby, and after scouring the different forums decided to throw some of my own shots to the wolves as it were. These were shot using an old Olympus E-20, which is decidedly old hat for most of you from what I can see, but its my first SLR so I'm loving the two-pic-a-minute monster to death.

The first three were taken with a 120w work light, which is all I had. Poor girl was almost blinded. Even then the exposures were about 1/20 F2.0 as anything above ISO160 on my camera tends to get very grainy. First time I had ever tried to do 'proper' portraits, and as such is still some of my fav pictures.
<img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11253"/><img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11254"/><img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11256"/>

Experimenting with white balance.
<img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11257"/>

The concentration of washing dishes.
<img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11258"/>

Well I've literally just got myself two studio strobes and I'm now throwing myself into not blinding my subject permanently with work spotlights, but my first adventure into portraits is still fresh in my mind. If anyone has any comments or tips, ranging from WB hilarity to 'just put your camera down and step away' they would be greatly appreciated. I'm very thick skinned and even ridicule is welcomed if you tell me what bit you're insulting. Thanks again!

Oops and a quick note to say I've just put several more shots in my member gallery, including a few of me using the strobes if anyone wants a laugh.

Very nice

Forkie · Jun 15, 2012

3 and 4 in your first post are splendid :drool:

kundalini · Jun 15, 2012

Of the last two you posted (post #6), look at what your lighting is doing to her arms in the first shot. They look anemic.

PinkDoor · Jun 15, 2012

Love these

tirediron · Jun 15, 2012

My suggestion would for WB would to aim for correct WB each time, and if you want to adjust it for artistic effect, do it from an accurate starting point. Off white balances can add a lot to an image, but it's something that can easily be overdone, and it may also induce colour casts onto parts of the image that aren't suitable.

If you're not getting the mood you want with your strobes, than I would guess it's simply because either (1) you don't have enough experience, (2) you don't have the right equipment, or (3) all of the above. You can do amazing things with even a single off-camera speedlight, but you need to know how. Head over to the Strobist Blog and browse the Lighting 101 section; a wealth of information! White paper, foam-core, and Tupperware can all be VERY useful in the world of OFC work.

I don't know the Olympus line very well, so I can't say for sure, but I'm guessing you could likely reduce your write time considerably for the RAW files by using a faster card.