Martial Art Pictures from a recent job

[PhotoThat]

I hope this is the correct place to post this thread.??

Martial Arts is a new industry for my company and I am looking for some feedback on the quality of the photos. Anything from set choice to lighting and poses.

 

[tirediron]

Nicely done - the red channel seems just a tad hot to me, but that's minor. I do however find that the white costumes are slightly lost in the Ying/Yang on the wall and a few need some leveling/perspective correction. It looks like you had a light on the background? Maybe drop that so it's 2/3 stop below key? That should give better separation and make the subjects stand out better.

 

[JOSHardson]

Yeah, all of these feel a little magenta colored. Also agree on the brightness of the background being a bit distracting.

 

[PhotoThat]

Thank you. I agree after you pointed the leveling out they could use some. I used 2 400watt strobes with 28" soft boxes that's it no back light they were positioned to right and left at the end up to 7.5'. Should I maybe try 48" umbrellas next time?

 

[tirediron]

That's a LOT of light and a VERY small SB - I would suggest getting a larger modifier, say a 48" or even better a 60" SB, dropping it down a bit and either flagging it to minimize background spill, or turn it enough that it's not an issue.

 

[runnah]

I would have to agree with the red.

My only other issue it that the background is fighting for attention. The students should be more of the focal point and they seem to get lost.

 

[duhast]

My eyes are not calibrated and neither is my netbook monitor, but I think I'm seeing magenta in the skin tones...

 

[Light Guru]

I would have to agree with the red.

My only other issue it that the background is fighting for attention. The students should be more of the focal point and they seem to get lost.

The background definitely is fighting for attention.

The brick wall also looks like it could use a little ironing along the bottom.

 

[PhotoThat]

My initial thoughts are in stead of using a beam of light from the SB maybe use umbrellas to scatter the light more so that less light is hitting the backdrop. It seems that the two main issues are with skin tone (magenta looking) and background fighting for attention. Simple color adjustment will correct the skin tone. However little more to be concerned with is the brightness of the background. So whats the thoughts on umbrellas versus SB to get the light spread out instead of beam like. My SB are 36" not 28" as I earlier stated that was a typo.
All this feedback is greatly appreciated.

 

[ClickAddict]

One comment I'd make about the posing. Not sure if you had them pose themselves or had the assistance of an instructor. If you look at photo 1 and 3 (The high kicks), these (to some) may appear to much "posed". When throwing a kick they should be looking at their foot. It would be like taking a side shot of someone on a horse jumping a fence, would you want them to be looking forward to where they are about to land, or turn their head sideways, loooking at the camera and smiling. Seems a little unnatural. As for the two I mentioned, from a parents point of view they probably wouldn't notice or care, from an instructors point of view, they may see these as odd. (They probably wouldn't use those in their advertising for instance, aiming for a more authentic look, but as for selling to the parents it would be fine) Again this comes down to preference and some would not care but would be something you might want to consider if you hadn't thought of it. Aside from that I like the shots and think if you drop the light on the background like many have mentioned that it will compete less for attention and will work quite nicely.