More from the fair

Netskimmer · Jul 27, 2011

I spent another day taking photos at the fair, the first two are of my niece, the third is a friend of the family and I'm not quite sure who the last one is but it was a heck of a shot.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Trever1t · Jul 28, 2011

#3 is the best of the set IMO.

tirediron · Jul 28, 2011

Agree; they're all nice shots, but #3 is definitely the best. Shooting at these events is always tough because of the ****-awful backgrounds.

Trever1t · Jul 28, 2011

exactly my sentimants, the backgrounds are distracting.

The_Traveler · Jul 28, 2011

ALL MY OPINION, so take it with a grain of salt.

Couple of points.
You really need to look at your pictures objectively before you put them up.
Compared to 3, 1 & 2 are terribly static, not well composed and really of no interest or excitement.
#4 might be an interesting shot on your monitor but from my standpoint, it is almost impossible to make out what horse's head and any features of the left side of the horse.
The background's are terrible and, if you can't do anything about that, then the shot is no good.

Here is a rough rework of #3 to suggest a path for rework
The picture is over-exposed and undersharpened.
I masked out the rider and horse and made them sharper, less exposed.
I lens-blurred the background and made is less bright.
Now the horse and rider stand out more against the fence.

tirediron · Jul 28, 2011

Sorry Traveller... (and this of course, is MY opinion) that edit looks gawd-awful!

The_Traveler · Jul 28, 2011

tirediron said:
Sorry Traveller... (and this of course, is MY opinion) that edit looks gawd-awful!

Saying something is terrible without saying why or how it should be done differently doesn't contribute to the conversation.

tirediron · Jul 28, 2011

The_Traveler said:
tirediron said:

Sorry Traveller... (and this of course, is MY opinion) that edit looks gawd-awful!

Click to expand...

Saying something is terrible without saying why or how it should be done differently doesn't contribute to the conversation.

Point taken. I think the image was stronger in its original form. Regardless of the subject matter, these are essentialy photo-journalistic images. The photographer has little to no control over the circumstances and virtually none over things like background. Therefore the strength of the images comes primarily from timing. Overall, I think the OP did a decent job and that adding some blur effect detracts from the images. They're not perfect by any means (but then he didn't ask for C&C either...)

noodles · Jul 28, 2011

I agree with traveler on the edits.. it does make the subject stand out more against the horrible background. I think traveler's point is that the edit was just a direction for the photographer to work towards in their shot to make it more exciting and the subject stands out.
I'm not sure if stopping down would have made the background more blur, but that's what is likely needed to blur out the background if the right lens is available - or do it in post without being to invasive on the picture.

Netskimmer · Jul 28, 2011

Thanks for all the responses, I'm glad most of you liked them. As for C&C I didn't ask for it but I assumed I would get it, even if I asked not too, and I always welcome it.

I actually had the same thought about the first two images being static compared to the last two. #2 was literally her first attempt at running barrels so she didn't cut as close as the others who have been doing this for years did. Maybe next year I'll have some better shots of her.

I agree that #3 is the best of the lot, the look of intensity on her face really adds to the image. I'm not sure if its over-exposed or if it's just dusty. It was very dry out and the dirt would stir-up and just hang in the air, this ruined more that a few of my shots. :grumpy:

Not sure what you mean regarding #4, I can see everything in great detail, right down to the horses veins and muscle structure.

As others have mentioned, I can't do much about the background except maybe get faster glass so I can narrow my DoF more. I tried getting some motion blur by slowing my shutter speed but since the subjects are moving in all directions it made it impossible (for me anyway) to get a sharp image. Anyone wanna donate a 70-200mm 2.8f for the cause? :lol:

I suppose I could always rent one next year for a week... Can adding bokeh in post be done (convincingly) with Gimp? I don't have anything better yet.