My First Session of the Year

AprilRamone · Jan 15, 2008

Some engagment shots for my boyfriend's sister.
CC is appreciated!
1.)

2.)

3.)

4.) This one's my favorite

5.) I've seen this shot a lot lately and thought I'd try it. But, I think I like other ring shots better...

6.)

sirsteezo · Jan 15, 2008

nice shots!

#4 is my favorite. wasn't the girl cold!??!

adolan20 · Jan 15, 2008

I like all of them! Great shots. The only problem I have is with number 1, the man's feet are awkward making his posture a little strange to me.

NJMAN · Jan 15, 2008

Wonderful series! Magazine quality for sure. Great composition and use of light. I cant pick out a favorite, they are all so good!

Keep up the awesome work. You are a true pro. :thumbup:

NJ

acaldwell · Jan 15, 2008

I agree the posture may be a bit awkward in the first, but it is still my fav. I think the ring shot is very neat as well! Thanks for sharing

AprilRamone · Jan 15, 2008

I totally agree with you guys about #1. Ever since I saw someone drag a couch out into a field and take pictures, I've been wanting to bring my cool fireplace chairs outside. But, I think I might try it again when it's warmer out.
The girl was actually saying that her feet were what was cold because I kept telling her it was ok if she wanted to wear her coat in between the shots.
I was also trying to use a reflector without an assistant to hold it (I had an attachment that you can put on a light stand). Boy does it make a huge difference. I can't believe I've been going all this time without one.
Thank you for all of your comments!

JimmyJaceyMom · Jan 15, 2008

Yes reflector are wonderful things!

I have a trash the dress in the snow coming up and I can't forget it!

These are awesome!!!! I love em' I have to figure out how to get my vingetting to be like yours, so subtle. I like it.

AprilRamone · Jan 15, 2008

Hi Kathi,
My technique for doing vignettes is this:
1.) Make a new layer
2.) Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool and start outside of the edges of the photograph to make an oval where it's edges extend past the edges of the photograph. (Hope that makes sense!) I also make sure the feather is fairly large. I actually have mine at 140 right now.
3.) Select->Inverse
4.) Use the paint bucket tool to drop in Black.
5.) Go over to the layers palette and drop the opacity all the way down to 0% and work it up until I think it looks good. I find that working from 0 to a higher percentage will make it more subtle because if I try to find the sweet spot going from 100% down, it's not as subtle.
HTH!
April

JimmyJaceyMom · Jan 16, 2008

AprilRamone said:
Hi Kathi,
My technique for doing vignettes is this:
1.) Make a new layer
2.) Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool and start outside of the edges of the photograph to make an oval where it's edges extend past the edges of the photograph. (Hope that makes sense!) I also make sure the feather is fairly large. I actually have mine at 140 right now.
3.) Select->Inverse
4.) Use the paint bucket tool to drop in Black.
5.) Go over to the layers palette and drop the opacity all the way down to 0% and work it up until I think it looks good. I find that working from 0 to a higher percentage will make it more subtle because if I try to find the sweet spot going from 100% down, it's not as subtle.
HTH!
April

You are awesome!!!

Jennyboo7481 · Jan 16, 2008

These are fantastic! Great Job

bellacat · Jan 16, 2008

I love all of these. You did an awesome job!

Los Angeles · Jan 16, 2008

I applaud the effort in the first shot. But it just does not work for me.

I think the rest are great.

As for chairs where they dont belong or are not usually seen check out this book. ITS MY FAVORIT OF ALL TIME...

http://www.amazon.com/Red-Couch-Portrait-America/dp/0912383054

djscarrd · Jan 17, 2008

Nice job! Kinda reminds me of photos in a clothing magazine.

Stranger · Jan 17, 2008

These are great! i really like the ring shot, clever in my eyes.

May i ask what setup you used? Camera/lens/lighting?

AprilRamone · Jan 17, 2008

Los Angeles, thanks for the link to the book. I'll have to see if I can find it at my library

Stranger: Thanks a bunch, but I can't take a lot of credit for it as I've seen it done so many times before from other photographers

Were you asking for the settings on that shot in particular? For that shot, I was using my 50mm 1.4 all the way open (Kind of wish I'd stopped it down a bit though since it was hard to find the right focus on the rock).
The first shot was done with my 70-200 2.8 IS. I was trying to get more used to shooting with it since I'm going to be using it a lot at weddings. But, dang is that thing heavy! All of the others are done with the 50mm 1.4 as well.