People shooting question with example to modify.

[Ernicus]

Ok, so...the old lady stood in front of the camera today while I was shooting the raging high waters from the rains. She hates having her picture taken, so I jumped at the chance to practice. So I pretended I was shooting her for a portrait someone requested.

Before anyone says.."pick a better background", that's not the point of this exercise.

My question is, pretend there is a great background, and she wants an 8x10 of this shot. How do ya crop for it? I am testing crops and editing now to see whats what, but all 8x10 crops are going to cut off something, ankles...knees, hands, etc.

Should I have framed differently anticipating 8x10 print desires, or crop off body parts.

No real practice shooting people so I dunno these things still.

It was just about to rain...again...so it's not very bright out.


oh...another question...it seemed to take me forever to set up. My noob brain says this will be reduced with using prime lens for portraits as focal length is set (so you just move back n forth to frame up) and aperture is generally same once you find your sweet spot, so only focus and framing is needed in setup..so it goes faster? She got bored with me setting up the shot. Are models generally more patient with that, or do you need to learn to set up quickly to keep things moving?

Lots of different array of questions, I know, thanks in advance.

Exif info is needed for advice http://www.flickr.com/photos/ernicus/7482262920/meta/in/photostream/

Here is the original shot

and here is one I cropped and played with (I know...heavy on the blur...but she likes that sort of thing)

 

[dxqcanada1]

Yeah, I think a head/shoulder crop is best.

A zoom is handy for reluctant portraits ... makes for quicker framing.
Next time, meter once, then move around a lot and shoot quick shots ... she will be entertained while you jump around like an idiot and you will capture at least one great expression on her face, and body position will not be so rigid.

 

[Ernicus]

Next time, meter once, then move around a lot and shoot quick shots ... she will be entertained while you jump around like an idiot and you will capture at least one great expression on her face, and body position will not be so rigid.

noted...thanks for the advice. ;-)

 

[AMOMENT]

LOL, you think she is old?

 

[TenaciousTins]

She does not look old. I like your crop well enough, seems underexposed a little and it lacks "punch" when it's cropped like that, and the blur is way too heavy even if she likes it like that. She looks about 35, maybe a bit older but I doubt it. She does not look old...and if she is your wife, or mother, that's kind of a derogatory way to introduce her...she's beautiful!

 

[480sparky43 42]

Gawd..... if she is old, I'm absolutely ancient.

 

[Ernicus]

lol, I was being facetious people...lol. I love my woman, she's good to me. Supports me fully in this crazy journey of mine.

 

[Ernicus]

It's not underexposed, very overcast, it rained on us like 5 mins after the shot was taken. I was more interested in how to either shoot or crop for people who are going to want 8x10's. I read all the time comments like "great but you kneecapped her" or "why'd you cut off their ankles", so I am really clueless about cropping people other than just trying and seeing what I think looks good.

and yeah, too much blur, her taste not mine. ;-) Still dunno why people like that blurry glowy look. *shrugs*

 

[MTVision]

lol, I was being facetious people...lol. I love my woman, she's good to me. Supports me fully in this crazy journey of mine.

The first thing I thought was....he thinks she's old. But when I re-read your original post I realized you meant "your old lady" - like your girlfriend right??

 

[Ernicus]

lol, I was being facetious people...lol. I love my woman, she's good to me. Supports me fully in this crazy journey of mine.

I re-read your original post I realized you meant "your old lady" - like your girlfriend right??

Exactly. lol.

 

[PinkDoor]

In your cropped photo, did you blur/smooth her?? It looks like that odd edit from a few weeks ago where everything was blurred out except for the eyes.

Was this practice for your future real "old" ladies?

 

[Ernicus]

yeah I used the same technique, still haven't fine tuned it. people like it though. not people here as we all know better. but regular folks seem to. I did it too much on that one though, but it wasn't a keeper, just practice.

 

[Ernicus]

and no, not practice for my future old folks, lol. I won't be blurring them.

 

[PinkDoor]

I get that people like it, but IMO - I don't care for it. It does not look correct and seems strange. However, I like your cropped version, but I think the overall photo should be brighter, and you should also tell "your old lady" to take her sunglasses off on your next practice shot The eyes are the gateway to the soul

 

[Ernicus]

I get that people like it, but IMO - I don't care for it. It does not look correct and seems strange. However, I like your cropped version, but I think the overall photo should be brighter, and you should also tell "your old lady" to take her sunglasses off on your next practice shot The eyes are the gateway to the soul

I doubt she will, lol, always say "my eyes are too dark...I hate them" blah blah etc etc. lol.

So the crop is decent then, which was my concern. I initially wanted to crop longer above the knees-ish, but it looked weird.

they look bright enough on my craptop, remember, what looks bright to me generally is dark to you folks. so normally I'd adjust to compensate if it was a photo I was going to keep or print.