portraits with 50mm lens at f2.8 for c&c

[sjconner]

I took these this afternoon with my manual focus 50mm lens set at 2.8. Should I close it down further to get more of face in focus or should I back up and then crop? Or do they look good as is? I am practicing on a 5 year old to get my manual focusing skills better and faster.

Thanks, Susan

1.


2.

 

[sovietdoc]

First shot is a bit too dark around the eyes. Would be nice if you could take off the reflection in the eyes too. I don't know if its cropped or not but I'd zoom out a little so more of that hand is in the shot as well as the entire head. It's just too close up to my liking.

Second shot is pretty cool.

 

[RobNZ]

I think they look good as far as focus and depth of field are concerned, eyes are nice and sharp, background is thrown out of focus nicely.

However both are underexposed for the face. Probably due to the camera compensating for the bright background. If you adjust globally in PP you will end up with blownout areas.

Hope you dont mind but I had a play with the 2nd to see if I could make it look how I think it should look.

Before:

After:

 

[Robin Usagani]

I think it depends how far behind the background is. By the look of it it looks like the background is pretty far. YOu can probably make the aperture number bigger and youll have crisp ears.

 

[Ron Evers]

Rob, I find your edit a bit too bright.

 

[sovietdoc]

^ what he said

 

[Derrel]

Something in between the subtle, shady softness of the original on the second photo and RobNZ's startled glassy-eyed deer in the headlights look (I'm kidding Rob,sort of!) is what I'd like to see. When the eyeballs start to look like the person not a real person but a Madame Tussaud's wax person, then I think the eyeball 'shopping has gone too far. The natural catchlights in this situation are spectacular--we can see them in the original shot, so when the face is lightened up even a little bit, it makes her eyes just Pop! In this situation, I think just a little bit brighter than the original would look perfect. You have a lovely child to work with. You did great with positioning the f/2.8 narrow band of DOF...you could also stop down another stop and bring in a little bit more hair into focus, and at that close range, still throw the backdrop wayyyyyy out of focus.

 

[RobNZ]

Well I screwed it up so I better do as I am told

Let me rephrase that, I over did it so lets listen to the advice given and see if this is better.

My apologies to the OP, did not mean to hijack the thread. Got carried away with the goregous eyes.

 

[sovietdoc]

What about this ?

 

[sjconner]

So if I stop down maybe one or two more - I should still be good? The lens is a Pentax that goes from 1.8 - 22. The combination of the manual focus, the 5 year old, and a shallow depth of field is a real bear! I took about 50 shots and only got 4 or 5 that are correct. She is very busy and in most of the shots her eyes are out of focus. I shot them on the deck to keep her corralled in a small area. I really wanted the distracting background to be blurry. I am glad I am starting to pull it all together. The auto focus kit lens is easier but this looks better.

Sovietdoc: What did you do in pp? I did minimal. Took RAW and in PSE8 I added a touch of fill light and a little adjustment to the eyes. I need to figure out the levels, etc. Sigh ... so much to learn!

Thanks, Susan

 

[pmigliaccio]

I felt it just needed the slightest bit of a fix, my 10sec PS CS3 Edit:
Before:

After:

 

[sovietdoc]

Sovietdoc: What did you do in pp? I did minimal. Took RAW and in PSE8 I added a touch of fill light and a little adjustment to the eyes. I need to figure out the levels, etc. Sigh ... so much to learn!

I wish I could remember now..the workflow is so seamless for me now, because I usually edit lots and lots of photos, I don't even keep track of everything I do.

I did play around with all the settings a bit to get the look I wanted. Can't name just one thing, but really is just a combo with brightness,contrast, exposure, hue, saturation, vibrance and etc...

I'll try to keep track of my edits next time in case people want to know..

 

[eccs19]

With or without the various edits, she really does have beautiful eyes. Nicely done. Don't be discouraged by only getting a couple of good shots out of 50 shots. It's all part of the game. Practice make perfect, and your well on your way.

 

[Retro_10s]

Personally I'd back away from the subject a little bit and try an aperture of around f5.6, maybe a half stop up from that again.