Still learning c & c

[Rosshole]

I have been spending some time (not as much as I would like) with the camera and lighting. Over the last couple of years now I am starting to understand lighting a placement much better. I am getting more lights on some other goodies soon, but I feel that when learning, less is more.

Two lights:

Main light, slightly right of the camera, Flashpoint II 320M @ 1/2 with 43" shoot through UMB.
Accent subject above-left, SB-600 @ 1/4 with 32" shoot through.

Post in LR3

Enjoy! Thoughts and C & C are welcome.

 

[blackrose89]

Her entire head should be in frame.

 

[Rosshole]

Oh yeah? It isn't for her business card...

 

[blackrose89]

Don't ask for CC if you can't take very basic criticism.Keeping your subject in frame is one of the very first and basic guidelines to composition.

 

[Rosshole]

I apologize if my comment made you assume that I cannot accept criticism. I assure you that I am able too. In some situations though, I choose to respectfully disagree.

 

[Geaux]

Her entire head should be in frame.

Who says the head needs to always be in frame?

I'm going to disagree with you also.

Perfect example on 'cut off heads'. The photographer, imo, is excellent and love his images. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wefwef/page1/

 

[Kerbouchard]

Don't ask for CC if you can't take very basic criticism.Keeping your subject in frame is one of the very first and basic guidelines to composition.

I also disagree. While keeping your subject in your frame is a compositional guideline, so is filling your frame with your subject and minimizing dead space.

In any case, I think it's done well. I would prefer it if there were a few true whites in the image instead of shades of grey...just makes it look a little 'bleh' and that's not the right look for a little girl. Also, to sort of agree with blackrose, I would have probably shot this in a portait orientation.

 

[KmH]

Since the young lady is not forced to one side of the image frame the horizontal framing works fine here. Maybe not as strongly as a vertical oriention, but would look nice in a video.

I would maybe have had the SB-600 a bit lower but......

The 3:2 crop (essentially what was posted);

The 7:5 crop:

and the 5:4 crop, the one I would vote for:

 

[bazooka]

I agree Keith, the 5:4 crop is nice.

 

[Rosshole]

Thanks for the comments and info on framing/cropping. I am getting more lighting shortly to help light the background separately to eliminate the greys, but I do feel that every shoot that I do, I learn more and more.

I also like the 5:4 crop.

 

[Derrel]

It would have been a nice portrait with the camera in "portrait" orientation. As shot, as a horizontal, it looks like a snapshot. Her eyes are way too far to the left of the frame; people need to be allowed a bit more space to "look into". Placing her more to the left of the frame is far worse than centering her. As far as a good photographer who shoots lots of horizontally-framed shots...Gallo jug wine is the most-popular wine in America year after year...McDonald's is the top restaurant...WalMart is the top retail store...Survivor has been a "top TV show" for years...as somebody said years ago, "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." (I believe that's been attributed to H.L. Mencken.)

With the prevalence of self-taught, un-studied photographers who picked up a camera five years ago, emulating "people" with no training in the visual arts is no guarantee of success, and no guarantee of being shown the best way to do many,many different things.