[The1]

hello everyone,
Please tear my stuff apart, i'm trying to learn as much as possible, I finally was able to find a friend who would pose for me, so I finally got the chance to start practicing portraits. Any other time, it's been 2 or 3 shots of people before i get a dirty look.

I realize there are a couple crop issues like half a hand here and there. that's just stuff i noticed after uploading

still adding a few more pictures, they will be in the next post, and sorry for the size of some, didn't realize they were that big in some cases, they just looked cleaner so i posted them instead of smaller ones which seemed to pick up more noise do to JPEG compression.

[The1]

more.....

the last picture is just my saying thank you for paying attention this far...

Thanks

[Weebl]

Last one is out of focus and should be portrait instead of landscape. Re-shoot.



Work on your shutter speed, some are slightly blurry. A few are slightly overexposed and a bit washed out, especially the first. On six of them you have something else drawing away from her face or something going through her head. You have to watch that for portraits. The concrete edge is dead center of the photo, which makes that the focal point. I like the one where she is in the "window" but she is too low in the picture, it looks to me like she is an accessory to the window.

[The1]

hahaha, damnit, i kept forgetting "head in a clean spot...."

I'm not really sure where the blur came from, I tryed doing bulk post processing for a lot of it, and i think that's what happened there, it's kind of unfortunate... Will look at a few of the RAW files again just to double check...

Thanks for taking the time to critique, it's hard remember all those little rules as you go. I definitely have to watch the exposures a lot more.

A lot of this was me trying new things after watching some tutorials they were probably a bit out of my league.

And I'll re shoot the bum another day for certain, she wants some more personal shots, so I'll definitely have more opportunity.

[The1]

Originally Posted by Weebl

Last one is out of focus and should be portrait instead of landscape. Re-shoot.



Work on your shutter speed, some are slightly blurry. A few are slightly overexposed and a bit washed out, especially the first. On six of them you have something else drawing away from her face or something going through her head. You have to watch that for portraits. The concrete edge is dead center of the photo, which makes that the focal point. I like the one where she is in the "window" but she is too low in the picture, it looks to me like she is an accessory to the window.

checked my EXIF on a couple shots, I definitely lost track of my shutter speeds a couple of times. I have to work on that going in and out of the shade, or at the very least, put more faith in my image stabilizer and actually turn it on....

[Weebl]

Originally Posted by The1

hahaha, damnit, i kept forgetting "head in a clean spot...."

she wants some more personal shots, so I'll definitely have more opportunity.

Hey, this is a family forum

When I frame up, I'll cruise the frame and see what doesn't click and re-frame.
I'll only spray and pray when I go to an airshow.

When walking around without a camera I'll try to frame something in my head and look what is in the background and such. It will help when I go on those 1 time trips. I prefer landscapes and have done no real headshots. Except for some cats.

[Weebl]

Originally Posted by The1

put more faith in my image stabilizer and actually turn it on....

Only if you absolutely have to though. It kills sharpness.

[The1]

Originally Posted by Weebl

Only if you absolutely have to though. It kills sharpness.

that's what i hear... that's why it is off 99% of the time on my lenses. however, if i can't use my shutter speed to focal length ratios properly, i might have to start using it more

I was being distracted by her a little bit too. She kept making bedroom type comments to me while i was trying to shoot, and ended up a little distracted a few times by some of the looks i was getting too.

Most of my shooting up until now has all been because i keep traveling around north america, so i'm getting a lot of landscapes. So i've been wanting to open up to different areas, so this is really my first real attempt.

it's pretty fun to walk around with someone looking for different locations. I'm definitely going to try the portrait thing for a little while more and get my skills up. In between my travels anyhow

[M_Six]

Do you have Photoshop? If so, try this technique. Open the image and create a new layer. Change the new layer's blending properties to Soft Light. Choose a soft edge brush of appropriate size for the area you want to "paint." Not too big or you'll over-paint. Not too small or you'll have lines and patchy areas. Then paint over over-exposed areas like her skin. Don't worry if it's a little too dark. Once you're through painting, play with the opacity of that layer. Check the settings in the image below. You can click the new layer on and off to see the difference. It really helps bring back areas that are over-exposed a bit without messing up the entire image.

[The1]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Do you have Photoshop? If so, try this technique. Open the image and create a new layer. Change the new layer's blending properties to Soft Light. Choose a soft edge brush of appropriate size for the area you want to "paint." Not too big or you'll over-paint. Not too small or you'll have lines and patchy areas. Then paint over over-exposed areas like her skin. Don't worry if it's a little too dark. Once you're through painting, play with the opacity of that layer. Check the settings in the image below. You can click the new layer on and off to see the difference. It really helps bring back areas that are over-exposed a bit without messing up the entire image.

thanks mark, i'll poke around... I'm seriously considering grabbing a course in photoshop, it's all over my head. I'm a hardware guy and not really good at software at all. Give me an engine and i'll tear it apart and put it back together again. Give me a wireing diagram and i'll solve any problem, give me something to program, and i'll just sit and stare at you

I'll give it a shot on a picture and see what i can come up with. Probably use the same one you did so i can do some comparing.

[Weebl]

Thanks for that Mark, I usually go to my son for PS work. I play only in LR3.
One good thing about having kids is you can get CS5 and LR3 for really cheap.

Originally Posted by The1

I was being distracted by her a little bit too. She kept making bedroom type comments to me while i was trying to shoot, and ended up a little distracted a few times by some of the looks i was getting too.

New photographic mantra for you..
Head in a photographically clean spot and dead babies.

[The1]

Originally Posted by Weebl

Thanks for that Mark, I usually go to my son for PS work. I play only in LR3.
One good thing about having kids is you can get CS5 and LR3 for really cheap.


New photographic mantra for you..
Head in a photographically clean spot and dead babies.

haha, one can try....

I played with Marks photoshop idea, but i figured out i could fix most of it before going fully into the program, the opeing screen that allows you to adjust everything like "fill black" and etc.

I still went in and played about with the settings he recommended but i did grey instead of black, and it worked quite well. It was just a softer change then going full on black.

I'll load it up in a sec.

[The1]

I think another part of the problem is i was trying to get this all done as quickly and cleanly as i possibly could in the original run of post processing. so i managed to skip some steps, or some settings from another picture carried over to a picture it shouldn't have been on.

over all, big fail

but it was an exersize in learning what to do and what not to do and that's what i needed.

thanks for the hand boys.

And to anyone else in the next day or two who reads this thread, more criticism is always welcome!

[Weebl]

Comparing the two side by side, the skin in the revised one looks much better but.....
In boosting the saturation/color the fuchsia comes off stronger, much stronger and I am more drawn to that rather than what she is looking at. In the original I feel more drawn to her head than the shirt. Oh and just noticed, get the bra strap.
On a re-shoot of this photo with exactly the same location and placement. I think I would try to bring her chin lower (lots of neck showing now) and have her eyes up.
HDR too, that rust looks great.

comments worth less than what you paid for them. or $0.0000000002 cash value
have you checked out POTN?

[whyrms]

I feel I'm missing something here.

What camera did you shoot with? (5d mark II, nice cam)
What were the lenses? what apature? shutter speed? if zoom lens what was the range? (i see that you put the f into 4, is this not an L lens?)
were you trying to use natural lighting? do you have a flash? do you mind using flash?

try a long range lens, stand back and put on some Bokeh. Ideally for portrait, you'll want something like an 85mm at f2 for a good flattering look. Stand far away and the focus point should be enough to get the eyes and the face into focus, slowly throwing everything else out of focus, which tends to look better. Also use some fill light. I know people like to use photoshop, but something about using fill light in photoshop that makes the picture less creamy.

[The1]

Originally Posted by whyrms

I feel I'm missing something here.

What camera did you shoot with? (5d mark II, nice cam)
What were the lenses? what apature? shutter speed? if zoom lens what was the range? (i see that you put the f into 4, is this not an L lens?)
were you trying to use natural lighting? do you have a flash? do you mind using flash?

try a long range lens, stand back and put on some Bokeh. Ideally for portrait, you'll want something like an 85mm at f2 for a good flattering look. Stand far away and the focus point should be enough to get the eyes and the face into focus, slowly throwing everything else out of focus, which tends to look better. Also use some fill light. I know people like to use photoshop, but something about using fill light in photoshop that makes the picture less creamy.

Probably a fairly even mix of the pictures were taken using both the 5D mkII and the 7D. I wanted to experiment with both a bit. The lenses used the most were the 24-70 f2.8 and to a lesser extent the 70-200 F4.
Generally i shot the 24-70 between 50 and 70mm mostly, and shot the 70-200 throughout it's focal range to see what i could make work for me. The 150-200mm mark did make for a more candid look sometimes when i was able to get the subject to stop looking towards me when i was at further distances. I found she was almost more aware of my presence when i was further back with a big lens on

for the most part when using the 24-70, i was shooting stopped down between the F7-F11 area because i was liking the areas in which i was shooting and wanted to get some more of the details, like all the train parts. I should have opened it up for a few to experiment some more, but i found my subject didn't sit in one area for too long and i didn't want her getting bored Something i will work on more in the next shoot with her.

I threw the 70-200 F4 on in an attempt to blur some backgrounds, but with the maximum aperature of F4, it definitely made it challenging and i had to move the subject very far from the wall to really get anything out of the DoF.

All that was used for the photos was ambient light. I did take 1 or 2 shots with a flash in hand, but i found the light being given off wasn't soft enough, so it's something i'll need some more practice with, as well as having a hotshoe on a tripod would really be of benefit instead of standing there with one arm streached out and the other holding the camera... kind of awkward.

I will likely pick up an 85 F1.8 or F2 in the somewhat near future and also looking at a 135 F2L as i think they would be phenomenal lenses for goofing around and shoting people. I should have pulled out my 100 F2.8, but i didn't stop and think long enough to test it out.

all i know is since i have 2 cameras, i will be more prepared the next time out, I will keep both units around my neck (one with over shoulder strap) and have a prime one one and the zoom on the other. I think that will allow me to push creativity and allow me to keep settings for more blur bukah vs more detail ready at had.

too bad one is a crop and one is a full frame, changes consistency a little.

[vachss]

Originally Posted by Weebl

Only if you absolutely have to though. It kills sharpness.

Huh? As someone with many thousands of sharp shots taken with IS on I'm a bit confused by this statement.

About the only negative to IS that I'm aware of is that it can lengthen the time required for autofocus, so if you're already on a tripod your response speed is better with IS off.

PS. Sorry to threadjack...

[The1]

Originally Posted by vachss

Huh? As someone with literally thousands of sharp shots taken with IS on I'm a bit confused by this statement.

About the only negative to IS that I'm aware of is that it can lengthen the time required for autofocus, so if you're already on a tripod your response speed is better with IS off.

I've also come across this information of IS adding softness, but if you're shooting at like 1/400th of a second on something like a 100mm, you're going to have a sharp shot no matter what because any movement is going to be overcome by the fast shutter speed, but if you're shooting at like 1/30th with that same lens, there's going to be a slight softness because of the ever changing view on the other end. Youre likely never going to notice it if you're shooting objects close up, but if you're shooting a landscape at such a slow speed, some softness can occur (at least that's the theory) If you shoot a fast shutter speed, there really is no point in having the IS turned on anyways because at that point you're just wasting battery.

I use IS when taking pictures of the moon when I'm at 400mm focal length on my 7D, but i'm shooting at like 1/1000th of a second, so the shots are coming out sharp, but that's all down to the speed of the shutter. The IS is just to keep me stable so i can actually focus on the moon, otherwise it's a bitch. (unless i tripod it, then i'll have it turned off)

there's a lot of contradicting information out there regarding this subject, it just all comes down to your comfort level and what you prefur. I've learned mostly due to having a few lenses without IS to hold the camera more stable, which in turn makes the IS work better for me when i do turn it on with my telephotos, when i first got them, i was all over the place and relying on the IS to correct and save the picture. Now it mostly just aids getting things in order, and often i shoot with it off now unless it's getting late in the day.

[The1]

Originally Posted by Weebl

Comparing the two side by side, the skin in the revised one looks much better but.....
In boosting the saturation/color the fuchsia comes off stronger, much stronger and I am more drawn to that rather than what she is looking at. In the original I feel more drawn to her head than the shirt. Oh and just noticed, get the bra strap.
On a re-shoot of this photo with exactly the same location and placement. I think I would try to bring her chin lower (lots of neck showing now) and have her eyes up.
HDR too, that rust looks great.

comments worth less than what you paid for them. or $0.0000000002 cash value
have you checked out POTN?

Just some food for though, every time everyone gives me .02 cents or even 0.000000002 cash value, I'm always getting closer to a dollar

I took the picture to a different extreme, her shirt was so bright, i found it distracting when I brought exposures down to better levels... so next best thing after you mentioned saturation.

first i started by bringing down the saturation a little, but sadly this brough the train down into a very drab look. sooo, B&W

I'll try a bit of an HDR on it, though my skills are pretty poor.

[TL]

i have no real comments about the techniques but have you thought about opening a Flickr.com account to post your photos there? It's free (think there's a cap of 200 photos/month) if you want unlimited it's $25/year

[The1]

Originally Posted by TL

i have no real comments about the techniques but have you thought about opening a Flickr.com account to post your photos there? It's free (think there's a cap of 200 photos/month) if you want unlimited it's $25/year

I've got one, i think they bumped the limit up to 300/month now...

I don't use it too much, once in a while i'll throw something on.

should start using it more, I just don't like the extra step of linking when i can just do the original search once for it. but i should start.

[TL]

i see, i find it a bit annoying attaching images to each website so i just load everything to Flickr and then copy paste the BBcode all the forums/website i'm on