Critique A Little Feedback and some questions

It has already been said thankyou and I haven't spent nearly as much as it would cost me for a 1 to 1 I paid £2 for the adaptor for the flashs £2.60 for the umbrella and the flooring and backdrop came in at £20.

I am going to book at one to one and even beth on here has offered very kindly for me to come and watch her I'm going to book a one to one session after christmas, considering christmas is 5 Mondays away I don't really have the money right now i'm afraid.

I have my friends little girl and boy coming up today for a whirl I'm not going to do anything fancy as such just want to practise with the flash phil give me so lets hope I can get some decent looking photos!:)
 
This photo wouldn't be used at all but I was doing fine with the flashes then there out of nowhere a black line started to apear. I thought it could be some form of shadow but after moving the light about it wouldn't budge and i just thought I'd ask if anyone knows what caused it, there was nothing in the way of my lens and the settings were exactly the same. I used some natural light in my photos too without anything artificial just to try it and see considering the lighting at my house is rubbish but at theirs it was great!

The photo it's good I know that much I was just testing it to see what was going on lolIMG_6897.JPG
 
My first thought would be shutter speed, did you change it to a speed faster than the sync speed of the flash.

The lights on the right would show up due to the natural light in the room.


I just checked and the Sync speed for the Canon 600d is 1/200th second
 
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Sort that sync speed Caitlin! That would have been a cracker of a shot!!!

You might have accidentally twirled your dial and upped your shutter speed. I've done it before...
 
Much better shot but yeah, you screwed up your Snyc speed and caught the curtain.
 
That is a very good shot, you may be able to salvage it by cropping it to a head and shoulders image?
 
caitlinjade95 said:
This photo wouldn't be used at all but I was doing fine with the flashes then there out of nowhere a black line started to apear. I thought it could be some form of shadow but after moving the light about it wouldn't budge and i just thought I'd ask if anyone knows what caused it, there was nothing in the way of my lens and the settings were exactly the same. I used some natural light in my photos too without anything artificial just to try it and see considering the lighting at my house is rubbish but at theirs it was great!

The photo it's good I know that much I was just testing it to see what was going on lolView attachment 49961
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As others have said, this is becasue you have the flash snyc speed wrong.
 
I'm kicking myself now lol!

I've got some really good images, well I think so lol I'll pop some up when I've been through them the little boy was not up for it AT ALL haha but the little girl was bloody brilliant!

I used a ss of 1/200th which is the highest number it would allow me to go to with it but i kept the same settings through out some of the photos this happened right at the beginning, I took about 20 ones without the black on the same settings, I didn't adjust the settings and then all of a sudden it did this! lol baffles me because I didn't touch the flash or the camera settings!

I really hope I've got some good photos in this bunch!
 
caitlinjade95 said:
I used a ss of 1/200th which is the highest number it would allow me to go to with
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Two things.. this implies you're not shooting in manual. Are you? I really do think manual is simplest when using flash in a static situation; you don't have to second guess what the flash metering system will do.
IF you really took this at 1/200s - there's no EXIF data in the uploaded image for us to check - then that suggests there might be something amiss with your triggers. Perhaps.
 
yes, I always shoot in manual always have done :)

It could be that It's something I'll have to check next time so if I use a lower number for a slower shutter speed than 1/200th then it will give me that black line? I need to stay at 1/200 or above?
 
caitlinjade95 said:
yes, I always shoot in manual always have done :)

It could be that It's something I'll have to check next time so if I use a lower number for a slower shutter speed than 1/200th then it will give me that black line? I need to stay at 1/200 or above?
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You need to have the shutter speed at 1/200 or longer, may be at 1/150 or 1/125.

If you look that the pictures in this page you can see what the effect of using shutter speeds faster than 1/200 have

http://digital-photography-school.com/understand-flash-sync-speed-so-you-dont-sink-your-photo-shoot/
 
Hi, again!
Still working on editing the images and I'm much happier with them lighting wise but I really ballsed up with the background of the white and really under estimated how creased it really was!
I have about 9 like this and because of the lights im struggling to fix them at all!! If anyone has a clue on how I could correct the issue which is obvious from the photo lol I would appreciate it ALOTIMG_6926.JPG
 
Looking at this it seems the lighting has gone backwards a little. this has the feel of a family snap rather than a studio style image. What did you use to light this?

It's a bit flat and muddy and needs a bit more life in the eyes. Over all the exposure is a little under

As far as the background goes, you need the subject a little further away from it, lower dof, longer focal length or all of the above. Of course giving it an iron would also help a great deal. This is not a fix it in post moment, more of a learn to get it right next time.

What sort of look did you want from the background?
 
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I dont mean the lighting in this image I've kept all images so I can keep note of which I like the most/editing etc so I'm not concerned with the lighting in this one it's not one I would be using I wanted to find one with a clear example of the bad background that's all and this was the best one to show you

But I understand exactly what your saying in the light refering to this image, once I process all the ones I like then I'll upload to onto here

Yes an iron would have been helpful but in the light there and then it really didn't look that bad maybe one or two spots I would be able to clone out and yes I know what your saying about getting it right in camera but I'm trying to learn as much as I can so wondered if there was a way around being able to sort creases out in any backdrop

I wasn't going to a particular look just a crease-free one lol

Thankyou
 
caitlinjade95 said:
wondered if there was a way around being able to sort creases out in any backdrop
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No way around it. It's creased and sharp. Don't get into that habit early of "if I make a mistake I will fix it in Photoshop"

Of course if this is not the lighting of the final set then it could be a totally different situation in the correct images. The lighting will make a massive difference to how much of background is visible.

Honestly no point sharing dud images here. Share images that make the final set so we can give some genuine useful feedback.
 
caitlinjade95 said:
Hi, again!
Still working on editing the images and I'm much happier with them lighting wise but I really ballsed up with the background of the white and really under estimated how creased it really was!
I have about 9 like this and because of the lights im struggling to fix them at all!! If anyone has a clue on how I could correct the issue which is obvious from the photo lol I would appreciate it ALOTView attachment 50869
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You could try selecting the background with the magic wand and either surface blur or dust & scratches filter on a new layer.
 
juggler said:
You could try selecting the background with the magic wand and either surface blur or dust & scratches filter on a new layer.
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But she wants to keep the lights I think. A background fade would be pretty easy but not keeping the tiny lights .
 
asphotographymk said:
But she wants to keep the lights I think. A background fade would be pretty easy but not keeping the tiny lights .
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The lights hardly show, and if you up the exposure to get it where it should be they lose all colour too. I tried it... Not sure the lights would work if the background had a strong(ish) light on it, they look really low power and the light would overpower them I suspect - but I'm guessing as I've never tried this. Think it will be a bit of a balancing act with the lights to get it right in camera. @cargo managed it with a similar background set up, so it's possible to do and I'm sure others or @cargo may have some useful tips.
 
This is why I asked exactly what Catlin wants to achieve with the background as that would make a big difference.
 
Sorry andy I didn't think about the lights, I think if I was to do it again I would do so without the lights they were very strong lights but I think that flash is far too strong which dulls them out so yes I'll make sure to loose them next time! Certainly not the best photo you'll ever see but I'm much happier with these for me trying out something new with the flashes now sure what you guys ill thinkIMG_7035.jpg IMG_7091.jpg
 
I've got nothing to add in terms of crit but i'd like to say that i'm impressed by the progress caitlin is making , and by the paitence and support shown by various members (especial Phil, Andy, and Bethy) in mentoring her to this point

I'd also note that although i'm an experienced tog , i absolutely suck at studio work ( I don't offer it professionally before anyone says, I only do portrait shots on location and then only as part of a wedding/christening etc) , and reading in particular phils early posts on this thread jhas been useful to me too
 
caitlinjade95 said:
Sorry andy I didn't think about the lights, I think if I was to do it again I would do so without the lights they were very strong lights but I think that flash is far too strong which dulls them out so yes I'll make sure to loose them next time! Certainly not the best photo you'll ever see but I'm much happier with these for me trying out something new with the flashes now sure what you guys ill thinkView attachment 50985 View attachment 50986
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Its good to see you playing with lights a little. One thing that would instantly improve these would be a hair light to add some separation from the background.

The first image looks a little soft on the eyes and the second is lacking a bit of life in the eyes.

Also don't be scared to move the focus point away from the centre of the frame.

We seem ti have one extreme to another here going from an image that feels a little flat to something really high contrast. Now at the stage you are at that is only a good thing as it shows you are trying different things.
 
big soft moose said:
I've got nothing to add in terms of crit but i'd like to say that i'm impressed by the progress caitlin is making , and by the paitence and support shown by various members (especial Phil, Andy, and Bethy) in mentoring her to this point
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Agreed... On both points. ;)
 
caitlinjade95 said:
Sorry andy I didn't think about the lights, I think if I was to do it again I would do so without the lights they were very strong lights but I think that flash is far too strong which dulls them out so yes I'll make sure to loose them next time! Certainly not the best photo you'll ever see but I'm much happier with these for me trying out something new with the flashes now sure what you guys ill thinkView attachment 50985 View attachment 50986
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Balancing flash and ambient is another skill to add, it's not straightforward, but you can do it.

As above, you're getting there now. There's no end to the learning.
 
big soft moose said:
I've got nothing to add in terms of crit but i'd like to say that i'm impressed by the progress caitlin is making , and by the paitence and support shown by various members (especial Phil, Andy, and Bethy) in mentoring her to this point

I'd also note that although i'm an experienced tog , i absolutely suck at studio work ( I don't offer it professionally before anyone says, I only do portrait shots on location and then only as part of a wedding/christening etc) , and reading in particular phils early posts on this thread jhas been useful to me too
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Thanks Pete.
Compared to Andy and Beth, I also suck at studio work though :)
 
Sorry for such delayed replies on here guys I've had serious trouble with my internet grrr!

i feel im improving but still a long way to go and thankyou for the hair light comment i've been doing some more reading up on lighting and things like that I'm definitely trying to try new things and get experience getting things right and wrong so I can learn from them.

I haven't taken any more photos recently but still trying to snap some of my niece here and there when she allows me lol whilst I've not been doing photos Ive been doing lots of reading and have bought some books I can read over Christmas ready for the new year!

I'm going to spend some time reading back through the whole thread to read up more on pointers and tips I have been given along the way!

Thankyou everyone for all your help along the way - I'd still be stuck back where I was if I hadn't had the advice and help off everyone on the thread. I hope you all have a lovely Christmas! :)
 
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