weekly Sheylara (DSLR Noob) 52 for 2016 - Week 19-22 added

Effort i like, b&w works well.
 
Hi Sheylara love the red of the handbag against the black ....but I do like blacks to be really black, just my personal preference ...for a moody, secretive shot which was your intention I would have stuck with sunglasses, phone and maybe some keys. I use matt black card for black backgrounds.....it works well.

Your set up sounds like mine with my camera balanced on a couple of books and a box of tissues :)

Effort is magic ...perfect for the theme, love the composition :clap:
 
Last edited:
Personal certainly fits the theme I have to confess far more rubbish in my handbag than there should be (lots of receipts, old tickets and stuff )
Effort - what a great picture you have captured it just right with the focus on the face.
 
I like Effort too. Perfect focus and PoV showing the eyes, just, over the top of the book. (y)
 
I like personal Sheylara.
People joke about it all the time, but the contents of a woman's handbag can be highly personal! (I love the bag too)
Effort is great too....I love to see kids engrossed in a book....whatever age!
 
anitacv said:
Hi
Like the colours and detail in your Personal shot. Contents of the handbag seem far too tidy to be true lol. Where's the screwed up tissue and the scrap of paper with a hastily written note! Your studio set up sounds a bit like mine
Love the Effort shot. You've caught the look of concentration, the little frown in particular. Great to see her reading a Real book too.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your nice comments! :) I made a choice to only display the tidy, colour-coordinated items in my handbag for artistic reasons. :LOL: Hmm, I thought I was the only one with such an amazing professional studio setup, but high five if you're in the same league as me! :D:wacky:

Hah, yes, I'm really glad she reads real books. She used to be on the iPad all the time starting from when she was able to sit up, but I think her mum started limiting her use more and more, so that's good! :)

robj20 said:
Effort i like, b&w works well.
Click to expand...

Thank you! :) I made it b&w only because the colours of everything were dull and didn't complement each other. Was surprised it worked better than I thought!

susiejb said:
Hi Sheylara love the red of the handbag against the black ....but I do like blacks to be really black, just my personal preference ...for a moody, secretive shot which was your intention I would have stuck with sunglasses, phone and maybe some keys. I use matt black card for black backgrounds.....it works well.

Your set up sounds like mine with my camera balanced on a couple of books and a box of tissues :)

Effort is magic ...perfect for the theme, love the composition :clap:
Click to expand...

Thanks for your comments and suggestions, Susie. :) I did set out to make the background really black, but only had that dark grey foam to use. I thought I could just darken it in Lightroom, but it turned out, I couldn't make it too dark without spoiling the look on the objects, so had to leave it dark grey. :p Yeah, your'e right, my items weren't secretive/moody enough, but I wanted it to colour coordinate against the red handbag and dark background, and my phone and keys weren't the right colour! :LOL:

Wow, another member to join my League of Amazing Professional Studios! (See my above reply to anitav.) (y) :D

minx said:
Personal certainly fits the theme I have to confess far more rubbish in my handbag than there should be (lots of receipts, old tickets and stuff )
Effort - what a great picture you have captured it just right with the focus on the face.
Click to expand...

Thanks, minx! :) As I mentioned above to the others, I also have a lot more rubbish in my handbag. Just wanted a colour-coordinated photo! :LOL: Perhaps my next challenge would be to make the bunch of real rubbish in my handbag look nice. :p

CliveNX said:
Effort is great, you can see the effort and concentration in that eyebrow. Well done.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Clive! :) Appreciate your comment!

d00d said:
I like Effort too. Perfect focus and PoV showing the eyes, just, over the top of the book. (y)
Click to expand...

Thanks, David! :) Fortunately, reading is a still activity, so it was not too hard to get the eyes sharp. :p

viv1969 said:
I like personal Sheylara.
People joke about it all the time, but the contents of a woman's handbag can be highly personal! (I love the bag too)
Effort is great too....I love to see kids engrossed in a book....whatever age!
Click to expand...

Than you, Ruth. Love your comments! :)[/QUOTE]
 
Week 14 - Technology

"When everyone wants to watch cricket but you don't."

I've been awfully busy and haven't had time to think up something good, so I've decided to use this shot I took on Sunday, which I did do for the theme but wasn't quite happy with.

It wasn't a posed shot; I just took it as it happened so I wasn't able to control some elements, like the busy, distracting objects and patterns everywhere. But, while I can't control the environment when I do candid "storytelling" shots, I do need to get better at spotting distracting details on my viewfinder (and camera screen) to see if I can reduce/remove as much as possible.


Technology by Sheylara, on Flickr
 
  • Like
Reactions: WMD
HI Sheylara. I don't find anything in the bg particularly distracting - the environment is what it is imo. I think it['s an excellent grab shot for the theme - the composition and use of DoF are especially good. Spot on. :clap:
 
Yup, that works for me Sheylara (y)

It tells a story and the photograph itself has been captured (and composed) thoughtfully - so it's not just a grabshot IMO. It makes me smile even more that there is no-one apparently watching the cricket, so it's a story of someone who doesn't want to offend by asking to change channels.

Good fun and a great idea for the theme. Lighting on the hand etc. are all good for me too and obvious DOF is spot on.
 
I like cricket oh yeah

... and no posers in this shot.

Classic use of DoF ... and over-the-shoulder never fails.
 
Sheylara hi, liking you Technology photo, seems that the view every night in most house up and down the country. Cool idea and good DoF
 
Technology - I like the over the shoulder POV. nothing distracting about the background for me.
 
Carl Ayling said:
HI Sheylara. I don't find anything in the bg particularly distracting - the environment is what it is imo. I think it['s an excellent grab shot for the theme - the composition and use of DoF are especially good. Spot on. :clap:
Click to expand...

Thanks for your comments, Carl! :) I'm glad you didn't find anything distracting in it. :p

pjm1 said:
Yup, that works for me Sheylara (y)

It tells a story and the photograph itself has been captured (and composed) thoughtfully - so it's not just a grabshot IMO. It makes me smile even more that there is no-one apparently watching the cricket, so it's a story of someone who doesn't want to offend by asking to change channels.

Good fun and a great idea for the theme. Lighting on the hand etc. are all good for me too and obvious DOF is spot on.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your interpretation of the back story, Paul. Made me smile to read that. :) And, of course, thanks for your comments, as always!

alsjazzera said:
I agree with the above comments, it works as it is
Click to expand...

Thank you, Allan. I'm glad it seems to work! ;)

d00d said:
I like cricket oh yeah

... and no posers in this shot.

Classic use of DoF ... and over-the-shoulder never fails.
Click to expand...

Thanks, David! :)

Emja said:
The background helps to tell the story here...so many choices in our technological age - but most of them seem to involve sport on this occasion ;) Lovely use of dof to suggest the (presently) unwatched cricket.
Click to expand...

Thanks for commenting, Emma! :)

purplepleaser said:
Sheylara hi, liking you Technology photo, seems that the view every night in most house up and down the country. Cool idea and good DoF
Click to expand...

Thank you, Lee! Seems there are lots of cricket fans here! :)

susiejb said:
Well spotted Sheylara ...it works really well for the theme. That's a familiar sight in our house when the sport is on at the weekend.....OH says he can watch both at once!
Click to expand...

Thanks, Susie! Lol, well, that too. My original idea was the caption the photo "When you want to watch both sports at once." Then, I decided the other one sounds better and is a bit more accurate. :)

LC2 said:
I agree, the shot works as is and the shallow DoF means that we don't really see the clutter.
WTF is he dong NOT watching the Cricket?????? :)
Click to expand...

Thank you for the comment, Tim! Yes, we all know the whole country is into cricket... but some do slip through the cracks! ;)

minx said:
Technology - I like the over the shoulder POV. nothing distracting about the background for me.
Click to expand...

Thank you!! Well, after the nth comment about the background not being distracting, I feel better about my photo. Thanks! :p
 
Week 15 - Horizontal

Decided to something abstract this week, solely because I haven't had time to go out to look for something horizontal in nature or architecture, which I originally wanted to. So, as the deadline looms, I find myself having to resort to trickery once again!

So, this is a curtain. First, I cheated by shooting it in portrait orientation, then flipping it horizontal so that I could get horizontal lines in landscape orientation. :p

Then I went to town with Lightroom sliders, completely changed the colour and made it funky looking so I can claim that it's abstract art (meaning if you don't like it, you're not artistic enough :LOL: just joking... really).

Then I decided it looked kinda plain and needed something behind the curtain, in silhouette, like a sunset with a palm tree. But I don't have any such photo and I've run out of time to take one, so I chose this photo of my niece and the family dog. Doesn't work quite as well as a sunset and palm tree, I feel, but it's something at least, lol.

Honestly, it's ok if people don't like it. It's a last-minute effort and it is abstract and weird. :whistle:


Horizontal by Sheylara, on Flickr
 
Last edited:
Nothing at all wrong with that Sheylara. Liked your thought processes behind the final production; the image behind draws the eye and the subtle nature of it's presence creates something for the viewer to look and wonder at. I like it - creative thinking . :clap:
 
Very creative Sheylara. It works really well especially with your niece and the dog.
 
Nice work ... (y)

slightly Banksey looking ... yes thanks Clive.

The purists would say it needs flipping.
 
Carl Ayling said:
Nothing at all wrong with that Sheylara. Liked your thought processes behind the final production; the image behind draws the eye and the subtle nature of it's presence creates something for the viewer to look and wonder at. I like it - creative thinking . :clap:
Click to expand...

Thank you for the nice comments, Carl. :)

Cobra said:
Very creative Sheylara. It works really well especially with your niece and the dog.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Chris! :)

CliveNX said:
I like it, great colour and slightly Banksey looking.
Click to expand...

d00d said:
Nice work ... (y)

slightly Banksey looking ... yes thanks Clive.

The purists would say it needs flipping.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Clive and David! I'm not completely familiar with Banksy's work (having only lived in the UK for a few years) but that sounds like a good compliment. :D

Oh, but what should I have flipped? :thinking:
 
Hi Sheylara, it's my first visit to your thread after my own big catch-up, so I've just had a gallop through your images and picked out some favourites so far.

Captive is spot on for the theme with those strong bars, and the contrasting out of focus background is colourful and gives a real sense of looking out from captivity.
Abandoned - well spotted! Perfect for the theme with that sad face and the people walking away in the background. Desaturating the colours adds a sad feel to the image, too (y)
Happy - well chosen props, and the bright colours and the smiling face of the tiger leave no doubt about this theme. Lovely OOF background and the low POV works very well.
Artificial - an original idea and I think you picked the right point to focus on, as the contact lens is the 'artificial' part of the image. Your model is sharp enough to complete the image, and B&W is the right choice.
Technology - Good idea for the theme. I don't find the BG distracting as it sets the environment, and the main points of interest are the two screens. The fact that they're both green and a similar size in the image make it all balance really well (y)
Horizonal - and now I'm up to date :) That bold blue and the strong lines work well together as an abstract, and the addition of your niece and dog come almost as a surprise when you notice them. Your explanation of your thought process is interesting and I think it works well. Definitely a creative take on the theme.

You're making some lovely images, especially as you're new to using a DSLR. I'll be following in future so hopefully I'll stay up to date now :)
 
Hi Sheylara, it's an interesting image and I like that. If it's a piece of art and a composition which is designed to be as it is, then I think it works really well. I like looking at it and would be happy to do so for longer - which is my definition of a good piece of art :)

If you'd wanted to simulate a silhouette, however, a couple of tweaks would be needed. Silhouettes have the light behind the subject, which means shadows being cast directly towards the camera (usually). There may well be a brighter area in the cloth corresponding to where the sun/light is coming from - perhaps just peeking around the side of the silhouetted subject but it could be anywhere. And the silhouette has to be colourless and basically just a darker tone (i.e. grey) applied over the cloth. You can do this with a darken/burn mask in photoshop.

So - I like the image as is but it would be intriguing to see it as a silhouette as well!
 
Manxmaid said:
Hi Sheylara, it's my first visit to your thread after my own big catch-up, so I've just had a gallop through your images and picked out some favourites so far.

Captive is spot on for the theme with those strong bars, and the contrasting out of focus background is colourful and gives a real sense of looking out from captivity.
Abandoned - well spotted! Perfect for the theme with that sad face and the people walking away in the background. Desaturating the colours adds a sad feel to the image, too (y)
Happy - well chosen props, and the bright colours and the smiling face of the tiger leave no doubt about this theme. Lovely OOF background and the low POV works very well.
Artificial - an original idea and I think you picked the right point to focus on, as the contact lens is the 'artificial' part of the image. Your model is sharp enough to complete the image, and B&W is the right choice.
Technology - Good idea for the theme. I don't find the BG distracting as it sets the environment, and the main points of interest are the two screens. The fact that they're both green and a similar size in the image make it all balance really well (y)
Horizonal - and now I'm up to date :) That bold blue and the strong lines work well together as an abstract, and the addition of your niece and dog come almost as a surprise when you notice them. Your explanation of your thought process is interesting and I think it works well. Definitely a creative take on the theme.

You're making some lovely images, especially as you're new to using a DSLR. I'll be following in future so hopefully I'll stay up to date now :)
Click to expand...
Wow, thank you so much for looking through all my photos and offering such thoughtful and kind comments to so many of them! Really appreciate you taking the time as comments, good and bad, help me learn. Thank you!

d00d said:
It's been said on here before .... something about things/people are best on the left of the frame. o_O

I flipped a pic in last years 52s and I think it worked.

But looking at your Horizontal again, I personally think it's best left as it is. :cool:
Click to expand...
Ah! I've never heard that one before and it's useful to know for the future. Thanks! :)

pjm1 said:
Hi Sheylara, it's an interesting image and I like that. If it's a piece of art and a composition which is designed to be as it is, then I think it works really well. I like looking at it and would be happy to do so for longer - which is my definition of a good piece of art :)

If you'd wanted to simulate a silhouette, however, a couple of tweaks would be needed. Silhouettes have the light behind the subject, which means shadows being cast directly towards the camera (usually). There may well be a brighter area in the cloth corresponding to where the sun/light is coming from - perhaps just peeking around the side of the silhouetted subject but it could be anywhere. And the silhouette has to be colourless and basically just a darker tone (i.e. grey) applied over the cloth. You can do this with a darken/burn mask in photoshop.

So - I like the image as is but it would be intriguing to see it as a silhouette as well!
Click to expand...

Thank you for your lovely comments and tips on making a silhouette! It's certainly helpful! Ashamedly, I still don't know how to work with masks. Just another one of those millions of things I need to spend more time on figuring out.

I did realise my silhouette wasn't quite a silhouette. It was all because of my rubbish cut-and-paste skills. :p I had to cut out the girl and dog from a rather messy background with lots of highlights and shadows everywhere, didn't have hours to spend with limited skills, so did a rather choppy job. When I tried to darken the image to make it more silhouettey, the jagged edges showed! So I had to leave it as was and merely adjusted the transparency.

I thought being able to see some details on girl and dog added a different kind of interest so I let that be an excuse for my shoddy work. :p
 
Winter said:
Thank you for your lovely comments and tips on making a silhouette! It's certainly helpful! Ashamedly, I still don't know how to work with masks. Just another one of those millions of things I need to spend more time on figuring out.

I did realise my silhouette wasn't quite a silhouette. It was all because of my rubbish cut-and-paste skills. :p I had to cut out the girl and dog from a rather messy background with lots of highlights and shadows everywhere, didn't have hours to spend with limited skills, so did a rather choppy job. When I tried to darken the image to make it more silhouettey, the jagged edges showed! So I had to leave it as was and merely adjusted the transparency.

I thought being able to see some details on girl and dog added a different kind of interest so I let that be an excuse for my shoddy work. :p
Click to expand...

It was only a suggestion really - if that was your intention. I agree that seeing some detail and therefore it not being a "true" silhouette is appealing and I do think that works as it is. There's no "shoddy work" that I can see here :)
 
pjm1 said:
It was only a suggestion really - if that was your intention. I agree that seeing some detail and therefore it not being a "true" silhouette is appealing and I do think that works as it is. There's no "shoddy work" that I can see here :)
Click to expand...
Aww, thanks! That's really kind of you to say. :)
 
Hi, I like this one of my favourites of the week it does look a little like barbed wire to me which adds a sinister nature to it, probably not your intension.
I think the girl and dog are on the right side of the frame for me as the dog is looking into the emptiness while the girl is walking off
 
I agree with the others, a very strong image for the theme and leaves plenty for interpretation, good stuff!
 
Ooh - I like this a lot Sheylara! I agree with Allan about the placing of the girl. I also thought of barbed wire, but it feels as if the girl is 'escaping' it somehow - and the dog is looking out for her and being protective. A very thought provoking image any which way, and well done for the fab PP on it :clap:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top