- Messages
- 4,182
- Name
- Paul
- Edit My Images
- Yes
I didn't want to put this in the critique section as I feel like I'm still too early in my photography and "new". But I am after some pointers and suggestions. I have very thick skin so please do not hold back...
Right, I'd like to think I'm getting the hang of controlling my camera and I'm now spending more time thinking about composition, "message" and content of my photos than the mechanical process of actually taking a photo. One exception to this is using the flash, when I have a load more things I need to think about and plan... but I am only three months in to DSLR photography!
Another thing I'm struggling with, especially for portraits is the relative exposure of the face versus the rest of the scene. I realise there are styles out there which overexpose skin tones almost to the point of blowing out. I'm not aiming for this, but I do quite like what I'd describe as a "studio effect" and is what I've been aiming for with both my shots and my PP. I'd very much like others' views on this though.
Below is a snapshot (I describe it as that, because that's what it is, rather than a carefully posed and lit headshot) - from today. It was part of a series but the one which captured the expression I preferred. My biggest questions thought are more about the technicals and PP effect (which I try to keep relatively light touch). I realise the composition is far from perfect - the subject being in a "jumperoo" certainly didn't help, but losing her left hand isn't ideal. Feel free to critique this if there are simple improvements I could have made... I took the shot with a moderate telephoto (about 120mm on an crop DSLR) and pulled back slightly to get marginally more context whilst avoiding some of the more distracting elements of the jumperoo contraption.
So, details:
EXIF should be available but explanation as follows:
1/180 as I wanted the flash to be the primary light source and, critically, I wanted the background to blacken (that is my camera's max flash sync speed).
f/5.6 because I wanted more than just her eyes in focus and because she was bouncing up and down it would have been a lot tricker at f/2.8! I'm particularly pleased that of all the shots I took, about 90% were pretty much bang in focus (this is actually one of the slightly weaker ones re: focus, but I preferred the expression). What I was less pleased with was forgetting to check my ISO which was at 1600 for the first batch (subsequently reduced to 400 for this)
Scene was metering about -4EV without flash (I think)
Flash was bounced from the upper wall/ceiling in front of her right shoulder, aimed between her and me. Catchlights suggest to me I probably aimed the flash a bit too high. There was a window behind me which probably helped fill in some shadows and meant I could get away just using the one flash on camera.
PP details (Lightroom):
WB to flash
Exposure tweaked slightly +.1EV
Contrast +15
Highlights -24
White point +60
Black point -17
Vibrance +15
HSL Luminance: Red+22, Orange+20, Yellow+50 (I use these as "starting point" skin tone adjustments but can cause problems with pink & yellow clothing)
A couple of graduated filters to bring down the highlights on the arms (I think the side effects of this are pretty obvious if you're looking for them) but her pink top was too bright otherwise
I spot removed a touch but didn't skin smooth as I don't think babies need it, TBH. I did enhance eyes and lips a touch.
Original RAW file here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/92g0b4fxdbv5o3x/20140504-IMGP9298-fl122.5%20mm-ISO%20400-exp1-180%20sec%20at%20%C6%92%20-%205.6-bias-1%20EV.DNG
Any suggestions on improvements (technical, PP or otherwise)? I do like the output, but I'm really struggling to know what to do differently in order to get something better... I need some guidance as I know it can be better this very amateurish attempt!
Thanks in advance.
Right, I'd like to think I'm getting the hang of controlling my camera and I'm now spending more time thinking about composition, "message" and content of my photos than the mechanical process of actually taking a photo. One exception to this is using the flash, when I have a load more things I need to think about and plan... but I am only three months in to DSLR photography!
Another thing I'm struggling with, especially for portraits is the relative exposure of the face versus the rest of the scene. I realise there are styles out there which overexpose skin tones almost to the point of blowing out. I'm not aiming for this, but I do quite like what I'd describe as a "studio effect" and is what I've been aiming for with both my shots and my PP. I'd very much like others' views on this though.
Below is a snapshot (I describe it as that, because that's what it is, rather than a carefully posed and lit headshot) - from today. It was part of a series but the one which captured the expression I preferred. My biggest questions thought are more about the technicals and PP effect (which I try to keep relatively light touch). I realise the composition is far from perfect - the subject being in a "jumperoo" certainly didn't help, but losing her left hand isn't ideal. Feel free to critique this if there are simple improvements I could have made... I took the shot with a moderate telephoto (about 120mm on an crop DSLR) and pulled back slightly to get marginally more context whilst avoiding some of the more distracting elements of the jumperoo contraption.
So, details:
EXIF should be available but explanation as follows:
1/180 as I wanted the flash to be the primary light source and, critically, I wanted the background to blacken (that is my camera's max flash sync speed).
f/5.6 because I wanted more than just her eyes in focus and because she was bouncing up and down it would have been a lot tricker at f/2.8! I'm particularly pleased that of all the shots I took, about 90% were pretty much bang in focus (this is actually one of the slightly weaker ones re: focus, but I preferred the expression). What I was less pleased with was forgetting to check my ISO which was at 1600 for the first batch (subsequently reduced to 400 for this)
Scene was metering about -4EV without flash (I think)
Flash was bounced from the upper wall/ceiling in front of her right shoulder, aimed between her and me. Catchlights suggest to me I probably aimed the flash a bit too high. There was a window behind me which probably helped fill in some shadows and meant I could get away just using the one flash on camera.
PP details (Lightroom):
WB to flash
Exposure tweaked slightly +.1EV
Contrast +15
Highlights -24
White point +60
Black point -17
Vibrance +15
HSL Luminance: Red+22, Orange+20, Yellow+50 (I use these as "starting point" skin tone adjustments but can cause problems with pink & yellow clothing)
A couple of graduated filters to bring down the highlights on the arms (I think the side effects of this are pretty obvious if you're looking for them) but her pink top was too bright otherwise
I spot removed a touch but didn't skin smooth as I don't think babies need it, TBH. I did enhance eyes and lips a touch.
Original RAW file here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/92g0b4fxdbv5o3x/20140504-IMGP9298-fl122.5%20mm-ISO%20400-exp1-180%20sec%20at%20%C6%92%20-%205.6-bias-1%20EV.DNG
Any suggestions on improvements (technical, PP or otherwise)? I do like the output, but I'm really struggling to know what to do differently in order to get something better... I need some guidance as I know it can be better this very amateurish attempt!
Thanks in advance.