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Already Bored posted:Portrait of Devo's stage mask. Is this intentionally blurred? The white spots are sort of distracting as is the reflections/highlights in the the top portion of the mask. The shadow side is also too dark for my taste, could do with a bit of fill light. Overall I don't really understand it, maybe it's just me.
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Jan 14, 2012 16:20
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Apologies for the lateness in response, been a bit distracted recently. Thanks for the feedback guys!McMadCow posted:What were you trying to accomplish with these? Example of cheese that she had done previously (not by me)   Bottom Liner posted:I really like the second one, what did you shoot that with? It has a great timeless feel, though the first is probably what most people would prefer from a portrait. Being a former music student makes that whiteboard feel very familiar to me. Thanks, while the room wasn't that exciting for me personally it meant a lot to her as it is the room she's practiced in for years and years. I'm glad you like the second one, I'm trying to experiment with being a bit more controlling with my environmental portraits to try and make them more visually striking. They were both shot with natural light on My Bronica SQ-B using some Fuji film, but I can't remember what type. I adore shooting portraits on this camera, you try to make every shot count because you only have 12 shots and I'm a big fan of the square format. m4mbo fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Jan 14, 2012 |
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Jan 14, 2012 20:18
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m4mbo posted:Apologies for the lateness in response, been a bit distracted recently. Thanks for the feedback guys! Yeah, you did a really good job I thought. Like I could totally see them in a supporting interview or something. She's obviously a flautist (is that a real thing right?) You really let the background inform the photograph about the person you're shooting - maybe having some musical notes on that special music board would have helped but honestly - two thumbs up from me. She's a really stunning girl too which always helps - but I feel you would have accomplished the intent regardless of the subject.
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Jan 14, 2012 20:33
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Squatted an underground parking lot for some pictures IMG_5923 by avoyer, on Flickr  IMG_5934 by avoyer, on Flickr  IMG_5975 by avoyer, on Flickr My first time using a wireless + umbrella, was fun! 
xenilk fucked around with this message at 07:11 on Jan 15, 2012 |
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Jan 15, 2012 07:05
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Paragon8 posted:Yeah, you did a really good job I thought. Like I could totally see them in a supporting interview or something. She's obviously a flautist (is that a real thing right?) Cheers dude, that's exactly what I was trying to do. I was spoiled really because there's so much stuff to give that information that you can use when it comes to music. Yeah flautists are real, but they play flutes, Ellie plays the Baroque Oboe and the recorder. Loosely related fact of the day: some recorders are as big as a person! I'm cooking for her tonight, I'm sure she'll be very pleased to hear that Thanks
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Jan 15, 2012 11:38
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m4mbo posted:Cheers dude, that's exactly what I was trying to do. I was spoiled really because there's so much stuff to give that information that you can use when it comes to music. She should be cooking for you!
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Jan 15, 2012 13:11
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xenilk posted:Squatted an underground parking lot for some pictures This last one is really awesome, though I feel you should have exposed the background a little more, I understand what you're going for, but I think it would have been more powerful if we could just see her dark, dank surroundings. Furthermore, while you use split toning expertly, start considering using other colour palettes, I think the purple doesn't really aid the narrative of the picture, whereas a slight sickly green or some such might have.
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Jan 15, 2012 14:42
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Paragon8 posted:She should be cooking for you! There will be, er, other methods of payment... haha e: Just FYI she is actually my gf, I don't seduce ALL of my models m4mbo fucked around with this message at 15:13 on Jan 15, 2012 |
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Jan 15, 2012 15:09
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XTimmy posted:This last one is really awesome, though I feel you should have exposed the background a little more, I understand what you're going for, but I think it would have been more powerful if we could just see her dark, dank surroundings. Furthermore, while you use split toning expertly, start considering using other colour palettes, I think the purple doesn't really aid the narrative of the picture, whereas a slight sickly green or some such might have. I tried a few new Photoshop actions I just bought a few weeks ago and raised the exposure of the background a little bit. Do you think that's better?  IMG_5975-2 by avoyer, on Flickr Also, on a technical note, with that same lightning setup (flash was a 1/4 if I remember correctly)... which setting do I change to get more background while not over-exposing her?
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Jan 15, 2012 18:38
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xenilk posted:Also, on a technical note, with that same lightning setup (flash was a 1/4 if I remember correctly)... which setting do I change to get more background while not over-exposing her? You posted the girl on the bench in SAD - I don't know how you manage to make your models look so candid and comfortable but I want to know! In terms of the 2 different ones in the parking garage - I prefer the first edit. The second one looks a little too washed out for my taste, and I like the higher contrast in the first. e: Just processing some pics from my brother's engagement session yesterday. I didn't realize he had on loving skate shoes until we got out there.  Here's a few starters: IMG_2832-2 by Breanne Unger, on Flickr  IMG_2778 by Breanne Unger, on Flickr  IMG_2764-2 by Breanne Unger, on Flickr CarrotFlowers fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Jan 15, 2012 |
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Jan 15, 2012 18:46
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CarrotFlowers posted:You posted the girl on the bench in SAD - I don't know how you manage to make your models look so candid and comfortable but I want to know! Skate shoes? drat, ha ha but how you framed the pictures you can't tell so you did good. Love the location, the texture of the first one is awesome and the background of the second one (and third one) is breath taking. I like the poses, with couples I also like when one is not looking at the camera and the other person (usually the girl) looks calmly at the camera... it gives some sort of "personal moment" vibe As for your question, mmmm well I'm usually calm when I take the photos and I take my time and try to be zen as much as I can (except when it's freezing cold like yesterday... I felt bad for the model and had to mentally restrain myself to rush the shoot lol I usually demonstrate the posture (in a very bad way) and after I tell her to take long breathes and relax.. also I find that open hands (relaxed, not pushed against the surface... like your putting your hand on something you have to be careful about) / soft knees helps giving a candid look Hope that helps, I'll try to make mental notes next time I go out so I can elaborate more ha ha
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Jan 15, 2012 19:18
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CarrotFlowers posted:I think the first picture is the strongest, the composition really works. The background is great, DOF is great and they look relaxed - more relaxed than most would be in the cold, I imagine. The second one is also very good, but not as strong, perhaps because they don't take up much of the picture. His skin looks a bit reddish in the last one, perhaps it's from the cold.
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Jan 15, 2012 20:50
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m4mbo posted:I wanted to shoot some portraits of Ellie as a musician that weren't overly cheesy, she's had some of the standard studio portraits done and I wanted to try and produce something a bit more mature. I've gotta say, I just didn't get any real feeling of a narrative from those shots. I mean that in two ways: -I didn't get a sense of the person she is. -I didn't get a sense of her as a character doing something. And I think that to have a successful portrait you should have either of those or both. In the two shots you showed, there wasn't anything particularly personal or revealing shown about her. She's a musician, but she wasn't playing her instrument. Or maybe more interestingly, she wasn't anticipating a performance or thinking about a new piece. I get no sense of her dedication to her art. She's not really doing anything beyond sitting there with an instrument in her hand. You got the "portrait" part of her in that they are two reasonably nice pictures in which she appears, but nothing beyond that. Bringing her out of the studio isn't enough to elevate the shot above "standard studio portraits". I guess I would ask you this: If she was a famous musician and Vanity Fair asked you to shoot the pictures that went along with the 6 page in-depth article/interview about her, would these shots work? I don't think they would. So I would encourage you to think along those sort of lines. A good portrait tells a story about a person, a run-of the mill portrait is a picture with a person in it.
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Jan 16, 2012 08:21
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Here are the next few from my 365 project, I appreciate you guys' comments and critique: Day 4 I wanted a fun shot today, and Evan was the perfect subject for a silly shot like this. She's a great baker, and I wanted to highlight that somehow, and this fits her personality perfectly. The side lighting was really needed to seperate the flour from the wall. I wanted to keep this photo simple and be all about the action.  Day 4 by David Childers, on Flickr Day 5 We were sitting at Barnes and Noble today looking through girly magazines when I had the idea to do a beauty shot. I asked Ericka to be my guinea pig and she happily obliged. This was a great exercise to work on soft light and skin retouching. If you light it well you don't have to do much retouching.  Day 5 by David Childers, on Flickr Day 6 I've been watching a lot of Ken Burns documentaries lately and I wanted to create a photo that reminds me of his work. A big part of his films is the photos showing American lifestyle and culture. My favorites are the 70s era photos, especially in the Jazz series. I love the old paint and the mood the lighting, both in the house and the flash, create here. I wanted an old film look here and I think I got close.  Day 6 by David Childers, on Flickr
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Jan 16, 2012 09:35
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McMadCow posted:Stuff Good points, I agree with you in that that is what a portrait should do. And while I have some (probs pride based) objections I agree with your criticisms. I think its going to be a challenge to shoot her playing. She doesn't play the harpsichord, its just a standard accompaniment to her oboe stuff and I feel having her play one of her wind instruments, for these photos, where I want her to look pretty, is going to cause problems. Specifically you look rather odd when playing an oboe. While I don't just want to shoot pretty pictures, that is a large consideration for these at least. The thing I need to work on then is too get some sense of preparation or anticipation. Getting some kind of sense of character and intensity of her dedication is something I can work on. I'm going to shoot her again next month some time so I'm going to try and work on work on the things you've said and see if I can produce something with a bit more insight. One of my fears though is that it can be easy to stray back into cheesiness when you're trying to present a strong narrative I appreciate a harsh crit, it pushes me further so thanks.
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Jan 16, 2012 13:14
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xenilk posted:I tried a few new Photoshop actions I just bought a few weeks ago and raised the exposure of the background a little bit. I think you would have needed to do it on-shoot, or use a mask, it's about the relationship between subject and background, not the whole image itself. To answer your question you'd use shutter speed, you'd make it slower, your flashes only fire for say 1/4000th of a second, so so long as the camera can sync up with the flash (for most cameras ~1/200th of a second) the shutter speed won't matter in terms of the exposure of a flashed area. This is one reason I envy photographers, try controlling ambient when all your lights are constant and you can't move from 1/50th of a second. The one issue I would run into in a area with a-lot of ambient is avoiding colour casts, you'd probably have to have shaded her from the fluros then lit her.
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Jan 16, 2012 13:37
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m4mbo posted:Good points, I agree with you in that that is what a portrait should do. Honestly I'd agree with you with regards to having her not play an instrument. There are very few good "occupation" portraits that have the subject actually doing their occupation. You don't see painters standing next to an easel with a dab of paint on the brush ready to touch canvas or writers hammering away at a computer keyboard. Unless it's a shot captured during the performance I think you're better off with her just holding the instrument. If the intent is to produce a publicity portrait for interviews, or the back of her album cover then I think you've done a good job. If you want to create a piece of art you could probably push yourself more. Try and convey that she's a musician without using an instrument maybe.
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Jan 16, 2012 14:59
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Paragon8 posted:Honestly I'd agree with you with regards to having her not play an instrument. There are very few good "occupation" portraits that have the subject actually doing their occupation. You don't see painters standing next to an easel with a dab of paint on the brush ready to touch canvas or writers hammering away at a computer keyboard. Unless it's a shot captured during the performance I think you're better off with her just holding the instrument. The intent was the former but I think I'm going to go for the latter with my next attempts. I wouldn't say I'm going for 'art' but I want to be able to produce stuff that has some amount of conceptual thinking in it. I suppose that's something that will come with work and practice. I might have the opportunity to shoot some interesting famous (used to be at least) people this year in this style so I def want to try and get it down! Going to go stare at some Arnold Newman for a while.
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Jan 16, 2012 16:48
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XTimmy posted:I think you would have needed to do it on-shoot, or use a mask, it's about the relationship between subject and background, not the whole image itself. To answer your question you'd use shutter speed, you'd make it slower, your flashes only fire for say 1/4000th of a second, so so long as the camera can sync up with the flash (for most cameras ~1/200th of a second) the shutter speed won't matter in terms of the exposure of a flashed area. This is one reason I envy photographers, try controlling ambient when all your lights are constant and you can't move from 1/50th of a second. Thanks for the explanation! I think it's something I'll have to get used to. I'm used with dealing with natural lighting and I feel like there will be a learning curve with the flash as well to shoot and know what I want to get instead of just guesstimating what will do what. I'll have to re-visit that parking lot.. it's super quiet on the weekend and they didn't seem to care (or see what I was doing I guess)
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Jan 16, 2012 17:02
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m4mbo posted:I think its going to be a challenge to shoot her playing. She doesn't play the harpsichord, its just a standard accompaniment to her oboe stuff and I feel having her play one of her wind instruments, for these photos, where I want her to look pretty, is going to cause problems. Specifically you look rather odd when playing an oboe. While I don't just want to shoot pretty pictures, that is a large consideration for these at least. The thing I need to work on then is too get some sense of preparation or anticipation. It really isn't a difficult thing to shoot someone and get their personality while they're playing their instrument, though. It doesn't mean you have to catch her in the moment of blowing on the oboe, either. What about making notes on her sheet music? Or putting her instrument together? Something that shows what she does, but also the personal touch that she brings with it. Just something to think about.    
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Jan 16, 2012 18:53
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McMadCow posted:It really isn't a difficult thing to shoot someone and get their personality while they're playing their instrument, though. It doesn't mean you have to catch her in the moment of blowing on the oboe, either. What about making notes on her sheet music? Or putting her instrument together? Something that shows what she does, but also the personal touch that she brings with it. Just something to think about. I hope I don't sound contrary, because someone responding to constructive criticism with nothing but rebuttals is very annoying, and I value your opinion. I like the idea of working with the sheet music, but the playing I'm not sure about, tbh I don't think she will want to be shot like that, the embouchure for playing is constant, and doesn't marry with the kind of image I'm trying to create. There's a lot I can work with around playing though, construction, reed scraping, and I'm going to have a think as to how I could work her idiosyncrasies into the picture.
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Jan 16, 2012 19:26
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m4mbo posted:I hope I don't sound contrary, because someone responding to constructive criticism with nothing but rebuttals is very annoying, and I value your opinion. Take his advice, your original shots are pretty boring. On the second she's just standing in front of a wall, listlessly holding an instrument. That doesn't say anything about being a musician - it just looks like she's holding a prop.
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Jan 16, 2012 19:36
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m4mbo posted:I hope I don't sound contrary, because someone responding to constructive criticism with nothing but rebuttals is very annoying, and I value your opinion. I feel the need to get involved. McMadCow is trying to get you to look beyond yourself and think of what could be, rather than what is. What is is that those music portraits are technically acceptable and creatively bland. There's not a lot of technical fault with either (though i don't like the huge nose-shadow on the piano one) but, creatively, it's just a person who is there with an instrument, showing the generic "picture smile" you see in every wal-mart photo ever. This is not necessarily bad, but think of what could be! You could get a wider shot showing the concert hall with her in a spotlight. You could get her playing or writing or turning a sheet. You could experiment with the colors of the stage or the form of the instruments! There's so much more available to you! Branch out! Live a little! Take this "technically correct, creatively bland" photo and jazz it up a little!
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Jan 16, 2012 19:42
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Sorry I guess I'm doing a bit of a defensive reflex thing. I want to take my stuff to the next level and while I've been disagreeing on finer points I know McMadCow is right and the stuff he's saying is stuff I'm going to be taking on board and planning for with my next shoot. m4mbo fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Jan 16, 2012 |
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Jan 16, 2012 19:47
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Anyone has some experience shooting two friends (girls) ? If anyone had shoots like that I'd love to find some for inspiration because I can't think of anything that doesn't look awfully cliche.
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Jan 16, 2012 20:44
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What is it you're looking to achieve with the pics / what's your goal? Here are three shots of female friends of mine from over the past couple of years:    EDIT: Thinking behind #1 - kind of fascinated with her face so it was an attempt at symmetry. Thinking behind #2 - there wasn't any - this pic is about 3 years old I think. Thinking behind #3 - She's a very petite, fairy-esque creature of a girl and she loves nature. We went outside, a ladybird landed on her hand. My suggestion would be to go with their personalities and don't put too much (nor too little) thought into it. Is there something essential to their personalities that makes you go "that is so like GIRL X"? Gazmachine fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Jan 16, 2012 |
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Jan 16, 2012 21:21
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Gazmachine posted:What is it you're looking to achieve with the pics / what's your goal? Convey complicity and friendship without falling on the overdone/fake category. I'm thinking I'll look at couple pictures that don't involve kissing.
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Jan 16, 2012 21:26
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I take pictures of College girls for a living. (not) IMG_6366 by avoyer, on Flickr
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Jan 17, 2012 07:01
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There's a shadow above her mouth that looks like a moustache and now all I can see is Cesar Romero. 
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Jan 17, 2012 07:06
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aliencowboy posted:There's a shadow above her mouth that looks like a moustache and now all I can see is Cesar Romero. It's the stupid duckface Edit: You're supposed to be hypnotized by the pushup bra, obviously. (lol) Edit edit: now that's all I can see... let me try to fix it.  IMG_6366 by avoyer, on Flickr better? --- While I'm at it here's a new portrait:  IMG_5751 by avoyer, on Flickr xenilk fucked around with this message at 07:59 on Jan 18, 2012 |
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Jan 17, 2012 07:15
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I had a session with a friend that wasn't very photogenic, and I had a hard time opening her up to the camera. I couldn't get any expression out of her but her basic smiles. What are some tricks you guys use?  http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidchilders/6724647341/ by David Childers, on Flickr  http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidchilders/6724647605/ by David Childers, on Flickr  http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidchilders/6724637489/ by David Childers, on Flickr
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Jan 19, 2012 09:56
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Bottom Liner posted:I had a session with a friend that wasn't very photogenic, and I had a hard time opening her up to the camera. I couldn't get any expression out of her but her basic smiles. What are some tricks you guys use? Ask her to do some non-smiling / "neutral" portraits, looking past the camera, then ask her to do some closed-mouth smiling pictures, then ask her to turn into the photo (so get her to start with her head turned 45 degrees-ish to the left or right, along with her shoulders, and get her to turn into the lens). Then do that with and without smiles. Then ask her to close her eyes to avoid her having to strain and keep blinking and then ask her to open and look straight into the lens. If you shoot as soon as her eyes are fully open, it sometimes mitigates their subconscious need to make a photo face, which of course always looks strained, even on those who aren't nervous. The real reason for doing all that, apart from getting some variety, is to (a) get her used to being photographed and more importantly (b) get her so busy thinking about what she is being instructed to do it distracts her to a point and makes her think less about it. The other classic is tell them you're just doing a shot to test the lighting. They will usually relax in the knowledge that this shot "doesn't count". Just pretend to change something on your lights or in camera and tell them you're doing a test shot. Works with a grey card if you have one. Get them to pose with one for actual WB correction later and then ask them to hide it / put it down and make something up about needing a "comparison shot" to ensure that the colours are right, or whatever. This can lead to a more relaxed portrait and sometimes people still smile a little bit because they do it automatically. You'll need to try various things in combination, but the one thing that you should always try and keep in mind for any "unphotogenic person" shoot is that you should pay careful attention to what they're doing with their face and where they're looking, etc and try and react to it. I've got a random bit of work to do later from a call I had earlier this week, which is a local beautician's wanting three straight up, studio-lit staff portraits, so I might be having these very troubles later. They don't want any context, or any creativity, just them and a white background. These are honestly some of the toughest shoots I do, because there's no premise, no gimmicks and no props to fall back on: just awkward person who isn't used to being photographed, white background and big lights. It's food on the table, though, so i can't complain! EDIT: If she is a friend, too, you can tell her she has a "photo face" that she pulls every time and show her those photos, then explain that you're going to try and do some shots that get rid of it. Poke fun a bit if she's the kind of person who doesn't take that badly (and if you're the kind of person who pokes fun).
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Jan 19, 2012 11:43
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Too cold to shoot outside now 
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Jan 19, 2012 18:50
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I think this is great. I would've probably tried for more shots in order to get either no hair or more hair over her face, as I feel that piece of hair bisecting her brow and crossing directly across her eyes to be distracting. Though, in my experience with cats (holding them by the stomach and jumping around with them), you sometimes take what you can get. Also, I don't like that busy poo poo at the top. The light fixture which then intersects with the dirty vent as your eye follows the leading lines -- it throws off the simplistic feel of the photo with some ugly business.
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Jan 19, 2012 20:34
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Subjunctivitis posted:I think this is great. I would've probably tried for more shots in order to get either no hair or more hair over her face, as I feel that piece of hair bisecting her brow and crossing directly across her eyes to be distracting. Though, in my experience with cats (holding them by the stomach and jumping around with them), you sometimes take what you can get. Thanks. I agree with you about the additional shots. Personally, I feel I need more movement on the right side of her dress. I like the bulb... hate the vent. I may just edit that (or both) of them out. Thanks again
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Jan 19, 2012 20:51
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sw1gger posted:Too cold to shoot outside now drat this is good. I love the concept and the way you executed it. The overly warm tones are really great to me due to her white dress. Really digging it
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Jan 19, 2012 21:12
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Gazmachine posted:What is it you're looking to achieve with the pics / what's your goal? What kind of lighting do you use for something like this?
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Jan 19, 2012 23:08
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the posted:What kind of lighting do you use for something like this? Catchlights say two softboxes camera right and left.
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Jan 19, 2012 23:15
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PushingKingston posted:Catchlights say two softboxes camera right and left. is there a cheap way to do this
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Jan 19, 2012 23:23
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the posted:is there a cheap way to do this A corner in a building with windows on each wall, stand in the corner, have your subject face you, bam 2 softboxes camera right and left.
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Jan 19, 2012 23:41
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