I was going to go out again this evening and re-shoot a couple of the shots that I took last night that didn't quite work out, but it's cold, I only had four hours sleep, and I felt like a change. Add to which that my wife was quite happy to be photographed this evening, and this is the result.
I should probably take more shots of my wife, but our littlest (two in February) still stays up till about 11pm, so we often don't have too much time to ourselves. Tonight though she went down at about 8.30. I suspect that she'll make up for it tomorrow by staying awake till two in the morning ;-)
capture date camera lens focal length aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality RAW converter cropped?
10.00pm on 9/12/04
Canon 20D
EF 17-40 f/4L USM
40mm (64mm equiv.)
f/4.0
1/60
shutter priority
+0.0
evaluative
100
580EX and 420EX
RAW
DPP
no
comment by Vahid at 12:07 AM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
Interesting. I spent quite some time staring at this picture.
comment byCarrie at 12:18 AM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
This photo is striking. I love the multiple areas of interest. My eyes just keep wandering around the picture in awe!
comment byChelsea June at 12:19 AM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
Oh very cool photo.
comment bybob at 12:46 AM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
Very nice. I like the turn of the camera so that your wife's head is to the left and her reflection to the right. Speaking of the reflection, that's what really makes the picture. Well, that plus the red of nails, shirt, and lips.
comment by krissy at 01:52 AM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
all of your photos are GORGEOUS. is the canon 20d the camera you always use ? your work is very inspiring. i'm really into photography, especially black and white so i HAD to compliment you on your breathtaking work
comment bytomscott at 04:25 AM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
interesting picture, i almost overlooked all the detail in the glass ball
well done
comment by asmith at 05:11 AM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
Just awesome....
comment byThe Gorilla at 06:22 AM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
The light fixture above your head was the first thing I noticed. I see the flash mounted. Did it fire, or was it used to trigger your other flash? Looks great. (Note to self... Get an external flash.)
comment bynathan at 08:11 AM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
very well composed shot. i also really like te details in the ball. it invites you to really look for awhile.
comment byAaron at 08:20 AM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
Very nice photo ... I love the inverted face reflection. Well done.
comment bydjn1 at 10:33 AM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
krissy: I also have a G5, but it's been away for repair for the last couple of months. I'll probably start using it again some time soon.
The Gorilla: yes, both flashes fired. The 580 was bounced off the ceiling and the 420 was sat on the floor and bounced off the wall to add a bit of side-lighting.
comment byFrank at 01:29 PM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
Hi David, I hope your littlest slept through the night, and wasn't up abysmally early. (You've probably already heard of Ferber's book, and may not feel your child has any problems getting to sleep, but if you and your wife don't have enough time together, it might be a problem for you.)
Now, the picture: the colors are beautiful, nicely saturated; it might have been nice to work in a little purple with the reds, for a little variation (I'm trying to put myself in your shoes, willing to arrange elements...) But it's all very nicely shot, the only aspect I'm really not sure about the is the differential lighting on her two hands. The greater detail on her left hand (right to the viewer) from its extra light changes the balance of the composition.
But what do I know, you're stuff is much more popular than mine, so I'm sure it's probably fine.
comment bydjn1 at 01:35 PM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
Frank: thanks for the book reference.
As for the lighting: I agree, at least in part. I've not had two flashes for all that long so am still experimenting. What I think I should have done, in this instance, is alter the ratio; i.e. I wanted some side lighting, but think I could have probably toned it down a little.
comment bywookiee at 03:01 PM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
Love the unity of red and the slight reflection off the lipstick. Buy her a ruby ring.
comment bydjn1 at 09:22 PM (GMT) on 10 December, 2004
wookiee: good idea :-)
comment byEric at 02:49 AM (GMT) on 11 December, 2004
I am having some serious trouble taking indoor pictures of people. I can't get fast enough shudder speeds with out flash and when I use my built in flash, eh it sucks; I lose the whole element of the photo that I liked when I looked through the lens. I mean I can get some stuff if I shoot at ISO 1600 but then the pictures look really grainy. I have a Digital Rebel. I see you used 2(?) different flashes. Whats up with that? Can you explain to me the secrets of indoor low light photography? PLEASE! HELP!
comment bydjn1 at 10:17 AM (GMT) on 11 December, 2004
Eric: in my experience it's almost impossible to get good lighting with an onboard flash; the effect is way too harsh and the light is strongly directional. If you can run to it, get hold of a 420EX which has a bounce head; i.e. you can point it at something other than the main subject which is then lit by reflected light. With the majority of my indoor shots I use one flash and bounce it off the ceiling – it adds a much more natural light.
I was going to go out again this evening and re-shoot a couple of the shots that I took last night that didn't quite work out, but it's cold, I only had four hours sleep, and I felt like a change. Add to which that my wife was quite happy to be photographed this evening, and this is the result.
I should probably take more shots of my wife, but our littlest (two in February) still stays up till about 11pm, so we often don't have too much time to ourselves. Tonight though she went down at about 8.30. I suspect that she'll make up for it tomorrow by staying awake till two in the morning ;-)
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
Canon 20D
EF 17-40 f/4L USM
40mm (64mm equiv.)
f/4.0
1/60
shutter priority
+0.0
evaluative
100
580EX and 420EX
RAW
DPP
no
Interesting. I spent quite some time staring at this picture.
This photo is striking. I love the multiple areas of interest. My eyes just keep wandering around the picture in awe!
Oh very cool photo.
Very nice. I like the turn of the camera so that your wife's head is to the left and her reflection to the right. Speaking of the reflection, that's what really makes the picture. Well, that plus the red of nails, shirt, and lips.
all of your photos are GORGEOUS. is the canon 20d the camera you always use ? your work is very inspiring. i'm really into photography, especially black and white so i HAD to compliment you on your breathtaking work
interesting picture, i almost overlooked all the detail in the glass ball
well done
Just awesome....
The light fixture above your head was the first thing I noticed. I see the flash mounted. Did it fire, or was it used to trigger your other flash? Looks great. (Note to self... Get an external flash.)
very well composed shot. i also really like te details in the ball. it invites you to really look for awhile.
Very nice photo ... I love the inverted face reflection. Well done.
krissy: I also have a G5, but it's been away for repair for the last couple of months. I'll probably start using it again some time soon.
The Gorilla: yes, both flashes fired. The 580 was bounced off the ceiling and the 420 was sat on the floor and bounced off the wall to add a bit of side-lighting.
Hi David, I hope your littlest slept through the night, and wasn't up abysmally early. (You've probably already heard of Ferber's book, and may not feel your child has any problems getting to sleep, but if you and your wife don't have enough time together, it might be a problem for you.)
Now, the picture: the colors are beautiful, nicely saturated; it might have been nice to work in a little purple with the reds, for a little variation (I'm trying to put myself in your shoes, willing to arrange elements...) But it's all very nicely shot, the only aspect I'm really not sure about the is the differential lighting on her two hands. The greater detail on her left hand (right to the viewer) from its extra light changes the balance of the composition.
But what do I know, you're stuff is much more popular than mine, so I'm sure it's probably fine.
Frank: thanks for the book reference.
As for the lighting: I agree, at least in part. I've not had two flashes for all that long so am still experimenting. What I think I should have done, in this instance, is alter the ratio; i.e. I wanted some side lighting, but think I could have probably toned it down a little.
Love the unity of red and the slight reflection off the lipstick. Buy her a ruby ring.
wookiee: good idea :-)
I am having some serious trouble taking indoor pictures of people. I can't get fast enough shudder speeds with out flash and when I use my built in flash, eh it sucks; I lose the whole element of the photo that I liked when I looked through the lens. I mean I can get some stuff if I shoot at ISO 1600 but then the pictures look really grainy. I have a Digital Rebel. I see you used 2(?) different flashes. Whats up with that? Can you explain to me the secrets of indoor low light photography? PLEASE! HELP!
Eric: in my experience it's almost impossible to get good lighting with an onboard flash; the effect is way too harsh and the light is strongly directional. If you can run to it, get hold of a 420EX which has a bounce head; i.e. you can point it at something other than the main subject which is then lit by reflected light. With the majority of my indoor shots I use one flash and bounce it off the ceiling – it adds a much more natural light.