I've decided, for the next while at least, to try to take more people shots as i) it's something that I shy away from for some reason, and ii) often find much harder than the usual stuff that I put up. So here's a shot of a friend of our eldest daughters who's staying with us for a few days. I did have a shot that I preferred, but my wife insisted that it made her look like a mass-murderer so I definitely shouldn't put it up. On reflection I can see what she means so went with this one instead.
comment byChelsea June at 11:08 PM (GMT) on 5 January, 2005
Cute shot! Although I would personally prefer the focus point to be the left side of the face.
comment bydjn1 at 11:14 PM (GMT) on 5 January, 2005
Chelsea: I agree, I think the shot would have been stronger if the plane of focus had been a little further forward. I need more practice ;-)
comment byluminouslens at 11:17 PM (GMT) on 5 January, 2005
But the expression on her face is wonderful, and sometimes that's the hardest thing to capture. :)
comment by Sharla at 03:19 AM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
I was going to say I thought the focus might work better on the other side of her face but I did enjoy mulling it over.
The expression is real and lively and I particularly like the background tulips that give greated depth and balance.
People hate my people shots so I agree they are challenging. I liked the three guys yesterday, too.
When you decide to experiment with something new, your starting threshold just seems so much higher than most of us. But that's why I enjoying checking everyday, even if I don't take time to comment.
comment by kate at 03:45 AM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
agree with charla. i like seeing you go against the grain though you say you shouldn't be, or it was unintentional. what makes the shot for me= her sweet amusement, the foreground blur, the sharpness of her left eye and her darker, curled bangs over it, and those three stray hairs popping out over the top tulip, like high definition. i tried to wipe them off my screen.;)
comment by Hamid at 04:28 AM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
Can I ask why you think using higher ISO numbers is not such a good idea ?
comment byquasi at 05:53 AM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
I completely agree about people photos, Dave - except that you, unlike me, are actually able to pull them off. I've always had a lot of trouble photographing people, but I too would like to try it some more.
I quite like this shot, and aside from the focus issue that people have brought up, I think it's excellent.
Cheers,
-quas :)
comment by Adriana at 06:29 AM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
I like the expression on her face. She shows something that in spanish we call picardia . I am glad that you used this pictures instead of the mass murderer lol. I hope your baby is better now. :) And I agree, is very dificult to take portraits.
comment by tobias at 02:27 PM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
Hi Dave,
Quick question.
REcently took a number of peoples advice and shot with RAW setting. I cannot view these subsequent shots in either photoshop or fax viewer. What am I doing wrong?
A flummoxed amateur...
PS I really liked the homeless photo. Gritty.
comment bybtezra at 02:43 PM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
~the moment is the key here, and the expression by the subject makes the moment, but you have the knack of snapping the right moments, one reason i keep coming back for more...the softer focus for me is not a nit, but I/eye do believe pumping up the contrast or adjust the levels a smidge would bring out some of the darker tones. The frame, for me, comes off a bit 'faint"~
comment bytif at 03:05 PM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
I feel exactly the same about pictures of people. In fact, I've hunted down your pictures of people to try to learn about it, so I'm looking forward to your people-shots.
This photo looks great to me (but I'm on a Sidekick right now which has a pretty small screen). I couldn't help but notice that you chose a pretty easy subject for this one though.
What I'd like to know about is the process you use. Do you have an image in mind and work to create it? Do you take a 100 shots and look for something that stands out? I'm guessing it's somewhere in between, it is for me anyway. Do you instruct your model (put your hands to your face, don't talk, say cheese)?
comment byJerome at 04:10 PM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
Tobias: If you have Photoshop 7 you need the raw file plugin; it's included with Photoshop CS (v. 8.0)
Re: this image, I think the crop is a bit too tight. I agree that shooting people is difficult, but I prefer it to any other subject. Making the time for the patience that's required is another story.
Oh yeah... why is ISO 800 stupid?
comment bydjn1 at 04:35 PM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
Hamid: ISO 800 wasn't a bad idea as such, rather it was unintentional and unnecessary; i.e. my flash was the main source of illumination and would have worked just as well at ISO 100.
btezra: thanks. I did try upping the contrast a little but it really didn't suit this shot.
tif: most of my portraits of kids, this one included, are spontaneous. I like using my 70-200 as it gives me some distance from them and I just tend to sit and watch them through the viewfinder. So yes, I do take quite a few shots and don't really have anything specific in mind. Mostly, I think, I'm just waiting for something to happen that I think is worth photographing.
Jerome: I quite like the crop on this one though a bit more space at the bottom of the image might not have gone amiss.
comment by S at 05:01 PM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
Speaking as someone who isn't a photographer and who doesn't have the faintest clue about technique, I think you've achieved the most important thing which is capturing a sponteneous moment. I hope she wasn't being harassed by your children!
comment byVineet Mathur at 05:37 PM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
This is a charming portrait taken at the right moment. The photo is well composed too. I find taking portraits of kids more fun because they're not camera conscious, especially after you've taken a few shots.
comment bydjn1 at 07:57 PM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
S: no, as you know our children are impeccably behaved ;-)
comment byzimny at 08:22 PM (GMT) on 6 January, 2005
it's not cute. she looks like all her family was murdered with a desert eagle .44 right in front of her.
I've decided, for the next while at least, to try to take more people shots as i) it's something that I shy away from for some reason, and ii) often find much harder than the usual stuff that I put up. So here's a shot of a friend of our eldest daughters who's staying with us for a few days. I did have a shot that I preferred, but my wife insisted that it made her look like a mass-murderer so I definitely shouldn't put it up. On reflection I can see what she means so went with this one instead.
And thanks again to everyone who's voted for chromasia in the Best of Blogs Awards 2004 :-)
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
Canon 20D
EF 70-200 f/4L USM
200mm (320mm equiv.)
f/4.0
1/160
manual
+2/3 (FEC)
evaluative
800 (because I'm stupid)
580EX
RAW
C1 Pro
minor
Cute shot! Although I would personally prefer the focus point to be the left side of the face.
Chelsea: I agree, I think the shot would have been stronger if the plane of focus had been a little further forward. I need more practice ;-)
But the expression on her face is wonderful, and sometimes that's the hardest thing to capture. :)
I was going to say I thought the focus might work better on the other side of her face but I did enjoy mulling it over.
The expression is real and lively and I particularly like the background tulips that give greated depth and balance.
People hate my people shots so I agree they are challenging. I liked the three guys yesterday, too.
When you decide to experiment with something new, your starting threshold just seems so much higher than most of us. But that's why I enjoying checking everyday, even if I don't take time to comment.
agree with charla. i like seeing you go against the grain though you say you shouldn't be, or it was unintentional. what makes the shot for me= her sweet amusement, the foreground blur, the sharpness of her left eye and her darker, curled bangs over it, and those three stray hairs popping out over the top tulip, like high definition. i tried to wipe them off my screen.;)
Can I ask why you think using higher ISO numbers is not such a good idea ?
I completely agree about people photos, Dave - except that you, unlike me, are actually able to pull them off. I've always had a lot of trouble photographing people, but I too would like to try it some more.
I quite like this shot, and aside from the focus issue that people have brought up, I think it's excellent.
Cheers,
-quas :)
I like the expression on her face. She shows something that in spanish we call picardia . I am glad that you used this pictures instead of the mass murderer lol. I hope your baby is better now. :) And I agree, is very dificult to take portraits.
Hi Dave,
Quick question.
REcently took a number of peoples advice and shot with RAW setting. I cannot view these subsequent shots in either photoshop or fax viewer. What am I doing wrong?
A flummoxed amateur...
PS I really liked the homeless photo. Gritty.
~the moment is the key here, and the expression by the subject makes the moment, but you have the knack of snapping the right moments, one reason i keep coming back for more...the softer focus for me is not a nit, but I/eye do believe pumping up the contrast or adjust the levels a smidge would bring out some of the darker tones. The frame, for me, comes off a bit 'faint"~
I feel exactly the same about pictures of people. In fact, I've hunted down your pictures of people to try to learn about it, so I'm looking forward to your people-shots.
This photo looks great to me (but I'm on a Sidekick right now which has a pretty small screen). I couldn't help but notice that you chose a pretty easy subject for this one though.
What I'd like to know about is the process you use. Do you have an image in mind and work to create it? Do you take a 100 shots and look for something that stands out? I'm guessing it's somewhere in between, it is for me anyway. Do you instruct your model (put your hands to your face, don't talk, say cheese)?
Tobias: If you have Photoshop 7 you need the raw file plugin; it's included with Photoshop CS (v. 8.0)
Re: this image, I think the crop is a bit too tight. I agree that shooting people is difficult, but I prefer it to any other subject. Making the time for the patience that's required is another story.
Oh yeah... why is ISO 800 stupid?
Hamid: ISO 800 wasn't a bad idea as such, rather it was unintentional and unnecessary; i.e. my flash was the main source of illumination and would have worked just as well at ISO 100.
btezra: thanks. I did try upping the contrast a little but it really didn't suit this shot.
tif: most of my portraits of kids, this one included, are spontaneous. I like using my 70-200 as it gives me some distance from them and I just tend to sit and watch them through the viewfinder. So yes, I do take quite a few shots and don't really have anything specific in mind. Mostly, I think, I'm just waiting for something to happen that I think is worth photographing.
Jerome: I quite like the crop on this one though a bit more space at the bottom of the image might not have gone amiss.
Speaking as someone who isn't a photographer and who doesn't have the faintest clue about technique, I think you've achieved the most important thing which is capturing a sponteneous moment. I hope she wasn't being harassed by your children!
This is a charming portrait taken at the right moment. The photo is well composed too. I find taking portraits of kids more fun because they're not camera conscious, especially after you've taken a few shots.
S: no, as you know our children are impeccably behaved ;-)
it's not cute. she looks like all her family was murdered with a desert eagle .44 right in front of her.