mario138500
Well-known member
This is my first photo session USM only. Comments most welcome bad or good. Mario
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Snow White Critique
- Thread starter mario138500
- Start date
pfiltz
Veteran Member
--This is my first photo session USM only. Comments most welcome bad
or good. Mario
Regards,
Phillip@keepsake
http://www.keepsakephotography.us
--------------------------------------------------------This is my first photo session USM only. Comments most welcome bad
or good. Mario
http://photos.imageevent.com/gonzalezandfriends/coco/forum/forumphotos/Snow%20white.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/gonzalezandfriends/coco/forum/forumphotos/Snow%20white%202.jpg
Nothing bad from my view, I just like the second image above the other two. The lighting is well done and your subject is portrayed attractively. The mild shadows are a bit distracting, but that is easily resolved in PP.
Thank-you.
TMc
mario138500
Well-known member
Thanks pfiltz got a long way to go.
mario138500
Well-known member
Agree, but thought I'd let it go for now.
Hi Mario,
High key is tough to make even. Yours is a bit uneven in the background, but you can fix it in PS with quite easily.
In the old days High Key was even tougher because we could not fix it in post like nowadays.
What are you using to light your seamless?
I have tried about 10 different combinations over the years and it seems it is different each time.
again, you can fix it in PS to make it a perfect high key, but with Super Princess model, most people should be able to ignore the BKG
Kind regards, Keith
High key is tough to make even. Yours is a bit uneven in the background, but you can fix it in PS with quite easily.
In the old days High Key was even tougher because we could not fix it in post like nowadays.
What are you using to light your seamless?
I have tried about 10 different combinations over the years and it seems it is different each time.
again, you can fix it in PS to make it a perfect high key, but with Super Princess model, most people should be able to ignore the BKG
Kind regards, Keith
mario138500
Well-known member
Keith, Thank you for your response and tip. I have three White Lightning: one X1600; and two X800. I’d like two more, but they’re going to have to wait. Three’s plenty for now. I’ve got another coming Monday, learned quite a bit from my first experience. One being they change moods very quickly and soft boxes are limiting when you have a little one running all over the place. I switched to 45-inch umbrellas and it made things a bit more forgiving. Shadows came from her running to the edge of background and since I only have three lights it makes it difficult to get it even. Wish me luck on the next Princess.
Best regards, Mario
Best regards, Mario
Chuck Gardner
Forum Pro
Subject is cute and lighting is fine, but her face is nearly dead center in every shot with too much empty space around her.
Try the rule of thirds as a starting point. Divide the frame in thirds, vertically and horizontally. The four lines will intersect at four points about 1/3 of the way in from the edges. Those four points are the third "nodes".
In a head and shoulders shot, or extreme close up put the subject's eye line near the upper third line, not the center. In an extreme closeup you'll need to crop the top of the head off to move the eyes up, but it will look better than if the top of the head is showing and the eyes are dead center.
For full body shots like these you still want to keep the eye line in the upper 1/3 between the upper two third nodes whether it is a vertical or horizontal format. If you angle the torso and put the main center of interest, the face, near one of the node points it gives the eye an interesting angled path to the face.
Keeping the important parts of the photo such as the face within the invisible inner boundry created by the third nodes creates a good balance between the subject and negative space surrounding it. When eye catching objects in the photo fall outside the third nodes near the edge of the frame there is a risk they will lead the eye away from your center of interest right out the eges of the photo.
The rule of thirds is ideal for every situation, but it works well when you have one strong center of interest such as the face you want to lead the eye to and keep it there. In these photos the bright dress competes with her face, so you'd want to compose it and her arms and torso in a way that the eye is lead up or over the dress to the face, not down away from it.
Chuck Gardner
Try the rule of thirds as a starting point. Divide the frame in thirds, vertically and horizontally. The four lines will intersect at four points about 1/3 of the way in from the edges. Those four points are the third "nodes".
In a head and shoulders shot, or extreme close up put the subject's eye line near the upper third line, not the center. In an extreme closeup you'll need to crop the top of the head off to move the eyes up, but it will look better than if the top of the head is showing and the eyes are dead center.
For full body shots like these you still want to keep the eye line in the upper 1/3 between the upper two third nodes whether it is a vertical or horizontal format. If you angle the torso and put the main center of interest, the face, near one of the node points it gives the eye an interesting angled path to the face.
Keeping the important parts of the photo such as the face within the invisible inner boundry created by the third nodes creates a good balance between the subject and negative space surrounding it. When eye catching objects in the photo fall outside the third nodes near the edge of the frame there is a risk they will lead the eye away from your center of interest right out the eges of the photo.
The rule of thirds is ideal for every situation, but it works well when you have one strong center of interest such as the face you want to lead the eye to and keep it there. In these photos the bright dress competes with her face, so you'd want to compose it and her arms and torso in a way that the eye is lead up or over the dress to the face, not down away from it.
Chuck Gardner
This is my first photo session USM only. Comments most welcome bad
or good. Mario
Chuck Gardner
Forum Pro
mario138500
Well-known member
Chuck, Thank you for the tutorial. I took photos and did a little cropping and PS work. Is this more or less correct/better? I also did a search and found a couple of websites discussing the rule of thirds. Being new to studio lighting which has a lot of variables, it’s difficult remember everything. I think in time and experience, things will become a little more automatic. But until then, it’s a pleasure learning from people like you.
Regards, Mario
Regards, Mario
Chuck Gardner
Forum Pro
Less white space than your crop. Because the entire body isn't showing it looks better moved up higher. Also I moved her left of center because her body is turned to the right. Leave more space on the side the subject is turned or looking towards.
This is a case where the pose is very centered and a square crop is ideal. Still the head should still be placed in the upper third vertically.
Now here's a case where you've really got two centers of interest in the photo. The obvious one is her face. The other not so obvious one is the spot she is looking towards, which I placed on the lower right third node. Her face is near the upper left third node. There's more space overall in the direction she's facing. The more she leans, the more negative space she needs to lean into.
Chuck Gardner
Chuck Gardner
Forum Pro
Less white space than your crop. Because the FEET aren't
showing it looks better moved up higher. Also I moved her left of
center because her body is turned to the right. Leave more space
on the side the subject is turned or looking towards.
mario138500
Well-known member
Chuck, I see what you mean. It gives the photos balance and much more eye appeal. In particular, the third photo where her eyes are focused on the floor. I’m looking forward to my next session.
On another note, I opted to use my Nikkor 17-35mm 2.8 AFS lens instead of my 85mm 2.8 manual because I knew she was going to be moving around a bit so I set my lens to auto focus. I know this is bad for composition but it sure made photographing easier - 32 shots in total before she turned into a little Diva. My question is: in this situation would most photographers consider/use auto focus or strictly stick with manual? I’m also aware the focal length most used in portraits is 85mm and up.
Mario
On another note, I opted to use my Nikkor 17-35mm 2.8 AFS lens instead of my 85mm 2.8 manual because I knew she was going to be moving around a bit so I set my lens to auto focus. I know this is bad for composition but it sure made photographing easier - 32 shots in total before she turned into a little Diva. My question is: in this situation would most photographers consider/use auto focus or strictly stick with manual? I’m also aware the focal length most used in portraits is 85mm and up.
Mario
mario138500
Well-known member
Robruski, I agree totally but I’m a little bias with this one. She’s my Granddaughter.Its kids like this that make the shoot.
Do your part to get things right, and the kids to the magic
)))Regards, Mario
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