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b/w portrait in a610

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Whilst there will always be acceptations I think its fair to say that portraits are best taken in “portrait” mode (meaning with the camera in a vertical position). As is the image would be better cropped to a square format which would remove the distraction brought about by the vertical line of the wall. For sure black and white images still have a part to play in our high-tec world. Indeed B&W allows one to concentrate on the subject matter and composition without being blinded by colour.
 
thank you bob :)
do u think that vertical line of the wall is a distraction for that picture.
i saw it whn i took it,but i kept it to avoid a plane background.

--
sangu
 
Would have been better if the subject hadn't been up against the wall because you have the shadow from the flash. Better to use a higher ISO and avoid the flash. The internal flash in the 610 does not make pretty lighting...you can tone it down by putting a layer of tissue of the flash.

Window light is very effective for portraits and the addition of something white to reflect light on the darker side of the face helps, if this is possible.

Use of flash creates shiny reflections on the face which can be toned down in an editing program to make the portrait look more finished.

This particular image would have been better in portrait orientation since the space on each side of the face doesn't really add to the impact of the image.

Cutting off that tiny bit of the top of the head doesn't help the composition

Hope this little bit of information helps with future portraits.

Isabel
--
http://www.pbase.com/isabel95
http://www.pbase.com/digipets
 
thank u Isabel
u have done a wonderful analysis of pic. i will correct those mistakes.
expecting the same help in future also.

one doubt : if u increase the ISO will it affect image quality bcoz i read somewhere that increase in ISO will cause increase in noise.
--
sangu
 
I was a little concerned about coming on too strongly with my remarks..but I think most of us are here to learn, so I thought I should share from what I've learned.

I started a group almost 4 years ago for improving the digital photography of pets because I belonged to a breed group where the dog shots posted were largely awful and I was tired of looking at bad pictures.

The group has grown to include all aspects of digital photogaphy and editing and we have a statement on our pbase gallery that if you post an image someone is likely to save it and work on it! No one has complained yet!

I have learned much from my participation in the dpreview forums and enjoy sharing what I've learned to help other people.

About raising the ISO...as long as you have a good exposure (that is no underexposed) the noise will not be objectionable and it is also easily dealt with with noise reduction programs like Noise Ninja, which I prefer.

There is a free noise filter that you can download from the net (and there are probably others). It's the Helicon Noise Filter. Check Google for the site.

Here's an ISO 400 picture I took that has no noise reduction. It printed up beautifully at 4 x 6. I didn't try anything larger. I do very little printing.
http://www.pbase.com/isabel95/image/54750155

Isabel

Isabel
--
http://www.pbase.com/isabel95
http://www.pbase.com/digipets
 
I do agree that creativity does not fit into a formula, but why bother making such a daft comment when Sangu’s image shows no remote sign of being creative. In being ultra hard his image is little more than a “snap” with numerous problems. That said I fully applaud Sangu or anyone else brave and enthusiastic enough to post an image on this forum on the basis of seeking criticism/comment from others. For the record I am a strong advocate that we all only learn from our mistakes, but in order to improve the key factor here is to accept that mistakes have been made as opposed to fighting and defending such mistakes.
 
Here's a portrait of my brother, straight out the A620 that I think works well in landscape.



Regards

Adam
Isabel Cutler said:
http://www.pbase.com/mardoli/image/36011041
http://www.pbase.com/antoinevu/image/50884332
http://www.pbase.com/dsteinauer/image/41670572

It's all about how you fill the frame, not about portrait or
landscape orientation.

It's a little harder to do a good job in landscape orientation, but
as the above examples show, it can be done.

Isabel
--
http://www.pbase.com/isabel95
http://www.pbase.com/digipets
Click to expand...
 
Sangu,

Thank you for starting this thread. I am learning too and it's a great help to be able to see other's photos, ask questions and post our own photos as well.

I recently took the following pics and wasn't sure what to do about them:





I like the second one better but I haven't seen much actually done in sepia. The black and white one does have a fair bit of noise and the face is sort of dark, but lightening it washes out the detail in the hair on the left. Isabel, would this image benefit from the noise reduction program you mentioned? (If so, I need to get it). Any suggestions appreciated.
--
gail

Please visit my gallery (comments welcomed):
http://www.trivialmind.com/photogallery/
 
The strong lighting from the left calls all attention to her beautiful hair. It also reflects off the dolls head, calling attention to that. What we really want to see is the eyes and they are very dark.

Those were the things I wanted to take care of.
Isabel Cutler said:
I preferred the same one you did but wasn't crazy about the sepia,
so I converted it to black and white. You can see what else I did
here:
http://www.pbase.com/image/55025552

It's by no means a 100% improvement, but it is better! I think I
could have done a better job on toning down the hair hairlights.

Isabel
--
http://www.pbase.com/isabel95
http://www.pbase.com/digipets
Click to expand...
--
http://www.pbase.com/isabel95
http://www.pbase.com/digipets
 
Isabel,

It's amazing what can be done with the right know-how! You are right, it is quite an improvement. I have PS 7 and a really good tutorial CD and I'm trying to learn, but time is what I have so little of and need so much.

While you were working on that image, I was trying to improve another but I don't want to completely hijack sangu's thread. I'll start a different one.

Thanks very much for taking the time to show how much a photo can be "helped" with some tweaking. And, I've learned one thing...sepia isn't a big favorite. :D
--
gail



Please visit my gallery (comments welcomed):
http://www.trivialmind.com/photogallery/
 
my opinion is that u can use sepia to picturise some special moods. it cant be used for all.
i once again Isabel for her nice analysis and wonderful observations
--
sangu
 
The young child B&W image is absolutely charming in its composition and un-contrived appearance, however its just a fact of life that not always do we have the ability of looking at a subject and translating the subject into black and white tones. In this instance the problem was of course the direction and intensity of the lighting source. That said the image as exists can be improved to the point of “saving it” from the rubbish bin, but instead of verbally explaining how I might have tackled it I have taken the liberty of reproducing it (as a before and after) following what was 2 minutes work.

See:

 
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