Love that first picture, ED. "Where the Hell is he? I don't have time for this shit!"
...says a 7 year old.
It was quite disturbing. All night we were trying to figure out what was going on; it wasn't until she stood up to leave that we saw the "truth". I was very saddened. She basically had on a zebra print pimp-coat, and a sparkle motion bikini. That was it. Other than the painted whores face of course.
I don't understand... it was a child prostitute? Were you in Thailand?
So I'm feeling a little more comfortable with taking pictures now. I'm starting to pay more attention to composition before I press the shutter, but I still need a more practice. Anywho, here's one I liked.
Modain on
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SheriResident FlufferMy Living RoomRegistered Userregular
edited February 2009
Not too busy in here today.
Modain, I like the idea and I like the use of lines and reflections. The conversion to B&W is a bit lacking, though. It seems very flat. It's good on the dark end (you have some nice, solid darks and some darks with details), but lacking on the light side. Did you try a few different conversions with different filters, etc?
Photos of US House of Representatives Congressmen Jared Polis from Colorado (CD-2) speaking and taking questions pertaining to the stimulus tonight at the University of Colorado.
Go go gadget 50/1.4 and "shitty" 70-300/3.5-5.6
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
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SheriResident FlufferMy Living RoomRegistered Userregular
edited February 2009
Commie, I'm starting to think I like your photojournalistic stuff best.
I think I agree with Sheri here, I really dig your journalistic pieces most. The 3rd picture in the series is fantastic, though the eyes might be slightly out of focus (you must be working with a really shallow DoF here).
I think I agree with Sheri here, I really dig your journalistic pieces most. The 3rd picture in the series is fantastic, though the eyes might be slightly out of focus (you must be working with a really shallow DoF here).
[strike]Yea I was shooting at 1.4 I should have probably upped the fstop to 2.0 or 2.8 when doing the up close stuff.[/strike]
Edit: Ignore me I thought you were talking about the 4th photo not the 3rd....yea it might be a little out of focus but I was zoomed in pretty far trying to make some really shallow DOF.
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
I actually don't like the pose from the POV I took it from. I think a lower angle would have helped it quite a bit, but that was mostly posted for fun. I was like, "uhh...wtf? *snap*. All models have "model face" for the most part though...
So I took Sheri's suggestion (thanks!) and fiddled with my conversion to grayscale. My original conversion is on the left, the one I fiddled with more is on the right. I tried to make the main curve stand out a bit more from the rest of the stones.
Modain: Do you have CS3 or 4? If you go Image > Adjustments > Black and White (needs a flattened layer to work) you can attack each color channel separately. I know a lot of people have a lot of different methods for a grayscale conversion, but honestly I've found this to be the best way. A picture like this I wouldn't normally mess with because there isn't a true white, which helps get that contrast most people go for.
Modain: Do you have CS3 or 4? If you go Image > Adjustments > Black and White (needs a flattened layer to work) you can attack each color channel separately. I know a lot of people have a lot of different methods for a grayscale conversion, but honestly I've found this to be the best way. A picture like this I wouldn't normally mess with because there isn't a true white, which helps get that contrast most people go for.
Jake- In the first batch I love the 2nd one. The contrast in the color and the sharpness between the left and right side is superb.
C-Cow-The 3rd shot in the model seriies is my favorite. For being posed it feels the most natural to me.
Sheri- I really like the apple shot. At first the far side of it irked me but it's grown on me a lot since. Keep up the great work.
Modain- To me it seems like you just made the whole image darker. I'd say try messing around with the highlights and shadows and such. Otherwise, I think you did exactly what you wanted with the curve. :^:
It's been a busy past few weeks with school and all, but I've finally gotten time to get some pictures taken.
Jake - I love the lake shots. I think the one with the couple on the shore below the trees (#2) does less for me than the others, but all are strong.
Sheri - I love the first of the sunglasses pictures! Really awesome! In the second one, I wish you had a slightly longer DOF so that the rhinestone bow could be in focus, too, but other than that it's also a good shot.
CommieCow - In the fashion shots, the only one that really grabs me is #4 (profile with handbag) and in it I have a small complaint: her second hand (the far arm, her right arm) is a little distracting. It seems to grow out of her belly some. I also really appreciate that you have a very consistent style in all these shoots. If someone were to hire you based on a portfolio of these, they would get exactly what they expect and that's very cool.
Jake - Love the duck shots and the cow shot. Also like the first of the lake shots in this second set (the one with the pier). You've been posting some good stuff for a long while now. Props.
Modain - I like the reflection shot. I don't see the redo as being better or worse than the original. You might be better served by merely increasing contrast using curves or levels. There doesn't seem to be enough color difference to maximize contrast by adjusting color sliders.
Sheri - I like the clean background on the apple shot, but I would prefer a touch more DOF and maybe a faster shutter to get crisper water. Still - it's deliciously refreshing as it is! Nice shot.
Commie - I enjoy these lecture shots, and especially #2. DOF is a hair thinner than I would think would be ideal (the left/far eye is slipping out of focus), but it's really dynamic. Nice!!
Amnesiatic - I don't know what the subject is in the first pic. There are too many different elements and none are overly interesting. If it's the sculpture, try getting closer and lower so that it looms in the picture. If it's merely the "scene" overall it is still better to get a solid point of interest that the rest of the scene supports. The second picture is way better in my opinion. I know what I am looking at, and the BW keeps me focussed on textures and whatnot.
Jives - I love the clean lack of color and overall desaturated-but-not-grey quality of the image. I wish there was more of the shot in focus. I like looking at the dude on our right, but he's so out of focus that it's a little distracting.
CC: I wouldn't like to speculate on what his expression is says is happening out of shot on the 4th.
dagookfather: I actually like that pose. Maybe tweak the direction next time.
amnesiatic: The first has no real subject, and too much clutter. The second is more promising, and would make a good simple composition, but the busy left needs cropping tighter, as does the right.
Modain: I think the problem is the composition more than the B&W conversion. I like the concept, but pay more attention to where lines leave the image. The shadow on the left shouldn't be cropped, the lines that make the curve up at the bottom would be best if they all left the frame at he bottom, likewise with the top lines leaving from the right. Finally I would separate the spire and the lamp.
Sheri - I love the first of the sunglasses pictures! Really awesome! In the second one, I wish you had a slightly longer DOF so that the rhinestone bow could be in focus, too, but other than that it's also a good shot.
Sheri - I like the clean background on the apple shot, but I would prefer a touch more DOF and maybe a faster shutter to get crisper water. Still - it's deliciously refreshing as it is! Nice shot.
Suck it, bitches, I get two.
Shallow DOF is my thing, remember?
That said
The bow was out of focus on purpose. I have a shot with all in focus, with just the bow in focus, and the one I posted. I wanted the focus on the name, since that shot, you could say, is about the brand. The bow (which is on the arm of my sunglasses by the way!) is the flourish, and I wanted to throw it out of focus.
The apple, however, was shot under less-than-ideal circumstances. We had two monolights pointed and it and I was STILL shooting at ISO 3200. I mean, the shutter speed was 1/1250. So if it's the falling water you'd like cleaner, that's not motion blur or anything, it's just that that shot was at such an angle that the falling drops were beyond the area of focus. Just to clarify on that one.
SixCaches Tweets in the mainframe cyberhexRegistered Userregular
edited February 2009
So I've devoured Understanding Exposure and Ansel Adams' The Camera, as well as Scott Kelby's first book, which is really more of a "handy tips" guide. I imagine I'll be going back to all three of these books often, but I'm looking for more reading to do that has less to do with the technical side of photography and more with the art. I've already added "Learning to See Creatively" to my shopping cart, but does anyone have any other recommendations?
Dang, I have made some book recommendations in this thread or maybe in the last photo thread, but it will be a lot of work for me to scour the threads to find them. I'll try to later, but if you want to you can check for my posts on every page here and see where I mention some good books on composition and whatnot.
So I've devoured Understanding Exposure and Ansel Adams' The Camera, as well as Scott Kelby's first book, which is really more of a "handy tips" guide. I imagine I'll be going back to all three of these books often, but I'm looking for more reading to do that has less to do with the technical side of photography and more with the art. I've already added "Learning to See Creatively" to my shopping cart, but does anyone have any other recommendations?
Honestly I think it would be better to join some groups on flickr for the type of photography you like or just browse the explore page every once and a while. That will give you ideas of how other people come up with great photos and how you can use different angles, light setups, DOF, etc.
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Goshinga - I like the first shot a lot. I like how the foreground grass stalk leans to the right while the background ones lean left. In the second image the centered light-pole is really jarring and kinda breaks the flow of the image for me. The last 2 don't really do anything very interesting for me. But that first one is choice!
Honestly I think it would be better to join some groups on flickr for the type of photography you like or just browse the explore page every once and a while. That will give you ideas of how other people come up with great photos and how you can use different angles, light setups, DOF, etc.
This is great advice!
Also join and participate in forums (like this one). If a picture appeals to you stop and analyze why it does. Take the time to offer a critique. Even just praising what you like can help you develop your own eye. And I mean your mind's eye; your heart's eye. For me I have needed to develop an internal dialog between the part of me that sees beauty in the world and my brain ... taking pictures and posting them helps with this, but even more than that is when I spend the time to really assess someone else's work. When I try to talk about what I like/dislike I develop more connection between my subconscious sense of beauty/art and my brain. That later helps me use my brain to control my camera while still accessing my subconscious sense of beauty/art to create the image.
I browse flickr explore (http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/) many times per day while at work. I love to see what people are doing and to critique them in my mind. When a picture totally grabs me, I open it in a new browser and often then look at their "additional properties" which has their EXIF data so I can see exactly how they exposed it (really useful to me as I enjoy landscapes a lot and seeing if they ran a slow shutter speed always interests me).
Also join and participate in forums (like this one).
Just make sure said form or critique site actually has a good number of people who give harsh and honest critiques instead of "looks great A+++++++ would critique again" In other words stay away from deviantart and to a lesser extent photosig. Edit: I take that back photosig can get a good critique site for beginners but once you get beyond that it isn't very helpful.
This is another reason why I tell people things look like snapshots or look boring...because ignoring things you don't like does not end up helping that person. *glares at everyone else*
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
This is another reason why I tell people things look like snapshots or look boring...because ignoring things you don't like does not end up helping that person. *glares at everyone else*
That doesn't mean helpful criticism has to be harsh. I've asked plenty of posters here what they were trying to tell me or why they chose a particular type of framing, dof, etc. Saying "this is boring" is just as unhelpful as "A+++".
I bet if I made a small little egg on a plaque .gif on transparent background and posted it after every picture and said, "This shot is fucking EGG-cellent!. You have been invited to post this at dimevideogameplace.com forums!" it would help out a ton. Animated .gif would mean I really fucking loved your photo.
Goshinga - I like the first shot a lot. I like how the foreground grass stalk leans to the right while the background ones lean left. In the second image the centered light-pole is really jarring and kinda breaks the flow of the image for me. The last 2 don't really do anything very interesting for me. But that first one is choice!
thanks for the input. yeah i wasn't quite sure what i was trying to do with the composition in the second one.
also does anyone have any experience working with strobes? i have a really stupid basic question but I figured i could try and ask here
i don't quite understand the relationship between a camera's shutter speed and the power output of the strobe.
Does the shutter speed and aperture I set on my camera matter at all when dealing with strobes? Or does the camera automatically adapt once i plug the sync cord in and the only means through which to control light is through the power of the strobe.
I bet if I made a small little egg on a plaque .gif on transparent background and posted it after every picture and said, "This shot is fucking EGG-cellent!. You have been invited to post this at dimevideogameplace.com forums!" it would help out a ton. Animated .gif would mean I really fucking loved your photo.
Ho boy...I won't get too technical but here's how it breaks down: Aperture effects ambient (stuff not being lit by strobe, like sky, background), as well as subject light. Shutter speed only effects ambient. This makes sense if you think about it...the light from a strobe is like 1/2000 and shorter and the light it gives off is not affected by the shutter lag. That's why a light meter gives out the F-stop you need to light to, and not the shutter needed for exposure.
Keep in mind though, many cameras only sync around 1/200 or 1/250th of a second, so you can't dial it up past that. Shutter speed is very important when you're trying to underexpose ambient light. Why do that? I dunno, richer skies, subject separation, status quo, the man makes you?
Does shutter speed and aperture matter with a strobe? Only as much as it does with real light.
Anable: What the fuck are you? CIA? FBI? NSA? Fucking Martian?
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Since I am replying first, I hereby claim the King title
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Modain, I like the idea and I like the use of lines and reflections. The conversion to B&W is a bit lacking, though. It seems very flat. It's good on the dark end (you have some nice, solid darks and some darks with details), but lacking on the light side. Did you try a few different conversions with different filters, etc?
---
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
Go go gadget 50/1.4 and "shitty" 70-300/3.5-5.6
Fourth one is great.
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
Thats Dan...I worked with him on the Obama/Udall/Polis campaign. He is an odd cat.
[strike]Yea I was shooting at 1.4 I should have probably upped the fstop to 2.0 or 2.8 when doing the up close stuff.[/strike]
Edit: Ignore me I thought you were talking about the 4th photo not the 3rd....yea it might be a little out of focus but I was zoomed in pretty far trying to make some really shallow DOF.
Friends don't let models "free pose". I was looking at cow for help, and he acted like he was oblivious to it.
Also that blonde chick struck me as trying WAY too hard and not being very good, both from that photo and the ones that Commie posted. >.>
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
Jake: I like your mallard.
Edit: Ack! Top'd.
Yeah I did each color channel separately.
C-Cow-The 3rd shot in the model seriies is my favorite. For being posed it feels the most natural to me.
Sheri- I really like the apple shot. At first the far side of it irked me but it's grown on me a lot since. Keep up the great work.
Modain- To me it seems like you just made the whole image darker. I'd say try messing around with the highlights and shadows and such. Otherwise, I think you did exactly what you wanted with the curve. :^:
It's been a busy past few weeks with school and all, but I've finally gotten time to get some pictures taken.
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
Sheri - I love the first of the sunglasses pictures! Really awesome! In the second one, I wish you had a slightly longer DOF so that the rhinestone bow could be in focus, too, but other than that it's also a good shot.
CommieCow - In the fashion shots, the only one that really grabs me is #4 (profile with handbag) and in it I have a small complaint: her second hand (the far arm, her right arm) is a little distracting. It seems to grow out of her belly some. I also really appreciate that you have a very consistent style in all these shoots. If someone were to hire you based on a portfolio of these, they would get exactly what they expect and that's very cool.
Jake - Love the duck shots and the cow shot. Also like the first of the lake shots in this second set (the one with the pier). You've been posting some good stuff for a long while now. Props.
Modain - I like the reflection shot. I don't see the redo as being better or worse than the original. You might be better served by merely increasing contrast using curves or levels. There doesn't seem to be enough color difference to maximize contrast by adjusting color sliders.
Sheri - I like the clean background on the apple shot, but I would prefer a touch more DOF and maybe a faster shutter to get crisper water. Still - it's deliciously refreshing as it is! Nice shot.
Commie - I enjoy these lecture shots, and especially #2. DOF is a hair thinner than I would think would be ideal (the left/far eye is slipping out of focus), but it's really dynamic. Nice!!
Amnesiatic - I don't know what the subject is in the first pic. There are too many different elements and none are overly interesting. If it's the sculpture, try getting closer and lower so that it looms in the picture. If it's merely the "scene" overall it is still better to get a solid point of interest that the rest of the scene supports. The second picture is way better in my opinion. I know what I am looking at, and the BW keeps me focussed on textures and whatnot.
Jives - I love the clean lack of color and overall desaturated-but-not-grey quality of the image. I wish there was more of the shot in focus. I like looking at the dude on our right, but he's so out of focus that it's a little distracting.
Ed - Pigeon-butt!!! Nice shot.
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
Hopefully it will return soon.
CC: I wouldn't like to speculate on what his expression is says is happening out of shot on the 4th.
dagookfather: I actually like that pose. Maybe tweak the direction next time.
amnesiatic: The first has no real subject, and too much clutter. The second is more promising, and would make a good simple composition, but the busy left needs cropping tighter, as does the right.
Modain: I think the problem is the composition more than the B&W conversion. I like the concept, but pay more attention to where lines leave the image. The shadow on the left shouldn't be cropped, the lines that make the curve up at the bottom would be best if they all left the frame at he bottom, likewise with the top lines leaving from the right. Finally I would separate the spire and the lamp.
Suck it, bitches, I get two.
Shallow DOF is my thing, remember?
That said
The bow was out of focus on purpose. I have a shot with all in focus, with just the bow in focus, and the one I posted. I wanted the focus on the name, since that shot, you could say, is about the brand. The bow (which is on the arm of my sunglasses by the way!) is the flourish, and I wanted to throw it out of focus.
The apple, however, was shot under less-than-ideal circumstances. We had two monolights pointed and it and I was STILL shooting at ISO 3200. I mean, the shutter speed was 1/1250. So if it's the falling water you'd like cleaner, that's not motion blur or anything, it's just that that shot was at such an angle that the falling drops were beyond the area of focus. Just to clarify on that one.
Sheri Baldwin Photography | Facebook | Twitter | Etsy Shop | BUY ME STUFF (updated for 2014!)
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
Jives- It's a nice shot, just wish the guy in back was in focus a bit more, at least his head. Also, it could do with a slight crop on the right side.
Ed- :^:
----
Okay, these are different shots, same day.
Color Shot
and a different one
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?p=8162711#post8162711
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?p=8162711#post8162711
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
Honestly I think it would be better to join some groups on flickr for the type of photography you like or just browse the explore page every once and a while. That will give you ideas of how other people come up with great photos and how you can use different angles, light setups, DOF, etc.
I love this shot.
medium format class was discouraging. i took some pictures to feel better.
EDIT:
This is great advice!
Also join and participate in forums (like this one). If a picture appeals to you stop and analyze why it does. Take the time to offer a critique. Even just praising what you like can help you develop your own eye. And I mean your mind's eye; your heart's eye. For me I have needed to develop an internal dialog between the part of me that sees beauty in the world and my brain ... taking pictures and posting them helps with this, but even more than that is when I spend the time to really assess someone else's work. When I try to talk about what I like/dislike I develop more connection between my subconscious sense of beauty/art and my brain. That later helps me use my brain to control my camera while still accessing my subconscious sense of beauty/art to create the image.
I browse flickr explore (http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/) many times per day while at work. I love to see what people are doing and to critique them in my mind. When a picture totally grabs me, I open it in a new browser and often then look at their "additional properties" which has their EXIF data so I can see exactly how they exposed it (really useful to me as I enjoy landscapes a lot and seeing if they ran a slow shutter speed always interests me).
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
Just make sure said form or critique site actually has a good number of people who give harsh and honest critiques instead of "looks great A+++++++ would critique again" In other words stay away from deviantart and to a lesser extent photosig. Edit: I take that back photosig can get a good critique site for beginners but once you get beyond that it isn't very helpful.
This is another reason why I tell people things look like snapshots or look boring...because ignoring things you don't like does not end up helping that person. *glares at everyone else*
That doesn't mean helpful criticism has to be harsh. I've asked plenty of posters here what they were trying to tell me or why they chose a particular type of framing, dof, etc. Saying "this is boring" is just as unhelpful as "A+++".
thanks for the input. yeah i wasn't quite sure what i was trying to do with the composition in the second one.
also does anyone have any experience working with strobes? i have a really stupid basic question but I figured i could try and ask here
i don't quite understand the relationship between a camera's shutter speed and the power output of the strobe.
Does the shutter speed and aperture I set on my camera matter at all when dealing with strobes? Or does the camera automatically adapt once i plug the sync cord in and the only means through which to control light is through the power of the strobe.
Keep in mind though, many cameras only sync around 1/200 or 1/250th of a second, so you can't dial it up past that. Shutter speed is very important when you're trying to underexpose ambient light. Why do that? I dunno, richer skies, subject separation, status quo, the man makes you?
Does shutter speed and aperture matter with a strobe? Only as much as it does with real light.
Anable: What the fuck are you? CIA? FBI? NSA? Fucking Martian?