JasonL's 1st portrait attempt need CC

JasonLJasonL Registered Users Posts: 152 Major grins
edited August 16, 2008 in People
Hello all. I started this to hopefully get some comments and some advise. I am a new photographer. I bought a used D70s back in Nov. 2007. That was my first DSLR and thanks to a good friend of mine who also had the same camera, his help really stepped up my learning curve. I recently purchased a D200 as an upgrade to the D70s. After taking 1000's of shots, my father needed a new poster for his magic act and was about to go to the local guy that did his last shot for him. Well I said hey let me give it a shot.......it's free......and if it sucks we just wasted some time. Well I made the shots, and he was thrilled with the results. here is the specs. Nikon D200, nikon 50mm F1.8D, SB600 on a lightstand with a 12" squard softbox and used the D200 in commander mode. I was going for the mysterious / sinister look. Would love to hear some comments and advise. Thanks Jason

1)pose used
poseused.jpg


2)bird used
birdused.jpg

3)pose and bird
final.jpg

4)final poster
final-Radaern.jpg
So many toy's not enough money !

Nikon D300s. Nikon D40, Nikon FE, Nikon F
Ansco Ancoset Rangefinder, Rolleiflex TLR Sb800, sb400

Nikon 18-200 VR, nikon 18-55 II, Sigma 10 20 HSM, 50mm f1.8 ai-s, 50mm Non Ai f1.4

Comments

  • bon4irebon4ire Registered Users Posts: 37 Big grins
    edited August 13, 2008
    The compositions look great. I think if you had a stronger backlight to the right and a more side direct light would give your Dad a more mysterious look. You're on the right track.
  • JasonLJasonL Registered Users Posts: 152 Major grins
    edited August 13, 2008
    thanks
    bon4ire wrote:
    The compositions look great. I think if you had a stronger backlight to the right and a more side direct light would give your Dad a more mysterious look. You're on the right track.


    Thanks for the reply, i had the softbox set off in from to the left, i am really new to this can you explain where you would have set the other light. The one thing that was kinda a problem was i could not use too much light because it seperated the clothes from the background. So they were kinda dark and i had to ligenten up. Thanks !!!
    So many toy's not enough money !

    Nikon D300s. Nikon D40, Nikon FE, Nikon F
    Ansco Ancoset Rangefinder, Rolleiflex TLR Sb800, sb400

    Nikon 18-200 VR, nikon 18-55 II, Sigma 10 20 HSM, 50mm f1.8 ai-s, 50mm Non Ai f1.4
  • CraigsKidCraigsKid Registered Users Posts: 2 Beginner grinner
    edited August 15, 2008
    JasonL wrote:
    Hello all. I started this to hopefully get some comments and some advise. I am a new photographer. I bought a used D70s back in Nov. 2007. That was my first DSLR and thanks to a good friend of mine who also had the same camera, his help really stepped up my learning curve. I recently purchased a D200 as an upgrade to the D70s. After taking 1000's of shots, my father needed a new poster for his magic act and was about to go to the local guy that did his last shot for him. Well I said hey let me give it a shot.......it's free......and if it sucks we just wasted some time. Well I made the shots, and he was thrilled with the results. here is the specs. Nikon D200, nikon 50mm F1.8D, SB600 on a lightstand with a 12" squard softbox and used the D200 in commander mode. I was going for the mysterious / sinister look. Would love to hear some comments and advise. Thanks Jason

    1)pose used



    2)bird used


    3)pose and bird


    4)final poster


    I like the final product - It looks great! clap.gif I've included my comments below, but please don't take them the wrong way, I just wanted to offer some observations that you may or may not have thought about....again I do like the final product.


    It does look a bit grainy but considering it the underexposure of the originals, it doesn't surprise me. Again - I bet it look fine in the final product

    So here are my comments:

    1) Question - how did you shoot this RAW or JPG - As I mentioned before it's a bit under exposure for me - You could have used, as the above poster, mentioned a side fill light or at lease a reflector to help eliminate the dark shadows (Left hand thumb - Right hand Index finger and harsh shadow on the left ear) I also don't care for the way his glasses cut his eyes in half. His glasses also leave bad glare on his cheek. Lastly, not sure if you considered, but it looks like he would have benefited from a bit of powder on the forehead to reduce the glare...something you might want to consider taking out in PS.


    2) Some of the same comments apply as above - another side light to get rid of the shadows on the wing and tail.

    3) same comments since is a combo of the two prev.

    4) Again I like it but I think had you maybe used another light and a few positioning techniques, it would have been flawless.
  • JasonLJasonL Registered Users Posts: 152 Major grins
    edited August 15, 2008
    Thanks !!!
    CraigsKid wrote:
    I like the final product - It looks great! clap.gif I've included my comments below, but please don't take them the wrong way, I just wanted to offer some observations that you may or may not have thought about....again I do like the final product.


    It does look a bit grainy but considering it the underexposure of the originals, it doesn't surprise me. Again - I bet it look fine in the final product

    So here are my comments:

    1) Question - how did you shoot this RAW or JPG - As I mentioned before it's a bit under exposure for me - You could have used, as the above poster, mentioned a side fill light or at lease a reflector to help eliminate the dark shadows (Left hand thumb - Right hand Index finger and harsh shadow on the left ear) I also don't care for the way his glasses cut his eyes in half. His glasses also leave bad glare on his cheek. Lastly, not sure if you considered, but it looks like he would have benefited from a bit of powder on the forehead to reduce the glare...something you might want to consider taking out in PS.


    2) Some of the same comments apply as above - another side light to get rid of the shadows on the wing and tail.

    3) same comments since is a combo of the two prev.

    4) Again I like it but I think had you maybe used another light and a few positioning techniques, it would have been flawless.



    Thanks for the comments. I shot it in JPG. Believe it or not, the 20 x 30 print from like 2 feet away does not look grainy. When i was shooting, I had turned the power up on the flash and then you could see the seperation of the clothes and the background. I begged him to take the glasses off and the few I did without them he did not like because he wears them everyday. Do you think I should have used a softbox on bith sides set on low power to i guess light him up from both sides? Once again, thanks for the comments, they are appriciated.
    So many toy's not enough money !

    Nikon D300s. Nikon D40, Nikon FE, Nikon F
    Ansco Ancoset Rangefinder, Rolleiflex TLR Sb800, sb400

    Nikon 18-200 VR, nikon 18-55 II, Sigma 10 20 HSM, 50mm f1.8 ai-s, 50mm Non Ai f1.4
  • CraigsKidCraigsKid Registered Users Posts: 2 Beginner grinner
    edited August 16, 2008
    JasonL wrote:
    Thanks for the comments. I shot it in JPG. Believe it or not, the 20 x 30 print from like 2 feet away does not look grainy. When i was shooting, I had turned the power up on the flash and then you could see the seperation of the clothes and the background. I begged him to take the glasses off and the few I did without them he did not like because he wears them everyday. Do you think I should have used a softbox on bith sides set on low power to i guess light him up from both sides? Once again, thanks for the comments, they are appriciated.

    you can avoid separation with intensity adjustment and angle - it's one of those things you have to play with until you get it right. I would have lit him from both sides. I understand the glasses issue, but he could have kept the on and just slightly moved his head to avoid the cut through - again just minor positioning.

    Keep up the good work! I would love to see you post more.
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