Weekend surprise!

jeffreaux2

My youngest actually asked me to shoot some photographs of her this weekend. My son and his girlfriend also met us downtown for a few of them. Unfortunately they waited until the brightest part of the day to get ready....but we still managed a few. These were all shot using the newest addition to my camera bag, the Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS. I was hoping to get a feel for it before I am faced with using it with a client. My initial impressions are good!

1- An attempt at serious...


2-My son.....with a contrast boost...


3-



4- My favorite of the day


5-


6- Last but not least....one of the onlookers downtown!

JulieLawsonPhotography

Looks great Jeff! I wish my oldest would ask.........maybe in time she will.

jayegirl

enjoyed as usual.

J Allen

Funny squirrel shot..and the rest are, as always great too. I use my 70-200 2.8L IS for just about 90% of all my single person portrait session's, its a workhorse, any at times as heavy as one too.

divamum

You know, I'm never sure which wows me more in your posts: the gorgeous photography, or your breathtakingly beautiful family (and are ALL your daughters clones of your wife?!?) Absolutely lovely on all fronts - an inspiration!

And the squirrel just cracks me up, even though we personally are at WAR with squirrels right now: the little blighters have destroyed EIGHT pumpkins so far (we're on #9 - we'll see if it lasts till Friday!). They gnaw at them, and if that doesn't work they push them off the porch until they split open and then run off with the innards. We've dubbed our house the Squirrelfeteria

Elaine

Nice to see the new glass put to such beautiful use! Your fave is my fave, too. They're all lovely, though, and I really like the color of your son's shirt. Looks like you found some great light, as usual. I wish I could tag around with you on a family shoot!

jeffreaux2

JulieLawsonPhotography wrote:

Looks great Jeff! I wish my oldest would ask.........maybe in time she will.

She will I'm sure....

...ya know...using a ploy like" Igot a new piece of gear and I need to figure out how it works...wanna help?" has worked for me before.

jeffreaux2

jayegirl wrote:

enjoyed as usual.

Thanks Jaye!

jeffreaux2

family guy wrote:

Funny squirrel shot..and the rest are, as always great too. I use my 70-200 2.8L IS for just about 90% of all my single person portrait session's, its a workhorse, any at times as heavy as one too.

The squirrel shot also shows that the lens is not a one trick pony!

And you are right.....it is definately not lightweight! I used a monopod for those posted above. It does produce a nice thin DOF, and also flattens things out nicely. May sound funny, but I hope to get good use on 3/4 and full length shots with this. Most of what I currently own will not give me a good creamy blurred background on full length shots....unless I am a long way away from whatever is behind.

jeffreaux2

divamum wrote:

You know, I'm never sure which wows me more in your posts: the gorgeous photography, or your breathtakingly beautiful family (and are ALL your daughters clones of your wife?!?) Absolutely lovely on all fronts - an inspiration!

And the squirrel just cracks me up, even though we personally are at WAR with squirrels right now: the little blighters have destroyed EIGHT pumpkins so far (we're on #9 - we'll see if it lasts till Friday!). They gnaw at them, and if that doesn't work they push them off the porch until they split open and then run off with the innards. We've dubbed our house the Squirrelfeteria

Aaaww sheesh!!! They look like me, I swear!

I recieved the lens Thursday last week. This is about the third frame I shot with it...and it's first people shot. Taken hand held at 1/80 at F2.8....just to, you know, see exactly what it might be useful for....

Taken off the cuff, without running to get my flash.....but the DOF and sharpness...at least to me....were gorgeous.

My better half..

jeffreaux2

Elaine wrote:

Nice to see the new glass put to such beautiful use! Your fave is my fave, too. They're all lovely, though, and I really like the color of your son's shirt. Looks like you found some great light, as usual. I wish I could tag around with you on a family shoot!

Thanks Elaine...

You are absolutely welcome to come along anytime!!!

Seriously! I'm only what...a day's fill of connecting flights away!

If you are ever in or near Baton Rouge, I'd be happy to set up a shoot and spend an afternoon with ya my friend.:D

Nikolai

Nice series, Jeff!
Tough luck shooting black-clad blonde outdoors midday unassisted
I think you did the best you could considering the circumstances.
Glad you liked the 70-200, it's definitly my default outdoors portrait lens..

urbanaries

As great at you are at natural looking outdoor lighting...you are even better at posing. How on earth do you get hands to look so great! In your favorite, I'm curious if you placed her hand meticulously or if it was luck. I would never think to put the thumb inside like that. It would look awkward if I tried it, but elegant and relaxed when you do.

Bravo, let's hear some posing book recommendations...by golly where did you learn this stuff and how does it become second nature??

Fabulous set, as always. Your youngest is looking pretty grown up, dad...

divamum

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Aaaww sheesh!!! They look like me, I swear!

Ha! Noooo... that wasn't how I meant it ... I remembered SEEING a shot of your wife you had posted with your daughter and thinking how alike they are (which this series confirmed)!!! :giggle:giggle

jeffreaux2

Nikolai wrote:

Nice series, Jeff!
Tough luck shooting black-clad blonde outdoors midday unassisted
I think you did the best you could considering the circumstances.
Glad you liked the 70-200, it's definitly my default outdoors portrait lens..

Thanks Nik,

It is less friendly with lower shutter speeds than the 17-55, but I think I will be able to work it in.... .....somehow!!!

jeffreaux2

urbanaries wrote:

As great at you are at natural looking outdoor lighting...you are even better at posing. How on earth do you get hands to look so great! In your favorite, I'm curious if you placed her hand meticulously or if it was luck. I would never think to put the thumb inside like that. It would look awkward if I tried it, but elegant and relaxed when you do.

Bravo, let's hear some posing book recommendations...by golly where did you learn this stuff and how does it become second nature??

Fabulous set, as always. Your youngest is looking pretty grown up, dad...

Oh?....seriously I look like crap when I pose...

Most of what I know came from a musty old...real old....library book or two. Very classic styled poses...the sample photos wouldn't get a second look in this forum but.... some of the basics from that book hold true always.

I remember really only one thing from the book on hands. They showed using a pencil held loosely in the writing position...then removing the pencil to leave the fingers in that position. No, I don't bring a pencil to shoot, but I do try to display the hands in a similar way. This is a loose variation of that. Put your hand on your hip like that....it should feel perfectly natural, and you probably do it all the time. The weight hanging from the index finger. BTW, her hand was already there, I only asked her to curl her fingers a bit more.....from a ladder....in the street....with the 70-200(whats that equal a mile away?)...she was worried Id be hit by a car. I spent much more time in this photo locating the OTHER hand. Yes, she is growing up!

Now....why haven't you harped on me about my son's hands being in his pockets?

IDK about second nature, but I do follow a few of those time worn basics ...AND...even on head shots, I do a full length pose. Body position ...even if not depicted....can dictate good posture and set the mood of the shot. And hey.....I screw up poses now and then too...so....don't fret!

Nikolai

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Thanks Nik,

It is less friendly with lower shutter speeds than the 17-55, but I think I will be able to work it in.... .....somehow!!!

Well, considering it's "a bit" longer...
Actually, it's much better in low-light conditions than 17-55 AF wise, I'd say at least one stop, if not two (which is explainable considering APC size of 17-55)

DavidS

Great photos as usual Jeff! I am so envious of your new lens.

Travis

Jeff, is yours son's hands in his pockets? Whats up with that? Just kidding. Another gorgeous set as usual! The hands tip is an extra bonus as it is something that I always struggle with on portraits.

clemensphoto's

Very nice photos. Is the squirrel part of the family too?

jeffreaux2

DavidS wrote:

Great photos as usual Jeff! I am so envious of your new lens.

Heh....don't be! I probably should ve sprung for a 40D and a 50mmF1.4 instead.....and gotten change back....but you know.....boys and toys right?

jeffreaux2

Travis wrote:

Jeff, is yours son's hands in his pockets? Whats up with that? Just kidding. Another gorgeous set as usual! The hands tip is an extra bonus as it is something that I always struggle with on portraits.

Yeah....personally I woulda tossed that shot of him but it looked natural and relaxed to me....and...he hardly EVER wants to put himself in front of a camera. Sometimes you have to take what you get right?

THe hand tip is good, but did not originate with me. As I said...I read it somewhere. Another twist is to loosely hold a stick as if to write in sand. This I guess is closer to the shape of my daughters hand in the photo we were talking about. At any rate, curved fingers that are not tensed together, nor splayed to far apart I think is the ticket.

jeffreaux2

clemensphoto's wrote:

Very nice photos. Is the squirrel part of the family too?

Yes....the squirrel is a self portrait. My hair is finally growing back in, and I am fattened up for the cold months!

heatherfeather

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Yes....the squirrel is a self portrait. My hair is finally growing back in, and I am fattened up for the cold months!

ha ha! You are hilarious! It least you will stay warm this winter!

Your family is so beautiful, but you knew that.
Somehow you always capture them so beautifully. My fav is actually the one of your son. Hands in the pockets and all! I love how the background fades into bokeh... lovely!

I just got my monopod that you recommended, and it has passed the husband inspection. He says it looks like it is almost Marine proof, which is a really good sign. Thanks for the pointers! I have used it on 2 shoots and it worked nicely and held up my heavy gear to my happiness. The clunking legs are a pain though.

On another note, man I wish I had figured out about hands before I did my sister's recital 2 weeks ago. I had a great shot ruined by strange hand placement. Well, learning late is better than never.
Here is the shot with the weird fingers... Oh, and how in the world do you pose someone with a grand piano....?.....

divamum

heatherfeather wrote:

Oh, and how in the world do you pose someone with a grand piano....?.....

Heather -

I can't speak to the specifics of posing with a piano, but are you familiar with the photographs of Christian Steiner and Clive Barda? Both are specialists in shots of musicians and performing artists and maybe there are some posing ideas in their work? I think Dario Acosta is another one who does a lot of musicians (although he may be more singers and actors than instrumentalists)

Sorry if this is totally redundant and you already know their work!

picturegirl

These photos are fantastic, love the lighting of coarse and everything else.

Congrats on your new lens, it's a heavy sucker isn't it!! My friends are always shocked when I pull that one out of the bag! I may have to look into the monopod you recommended!

jeffreaux2

heatherfeather wrote:

ha ha! You are hilarious! It least you will stay warm this winter!

Your family is so beautiful, but you knew that.
Somehow you always capture them so beautifully. My fav is actually the one of your son. Hands in the pockets and all! I love how the background fades into bokeh... lovely!

I just got my monopod that you recommended, and it has passed the husband inspection. He says it looks like it is almost Marine proof, which is a really good sign. Thanks for the pointers! I have used it on 2 shoots and it worked nicely and held up my heavy gear to my happiness. The clunking legs are a pain though.

On another note, man I wish I had figured out about hands before I did my sister's recital 2 weeks ago. I had a great shot ruined by strange hand placement. Well, learning late is better than never.
Here is the shot with the weird fingers... Oh, and how in the world do you pose someone with a grand piano....?.....

For the leg rattles I have a couple of fixes.

I have been satisfied with a rubber band twisted around the ends to hold them together and then insert them into the pod and screw it together. I have read where others use a rubber washer intended for a garden hose that fits into the opening at the bottom of the pod....I havent tried this. Are you using the Manfrotto 486 ballhead as well. It has been good to me!


On another note....did you gel the flash in the shot of your sister?

jeffreaux2

picturegirl wrote:

These photos are fantastic, love the lighting of coarse and everything else.

Congrats on your new lens, it's a heavy sucker isn't it!! My friends are always shocked when I pull that one out of the bag! I may have to look into the monopod you recommended!

Thanks Angie. I was using simple shoe mounted fill....gelled of course....but otherwise unmodified. Off camera flash is still a fairly new concept to me, and although I have used it to some degree, I didn't want to be trying out more than one new gadget at a time.

Yes its big....heavy....and the white gets stares too....but....it shoots super sweet.:D

Shima

I love my 70-200 f2.8/L IS it's such an amazing lens, glad you finally got one and are enjoying it too! These are all great shots as usual, I love seeing your kids they're always photograph well

ChatKat

Lovely...
These are lovely, Jeff. A 70-200 2.8 on your camera is like a paintbrush in Monet's hand,...as you know I have been a fan of your photography and that tool will really bring out your great eye for detail and light.

What monopod are you talking about and what head? I am in the market for one myself?

Mitchell

Great series here, Jeff.

#4 is excellent!