Breanne - Class of 2009

jeffreaux2

A few from Friday's shoot...

It was my first edits on the new pc. Whew!

I hit the button to export between 300 and 400 files from Lightroom and walked away. I came back about 15 minutes later and it was done....who knows how long it had been done. THAT is a relief! Also when importing, I immediately went to work on the first image, and all of the imports were done by the time I had finished working on it. Very quick.

...and I was able to go back to opening ALL of the files pertaining to a pose in photoshop CS3 together and work through the stack...with no hiccups, slowdowns, or restarts. I haven't been able to do this since before the XTi....as the files were just too much for the pc I was using.

Im still leery of the calibration, but time will tell there. All in all, I am thrilled that I spent a years worth of gear money on a new pc.

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NeilL

Well, Jeff, of course very nice... but no surprises. Most of them seem almost identical - locations, poses, processing - to others you have showcased here, just the model different????

You do stuff so well, I'm sure there's a whole world of ideas untapped, untouched inside your photographer's imagination... waiting for you...

Mitchell

#4 is the winner for me in this set. I still love that fence.

Something about #2 bothers me. With her oval shaped face, the angle and lens selection in that shot causes her nose to look unnaturally long.

Congrats on the new computer. I upgraded last year and was shocked with my new processing speeds.

picturegirl

WOW, these are gorgeous!! Love her eyes in #2, love the scenery in #1, and love that fence in #4. The collage is also really neat, with all her different expressions.

I am thinking about switching over to using Lightroom 2, just took a class on Saturday, feel a little overwhelmed but it does seem everyone has the same opinion about it, and that is that the program is very fast. Do you have any negative or positive comments about making the swith to LR2 from CS4?

heatherfeather

#5 Is my favorite. I just love how the pose makes her long legs seem even longer. Very pretty set! Jealous of your green things in the background. We have no snow but the green is just beginning to peek out of the lawn.

I just got a new desk top this weekend too... though mine was after a nasty motherboard crash on Thursday. The new one is waaay faster than my old, and I am almost getting the hang of vista! So CONGRATS to us!

Agnieszka

I love the pose & how you crop # 3 & 4, I love the white dress, that she's barefoot .... I just love everything about it. lust

As for the last one, I think it's a very fun & modern approach, and I am sure she LOVES it!! (so many fun expressions & faces! FUN!) I do agree, her face seems to be a bit distorted ... maybe a lower cut would help? (cut her forehead in half?) Hm, not sure, it works with some pics on the last one, and some others don't work as much for me

Very pretty girl! Looks like she (and you) had a good time!

Elaine

Hi!

I've been wondering how that new PC was workin' for ya! Glad to hear it's performing well.
I love the background in #1 and the way her clothing colors pop off the background. And the fence in #2 makes another lovely background.
The collection of expressions in #6 is very fun!
The slight tilt in #3 is working for me, too. I like the kind of high-key effect here and her smile in this one is my favorite. I think 1 and 3 are my faves.
Did you make use of the 70-200 2.8 in most of these? As much as I love my f/4 IS version, the 2.8 sure produces lovely images!

jeffreaux2

picturegirl wrote:

WOW, these are gorgeous!! Love her eyes in #2, love the scenery in #1, and love that fence in #4. The collage is also really neat, with all her different expressions.

I am thinking about switching over to using Lightroom 2, just took a class on Saturday, feel a little overwhelmed but it does seem everyone has the same opinion about it, and that is that the program is very fast. Do you have any negative or positive comments about making the swith to LR2 from CS4?

I've used Lightroom since it's introductory Beta version and have grown fond of it as a tool. That said, I don't think it can replace Photoshop altogether. I use it as a RAW converter only...that is...applying global adjustments, color correction etc...to the "whole" image. For touch ups, cloning, and other tasks only Photoshop can get the job done. Together, it's a REALLY great combination...especially for large batches of files.

My experience with Lightroom is that it is fast IF you have good hardware to run it. My old computer ran that first Beta pretty well, but later versions...and larger file sizes from modern cameras....put the squeeze on it. Id recommend a multi-core processor based computer with as much RAM as you can afford to do processing with either of the two softwares.

jeffreaux2

heatherfeather wrote:

#5 Is my favorite. I just love how the pose makes her long legs seem even longer. Very pretty set! Jealous of your green things in the background. We have no snow but the green is just beginning to peek out of the lawn.

I just got a new desk top this weekend too... though mine was after a nasty motherboard crash on Thursday. The new one is waaay faster than my old, and I am almost getting the hang of vista! So CONGRATS to us!

Thanks Heather....

I built mine from scratch.......
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=128564

It was a busy week last week...putting that together....and our dog....well...she is in terrible shape.....still in ICU at the vet since last Wednesday. We are praying and hoping for the best.

jeffreaux2

Agnieszka wrote:

I love the pose & how you crop # 3 & 4, I love the white dress, that she's barefoot .... I just love everything about it. lust

As for the last one, I think it's a very fun & modern approach, and I am sure she LOVES it!! (so many fun expressions & faces! FUN!) I do agree, her face seems to be a bit distorted ... maybe a lower cut would help? (cut her forehead in half?) Hm, not sure, it works with some pics on the last one, and some others don't work as much for me

Very pretty girl! Looks like she (and you) had a good time!

Thanks Angie....she had a great attitude. I don't recall that we shot a single photo with shoes. Her decision!

jeffreaux2

Elaine wrote:

Hi!

I've been wondering how that new PC was workin' for ya! Glad to hear it's performing well.
I love the background in #1 and the way her clothing colors pop off the background. And the fence in #2 makes another lovely background.
The collection of expressions in #6 is very fun!
The slight tilt in #3 is working for me, too. I like the kind of high-key effect here and her smile in this one is my favorite. I think 1 and 3 are my faves.
Did you make use of the 70-200 2.8 in most of these? As much as I love my f/4 IS version, the 2.8 sure produces lovely images!

I may have used the 70-200 on #3....definately on #4. Its a great lens...and was a good purchase. For a one lens kit though, Id still rather the 17-55. It just keeps on keepin' on!

....and....I used the STE2 with an off camera flash in all of them except the naturally lit headshots. (just trying to entice you! )

rhondavid

Love all of them but have to say that #2 is my favorite. Wow what incredible eyes. Gorgeous is all I can say.

picturegirl

jeffreaux2 wrote:

I've used Lightroom since it's introductory Beta version and have grown fond of it as a tool. That said, I don't think it can replace Photoshop altogether. I use it as a RAW converter only...that is...applying global adjustments, color correction etc...to the "whole" image. For touch ups, cloning, and other tasks only Photoshop can get the job done. Together, it's a REALLY great combination...especially for large batches of files.

My experience with Lightroom is that it is fast IF you have good hardware to run it. My old computer ran that first Beta pretty well, but later versions...and larger file sizes from modern cameras....put the squeeze on it. Id recommend a multi-core processor based computer with as much RAM as you can afford to do processing with either of the two softwares.

Thanks for that info!

zoomer

What a cute girl, she looks like a sweetheart.
I like 5 the best. Nice shots.

jeffreaux2

Mitchell wrote:

#4 is the winner for me in this set. I still love that fence.

Something about #2 bothers me. With her oval shaped face, the angle and lens selection in that shot causes her nose to look unnaturally long.

Congrats on the new computer. I upgraded last year and was shocked with my new processing speeds.

I am usually very careful to stay at a focal length longer than 30mm (around 50mm full frame)when I am doing portraits...except for special circumstances. That said, I had a lot on my mind and wasn't as careful as I normally am. After checking the exif though, I see that I shot the headshots at what would be very near a 60mm focal length on a full frame camera....so Im not sure about the distortion. I like the quirkiness of close in....slightly distorted headshots. Still, I cant really account for the distortion in these except maybe just the higher camera angle as compared to the face.

Thanks for the comment....made me recheck my homework for sure!

crockett

Very nice series.

I have no problems with the tight headshot and frankly don't even see distortion. The only time I run into problems is with big noses. It's amazing how you don't notice it when your shooting but when you pull up a bunch of shots from a 35mm (on 1.6 crop) and the girl or guy has a larger nose your like "Woah! delete, delete...it's pretty funny."

Jeff,

Was the headshot collage your idea or a request from the senior.

Nice work.

jeffreaux2

crockett wrote:

Very nice series.

I have no problems with the tight headshot and frankly don't even see distortion. The only time I run into problems is with big noses. It's amazing how you don't notice it when your shooting but when you pull up a bunch of shots from a 35mm (on 1.6 crop) and the girl or guy has a larger nose your like "Woah! delete, delete...it's pretty funny."

Jeff,

Was the headshot collage your idea or a request from the senior.

Nice work.

The collage was my idea. I at first intented to put it together only for the purpose of showcasing the photos on my blog...as I found it to be a "fun" series of captures, but I decided to also include it in her senior portfolio gallery as a choice for prints. My though was that it would make for a pretty cool wallet sized photo. I should know for sure next week when her order is delivered how well it worked out for that....it has been printed in both 5x7 and wallet sizes.

As for wide angles.....I have brought photos home where the head appeared so large compared to the rest of the body that the whole body did not appear as large as the nose. THAT will certainly teach you a lesson! Again, I make a concerted effort....on my 1.6x crop bodies....to never use angles wider than 30mm(50mm full frame) for formal portraits.....except in special circumstances. That said, I do agree with Mitchell that if not the lens, then certainly the camera angle may have introduced some quirky distortion. Ill keep 'em though.

Shima

Lovely shots as always, very pretty girl you got to work with, love the processing!

jeffreaux2

Shima wrote:

Lovely shots as always, very pretty girl you got to work with, love the processing!

Thanks Cat...

I still cant let go of the 17-55!!