Any input would help...

JazzyJak

I'm working up some pics from a recent trip and am stuck on two portraits, the one of the couple needs some definite PS work but the best I've made is a mess, the wrinkles in the shirt for starters are distracting... I realize it's just slightly OOF but would like to salvage what I can.

The second I think I like and would like to see if anyone has any further input for me.





Thanks for looking!

BigAl

You probably need wise words from someone more knowledgeable than me, but fwiw, the first one I'd crop a whole lot tighter (basically just the heads), then try and boost the saturation a bit and finally run a fairly strong USM on it. I think I'll let someone else try the second - I think you should have been a bit lower when you took the pic.

regards
alan

lynnma

BigAl wrote:

You probably need wise words from someone more knowledgeable than me, but fwiw, the first one I'd crop a whole lot tighter (basically just the heads), then try and boost the saturation a bit and finally run a fairly strong USM on it. I think I'll let someone else try the second - I think you should have been a bit lower when you took the pic.

regards
alan

Hi Jazzy..
I second Alans suggestion. Mess around with the cropping, usm, contrast etc and see what happens.

Mongrel

Hey there JazzJak....
Just a few thoughts off the top of my head....

#1-The good: pleasant subject, their expressions, decent exposure, they seem comfortable with you taking the shot. Also, you have good use of depth of field as the background is nicely blurred.

The (not necessarily *that*) bad: The fact that it is slightly out of focus kind of bothers me. Portraits *do work* when they are a little 'soft', but it's a different feel than out of focus. As far as cropping, I agree with what has been said-tighten it up. If it were a shot with something important in the background like a sunset or a famous building, then you could pull back a bit to include that. But in this case it doesn't do anything for the shot so crop it out. The lighting is just a tad harsh imo, but as Lynn suggested this could be worked on in post processing.

It is a great shot as far as capturing the moment and your friends, it just needs a little help to bring it up from a snapshot to a photograph.



#2 There is something about this shot that strikes me as being very good, I just can't seem to put my finger on it-lol. The scene, the lighting, and the subject all seems to fit well together.

However, there is also something that just doesn't feel right about it either. I think Big Al is onto something with his comment about shooting it from a lower angle (this would be perspective). It feels like it's either not low enough or not high enough. The perspective as shot looks like someone that is 5' tall being shot by someone who is 6' 5" tall-does that make sense? How tall are you anyway? joking...

I think you were on the right track with it, but I'd play around with the cropping to see if I could improve it.




Thanks for looking![/QUOTE]
Just curious, what camera and lens were you using? This would help others in critiquing your work as they could give hints and suggestions based on the type of camera and lens.

Hope this helps, take care,

Mongrel

JazzyJak

Wow, thanks for the critique mongrel, I appreciate it. First off I am using a 20D, the first was with a 75-300 and second was the 18-55 kit lens. I realize the OOF on the first is a real killer and it is mostly just a snapshot that I particularly liked as a capture of that moment, but was hoping maybe someone could help me miraculously make it something more :

Impressive calculation on the second shot, I am in fact 6'5". And I actually have a lower angle shot, from my knees I think?, but the sky through the trees was blown out to distraction so I liked this one the best of the series.
So maybe work to find better backdrop and try to visually vary my shots and viewfinder cropping a bit more... Thanks again!

andyfphoto@aol.com

Quick Try
Hey Jazzy, the first shot seems fine. I've taken the liberty of downloading and making a few quick adjustments to show how contrast (extra that is) can boost the apparent sharpnes of an image. I have also put USM on - too much for this size, but to show how you could easily remedy the situation. I doubt you would be able to print it at A3 ever but as a screen shot or small print I think it will work great.

Hope you don't mind me fiddling with your pic.

Andy

JazzyJak

Thank you all for your help I actually like what you've done with it andy, I'm always leary of over contrasting or sharpening a photo, but I guess in this case it's warranted, and the b&w seems to help the situation some as well. I'll give another try at it later today and see what I can come up with.

wxwax

Jazzy, if you have photoshop, I think you can sharpen the first pic using this technique. It seems to be within the fixable range, from my experience.

JazzyJak

wxwax wrote:

Jazzy, if you have photoshop, I think you can sharpen the first pic using this technique. It seems to be within the fixable range, from my experience.

Nothing short of miraculous results wax thanks for sharing that technique and pointing me towards it, so heres a blend of advice from everyone above. All and all I'm pretty happy with the results.

wxwax

Heheh Cool, looks like you did a nice job.

Mongrel

Another photo *saved*...
by the Dgrin Photofanatics

Nice work Jazzy, good job on the 'new' conversion.

Also another , for having a great attitude and a willingness to learn and take advice.

You have a great camera (I have one myself ), two decent lenses so nothing gonna stop 'ya now!

Look forward to seeing more of your stuff!

Takecare,

Mongrel

andyfphoto@aol.com

I second mongrels words

Mongrel wrote:

by the Dgrin Photofanatics

Nice work Jazzy, good job on the 'new' conversion.

Also another , for having a great attitude and a willingness to learn and take advice.

You have a great camera (I have one myself ), two decent lenses so nothing gonna stop 'ya now!

Look forward to seeing more of your stuff!

Takecare,

Mongrel

As long as you/we accept that you can NEVER stop learning, you will will always get better.
Be sure to post more.

Andy