Sisters in Singapore
Took a bit of time to take some portraits of these friends of mine, who are sisters, in Singapore.
To be completely honest, I'm not satisfied with this session. I had many overblown colors because of the difference between the sun and the shades. Example situations:
1. I would shoot under a tree, in the shades. The subject's skin would be exposed properly, but the background would be overblown because of the sun.
2. Drawing a blank somehow, but you get the idea.
I was actually worrying so much (though not enough apparently) about the lighting that I neglected a lot of compositional elements. I didn't try the poses I planned before-hand, most of the ones we did were front-and-center. Also did not pay enough attention to what was actually in or not in the frame.
Oh well... guess all I can do is learn from my mistakes. A few pics below. would LOVE your comments and advice. Thanks!
would LOVE your comments and advice. Thanks!
To be completely honest, I'm not satisfied with this session. I had many overblown colors because of the difference between the sun and the shades. Example situations:
1. I would shoot under a tree, in the shades. The subject's skin would be exposed properly, but the background would be overblown because of the sun.
2. Drawing a blank somehow, but you get the idea.
I was actually worrying so much (though not enough apparently) about the lighting that I neglected a lot of compositional elements. I didn't try the poses I planned before-hand, most of the ones we did were front-and-center. Also did not pay enough attention to what was actually in or not in the frame.
Oh well... guess all I can do is learn from my mistakes. A few pics below. would LOVE your comments and advice. Thanks!
would LOVE your comments and advice. Thanks!
0
Comments
also it appear you missed focus on the last 3 shots as well..focal point over the eye!
14-24 24-70 70-200mm (vr2)
85 and 50 1.4
45 PC and sb910 x2
http://www.danielkimphotography.com
when ever you are shooting a portrait (casual or formal) you should try your best to get the eyes in focus. Almost everything else can be out of focus but the eyes HAVE to be in focus. If you are shooting say f/8 then you can let your camera focus for you since the DOF will be large...but typically for portrait type shots you will want shoot at larger apertures to isolate your subject. larger ap = thinner dof. Now if you let your camera choose the focal point it might hit on a nose or hair or leaf in front of the face...now your eyes are out of focus.
So to remedy this..in portraits ALWAYS manully choose one of the focal points and place this focus point over an eye. Now take your shot.
14-24 24-70 70-200mm (vr2)
85 and 50 1.4
45 PC and sb910 x2
http://www.danielkimphotography.com
Thanks for your advice. Any other ones?
14-24 24-70 70-200mm (vr2)
85 and 50 1.4
45 PC and sb910 x2
http://www.danielkimphotography.com
First, let me say they are really easy photos to look at. Lovely women and good composition.
Second, I echo everything Quarik said. But 11 focus points is plenty. You have a 12 MP image. You have enough focus points to pick one, put over an eye, then crop for best composition if need be. Good focus is so important, throwing some pixels away in cropping is nothing to worry about.
Third, shoot early or late in the day and it will go a long way toward solving your problems with contrasting light.
Fourth, when you stick a human in a green bush, you must be VERY careful with color balance (as in the green lady in your last shot.)
Fifth, as Quarik said, popping a little fill flash will help with your exposure issues AND give you some pleasing catchlights in the beautiful eyes.
Again, nice shots, and I'm sure we'll see more from you.
Natural selection is responsible for every living thing that exists.
D3s, D500, D5300, and way more glass than the wife knows about.
I do have EXIF data available here: http://www.kevinpw.net/Portraits/Justine/
I used a 17-55 f/2.8 mostly, took a few with a 35mm f/1.8
Thanks for your kind words and advice.
regarding #2, you're right. it's just a matter of me using the camera correctly. i'll be more careful next time. thanks to you both for pointing this out.
regarding #3, funny you should mention that! so I told these girls "ok i'm gonna be at your place at 8.30 AM, survey the place for a bit, and we'll start at 9:30 AM." Well I got to their place at 8:30 AM, and they were, unsurprisingly, still in bed! hahaha. so we only left their apartment at 10ish and started shooting a little after that, until 11:30 AM. I know that I do not want to shoot anytime the sun is so high up, between 11.30AM - 3PM probably.
regarding #4, is there something wrong with the color balance in that picture?
regarding #5, I actually had a flash with me, but I just didn't think of using it cause it was so bright outside
Thanks guys for your very valuable advice. Hopefully I'll get another chance soon to improve myself!
I think if you will compare the skin tones in other shots of her, you'll agree her skin in the last shot looks a nasty green. Also, look in her eyes.
Natural selection is responsible for every living thing that exists.
D3s, D500, D5300, and way more glass than the wife knows about.
aaahhh I just looked back into LR and realized that I was playing with dual-toning for that picture. my bad!