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Ever got this feeling ...
patatahead
Registered Users Posts: 17 Big grins
... that other pros use post process all the time to get good results? Why I said this one? I've seen prenuptial shots all with good exposures. My question is, if the photographer was able to produce lots of shots, how was it possible that it only took them, 4 hours in total-covering the make up etc?
and the pictures are crispy and clear! I am using a manual focus lens and I wonder if using the 18-55mm can produce sharp and crisp results without post process?
I'd be happy to hear your thoughts, am a bit gloomy on this matter
and the pictures are crispy and clear! I am using a manual focus lens and I wonder if using the 18-55mm can produce sharp and crisp results without post process?
I'd be happy to hear your thoughts, am a bit gloomy on this matter
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Welcome to dgrin!
I say that ( as a welcome!, and) because I see you've not put much in your profile for me to be able to comment on anything other what I ascertain that you ask.
Taking crisp and clear photos....? Or you only see crisp and clear photos?
I will tell you this. With the exception of one or two photos of mine, which due to the nature of the photo, you'll not see anything other than crisp and clear. Why? Because like everybody else, I cull. I ensure the audience sees only my best work.
I used to think that other pros or simply other folks took better shots than I did. And in fact, I was right, they did. But as I progressed, I came to find my keeper rate increased and found the easiest way to spend less time in Post processing was to get as good a photo straight out of the camera as possible.
The 4 hours total you mention is out of relevance to me, so I can but guess that somewhere you read a photog spent only 4h doing post. In truth, 4h in post for what?, etc? no relevance. I will say with lots of shots, Using a program such as Adobe lightroom3 will save you many hours of post processing so that 4h could well be 400 photos or more!
Yet I am certain many of us, perhaps you too, have spent well over 4h on ONE photo, ne's pas?
Hope that Helps!
If you'll really take a good look at your questions and try to be very specific, you'll stand a chance of better answers!
My guess is there is a bit of language barrier here?
I agree though...I remember just a few years ago I used to ask myself, "why don't my pictures look as good as that guys?"
But now I say...."I'm happy with my work."
Shooting the best possible image file to start is important but post processing is a part of my life at this point and that will probably never change.
Some people have mad skills when it comes to PP.
www.cameraone.biz
That's a great idea as I shoot .NEF so that would be cool to see....
i got what you mean, ok i'll be more specific
it all started when I had a prenup session, started by 11am finished by 5pm. 5-6 hours all in all. I only got 30 shots in which 15% repetitive (due to wrong exposure, out of focused subject, distraction, recomposition) 65% normal shots and 20% are what I can call moments.
my equipments that time are the following
18-55mm VR (i use AF on this lens)
D200
85mm 1.4 ZF
Sunpak PZ5000AF flash
A day after, i saw my friend also had a prenup that day (he was the groom-to-be, not the photographer) and the pics came out like wow! i asked my friend how long the prenup session took them. He said 4 hours (that's where I got my 4 hours in the equation). Question is, how did all his pics came out with good exposures in less than 4 hours?, yes there were retakes as he claimed. he also mentioned that he got more than 15 quality prenup pics to show the audience.
was there something I should be doing? i mean, is there a method that you pros use whenever taking prenups? like setting a constant shutter speed, following the sunny 16 etc? spending time on composition rather than doing exposures?
I know the 18-55mm is a good lens, but I always like prime lenses as they offer more precision in focusing. do you guys think that it's the equipment i'm using that didn't give me satisfactory results? should i learn to pp so that my shots will come out crisp and clear in the prints? I don't like to be a measurebator of equipments or depend heavily on pp but I just take pity on myself whenever I see the work of pros.
apologies for the long reply, am a bit frustrated this time.
this is a good idea, i'd like to see this myself too.
In a two hour engagement shoot I typically take appx. 300 pictures. appx. 100 go to the customer.
They will all be sharp and well exposed.
If I understand correctly and you are saying the shoot was 6 hours and you only got 30 keepers....then yeah there is a problem.
If you post some examples of your keepers vs. some you thought were not keepers maybe the group can help out more.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21695902@N06/
http://500px.com/Shockey
alloutdoor.smugmug.com
http://aoboudoirboise.smugmug.com/
Yes, please!!!
I almost always keep a before/after from every shoot I do. Helps encourage myself to always try and at least pull *something* out of the shot if I like one aspect of it but not everything else.
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oh, pardon me please. here, in the Philippines, when we say prenup, that defaults to the engagement session not the legal arrangements
i was thinking, here below might be my problems
1. slow in focusing
2. slow in getting the right exposure, setting of equipments (light stand, brolly, flash exposure)
3. conceptualizing
4. couples aren't at ease
5. retakes? I try to make the histogram read as good as possible.
I'd really like to post some of my snaps here but I need to ask permission from the couples first, they're a bit old-fashioned.
As for the average quality - practice makes perfect, although good gear helps too. About 10 years ago, when digital was in its infancy, I was happy if 10% of my shots come out decent. These days getting an undesired OOF/blur is an eye-opener (I'd say, 0.5% or less) and the primary reason NOT to get a keeper is primarily due to the subject itself.
...And using this list is why we ask for examples, because camera settings are ultra important to help with critique!
And as someone else pointed out: P r a c t i c e ~ Not to be underestimated!
And as far as the hours go...4h is a long time! Hours have really little relevancy unless you're wanting 100's of photos. Personally 30 photos is quite enough for me. 30 choice, beautiful, nicely done photos is a lot of photos.
No. You must concentrate on getting the very best photo you can straight out of the camera before the photo ever sees a computer. Once you do that, then the post-processing becomes an act of creativity and not one of salvage. p r a c t i c e !~
I agree with this !!! All of it.:D
www.CottageInk.smugmug.com
NIKON D700
Knowing what you can, can not and actually want to do with a particular image should be in your head *BEFORE* you press the shutter, not as an aftermath. This doesn't mean you can't deviate from that plan (hence the name "post" ;-) but more often than not, knowing your ultimate goal can and shall affect your capture-time scenario, such as settings, angle, framing, etc., i.e. things that are difficult/impossible to affect in post.
If one's happy with hers/his work, not momentarily, but on a permanent basis, s/he has very little incentive to learn and evolve. You gotta love what you do, but eternal happiness is an art killer.
This is all so true Nik, and needs to be said! However it is far beyond of most new-bies to have that kind of foresight. Occasionally we do see someone who just naturally has that 'thing' the foresight, the creative streak, the skills and eq. to be able to pull it out. But for the most part, having proper focus and exposure, in context is top of the line. And it is challenge enough to do just those three things.
Tom - I'll take your advice on practice, practice and practice. Highlighting some of the problems I posted above
I came up with a couple of thoughts, hope you can criticize on them
1. practice, practice and practice or use AF
2. As I don't have a light meter, I rely on the built in meter of my camera, do you guys always meter on every shot you take? (outdoor) or do you just follow one exposure setting and fire all the way? ie. metered on one shot, check the histogram, reuse that settings on the succeeding shots)? I meter on all my shots ( I might be wrong here)
have a VA assist me
3. am improving on this area, i noticed that wide gives me room for creativity
4. i've read somewhere that you can ease them up by letting them drink wine before the shoot itself .. well, I could give it a try
5. I can't help it but to do retakes everytime I took a shot and am not satisfied with what the histogram tells me. I learned that the LCD ain't telling you the actual results so I rely on the histogram most of the time.
The couples allowed me to post only 5 pics so, here they are
I've shot them at RAW, resized them, put an overlay signature
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/revmasterph/e-session%202010/DSC_1139.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/revmasterph/e-session%202010/DSC_1150.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/revmasterph/e-session%202010/DSC_1152.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/revmasterph/e-session%202010/DSC_1161.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/revmasterph/e-session%202010/DSC_1167.jpg
Commenting back by number.
1. No matter the focus type it is practice, practice, practice.
2. Metering? I'd say I meter each shot, but if we're in the same light I don't adjust unless needed. (see 5).
3. Yeah, a little wide ain't a bad idea.
4. Wine sounds good, but I have no idea if the outcome would be. Spending time ought to help as much as anything, and a wee bit of coaching too.
5. Yeah, Histogram is a good way to view exposure. if the moment is a flowing thing, I'll often just bracket a bit; scrolling my shutter in a direction I am concerned with while still shooting.
On your photos the biggest element that jumped out to me was crop.
which is an easy thing to deal with in post.
First of,if you are unhappy with the way that your images look, post process your images.
Here's a basic tip...in CS...make a levels adjustment...if the histograms doesn't reach the edges of the box, drag the left and right sliders until they touch the information...the hump. This will darken your lows and brighten your highs. If it looks like too much adjust to taste.
Second, a Curves adjustment will take out the haze and brighten your image, while increasing the contrast slightly, giving you that clean, crispy look you are talking about...again, adjust to taste. Correction using this method, as with the Levels adjustments, is on a case by case basis. For Curves and Levels adjustments in portraits, just Goggle Levels and Curves adjustments. There are plenty of tutorials for using these adjustments with portrait work flow.
Third, never do any of this without a calibrated monitor. If you're not seeing the correct colors, then you can't adjust them. Most, if not all monitors come too bright, and too blue...because, it looks good to buyers when side by side on a shelf at the store...there is no getting around this. You don't need the most expensive monitor calibrator to calibrate your screen...so, weigh the product options before you rush out and spend more than you need to. For instance, I used to print my own images, but now I send them out...so I don't need to buy a monitor calibrator that will calibrate my printer...
Hope this helps.
Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
Ed
Seriously, though... When I was just starting and had pretty much no hands-on knowledge of how to pose/work with a subject, I used that technique more often than I should
However, as the both time and I progress, I use it less and less. There are other ways to relax the subject without necessarily "drugging" him or her.
i have a good news. we managed to talk with the couples and they agreed to do another engagement shoot. Thanks for the wonderful tips above and I'll keep reminding myself to practice, practice and practice.