Mind if I share? Here's my little kid shot with a 50mm f/1.8D nikon lens. Light was coming from the main door at the right inside KFC resto. Aperture was set at f/4.5 at 1/30 second using my Nikon D70. I'm about 2 feet away from him. B&W conversion using LR and Photoshop.
One thing I have experienced through this "Frame Filler Learning Process" is my brain/eye's difficulty in letting me shoot tight enough. I found it quite difficult to frame the subject tight enough to achieve jeffreaux2's look and feel. For some reason it just went against all the "portraiture" rules I as an old timer had drilled in my head. I guess they are right when they say that it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
What I have found that brings me the results I finally have become happy with is that when I think I'm tight enough, get a little bit tighter.
This is the first "Frame Filler" that I am completely happy with. Except for the slight softness in eye on the right.
Ahhhh, getting in tight is easier for me than learning to leave plenty of room for any possible crop option. I remember my first customer....when she wanted an 8x10 of a full length shot where Id cropped too tight. I was barely able to give her a 5x7. Yikes.
It comes natural now....but REALLY required some work to get to that point.
The "frame filler" shot is one of my favorites, too, but I don't always nail it! I tend to get too far above or to the side, which pushes the irises too far away from the center of the whites. I kinda liked this one, though, one of a series grabbed with my Lensbaby. The DOFwas actually too shallow, and most of the set suffered from missed focal points (I'm RUBBISH at manual focusing, and really need to remember to leave the f4 disk in the LB so I have a little more room to play), but this one nailed both eyes and I kinda liked it.
The "frame filler" shot is one of my favorites, too, but I don't always nail it! I tend to get too far above or to the side, which pushes the irises too far away from the center of the whites. I kinda liked this one, though, one of a series grabbed with my Lensbaby. The DOFwas actually too shallow, and most of the set suffered from missed focal points (I'm RUBBISH at manual focusing, and really need to remember to leave the f4 disk in the LB so I have a little more room to play), but this one nailed both eyes and I kinda liked it.
Diva,
I LOVE this shot! She looks beautiful...and about 20! I like your processing here, too. And I think the LB was quite effective. I've thought about picking one of those up. They look fun.
Elaine
Comments and constructive critique always welcome!
Thanks for the write up, Jeff. I just started thinking about going into senior photography and I'm realizing that I have to shift my way of thinking, in terms of composition. Gave me some food for thought. Thanks again
Awww, thanks Elaine and Buggs! I really enjoyed working on this one - it took a fair bit of processing, but I liked the result so much I even saved it as a preset . I will admit that the processing was inspired by some of our illustrious wedding 'togs (blnearle and tenoverthenose I'm looking at you.............. ) The only thing think I might tweak is to add some bokeh-brush "highlights" to the bg - with the increased exposure it loses a bit of texture
I'm with you - to me, "f4" is stopped WAY down (I seem to shoot at 2.2-3.5 a lot, according to my exifs)
Shooting with a 200mm at 2.8 in close as a frame filler, you'll get one eye in focus and the other eye out....stopping down to f/8 will put the entire face in focus and still blur the background...its all a matter of distance to focal length but if you like half of a face O F then 2.8 is the way to go.
Shooting with a 200mm at 2.8 in close as a frame filler, you'll get one eye in focus and the other eye out....stopping down to f/8 will put the entire face in focus and still blur the background...its all a matter of distance to focal length but if you like half of a face O F then 2.8 is the way to go.
Ah... but my longest lens is a 135 . Seriously, for 2 sharp eyes with that lens I go to 3.2 (sometimes f4), and it's just about right for a shallow dof portrait.
Your point is a good one, though - the appropriate aperture is ALWAYS going to be a combination of elements (light, distance to subject, focal length, how much of the shot needs to be in focus etc etc), and no "one size fits all approach" should ever be assumed!
I LOVE this shot! She looks beautiful...and about 20! I like your processing here, too. And I think the LB was quite effective. I've thought about picking one of those up. They look fun.
Thanks, Jeff. I know you've been through it, so you know what it's like watching these "cute little girls" morph into alarmingly adult teens!!
'Course, we'll proabably all still think of her like this forever (amazing it's only 2.5 years ago!!!)
Well...sure we all think of her "like that"!!!
....no harm there
My youngest has moved back home and will be commuting to school from here on out. Of course she also has a job....so we dont spend a whole lot of time together. Her older sister moved back into her apartment last weekend.
I did the looking into the sun and opening your eyes trick with my son during a slow time at a soccer game. I liked it, next time I will try it with a clean faced boy though.
I think you can do them with any but your 70-200 is probably best since the focal length will cut down on the spacial distortion of the nose and such. Very important since you're getting in tight on the face.
Jeff or any others... Which of my lens are most ideal for a frame filler? My gear is in my sig.
Should I use the 50 mm?
It can be done with the 50, but you will want to use a breath mint first. 70-200 FTW:
110mm, f/2.8, 5DII. Although I agree with the other poster that a smaller aperture (f/5.6?) is better to get both eyes in focus. Here I got lucky that she was square to me.
-Jack
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
We actually wanted the catch lights. The challenge for me was in using the ring light without flattening the light on his face and making it too fashiony, so I guess I did good
Shot with a Rokinon 85mm 1.4 (at 1.4) on a crop sensor. This lens is manual focus only but when I have the time/patience to work with it the bokeh and sharpness are awesome. Not bad for a $300 lens.
This is how I framed it in camera. The only cropping in post was to make it a 5x7 ratio (chopped a bit of the top and bottom).
Diva, I loved the Lensbaby shot. One thing that's really cool about those is that rather than a "plane" of focus, it's more of a spherical surface. That means that you can sometimes line up both eyes along that sphere of focus and get them both tack sharp even while everything else is way blurry (as you did in that shot). But I agree about leaving the f/4 disc in there. I rarely shoot mine at any other aperture. It's the perfect combination of lots of blur but still not frustratingly difficult to focus.
Comments
I like the colors and framing. Her expressions are fantastic....she is having a great time!
The lighting is a tad hot.... especially on #2.
Thanks for sharing. Keep up the great work!
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
REALLY nice capture of a GREAT looking kid.
Thank you for sharing here!:D
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
Ahhhh, getting in tight is easier for me than learning to leave plenty of room for any possible crop option. I remember my first customer....when she wanted an 8x10 of a full length shot where Id cropped too tight. I was barely able to give her a 5x7. Yikes.
It comes natural now....but REALLY required some work to get to that point.
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
Diva,
I LOVE this shot!
Comments and constructive critique always welcome!
Elaine Heasley Photography
Houston Portrait Photographer
Children's Illustrator
Probably THE BEST image I've seen of your daughter. It's a hanger.
Shooting with a 200mm at 2.8 in close as a frame filler, you'll get one eye in focus and the other eye out....stopping down to f/8 will put the entire face in focus and still blur the background...its all a matter of distance to focal length but if you like half of a face O F then 2.8 is the way to go.
NAPP Member | Canon Shooter
Weddings/Portraits and anything else that catches my eye.
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Ah... but my longest lens is a 135
Your point is a good one, though - the appropriate aperture is ALWAYS going to be a combination of elements (light, distance to subject, focal length, how much of the shot needs to be in focus etc etc), and no "one size fits all approach" should ever be assumed!
Moderator of the People and Go Figure forums
My Smug Site
I agree with Elaine ...on all counts.
Man they sure grow up fast!
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
Its a killer shot. Truely inspiring.
BUT
Ya gotta crop inb a little tighter to make it a fram filler. Shouldnt be room for hands in the frame!
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
'Course, we'll proabably all still think of her like this forever (amazing it's only 2.5 years ago!!!)
Well...sure we all think of her "like that"!!!
....no harm there
My youngest has moved back home and will be commuting to school from here on out. Of course she also has a job....so we dont spend a whole lot of time together. Her older sister moved back into her apartment last weekend.
There.
Now you have something to look forward to!!!
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
I did the looking into the sun and opening your eyes trick with my son during a slow time at a soccer game. I liked it, next time I will try it with a clean faced boy though.
Should I use the 50 mm?
CBS Sports MaxPreps Shooter
http://DalbyPhoto.com
Moderator of the People and Go Figure forums
My Smug Site
It can be done with the 50, but you will want to use a breath mint first. 70-200 FTW:
110mm, f/2.8, 5DII. Although I agree with the other poster that a smaller aperture (f/5.6?) is better to get both eyes in focus. Here I got lucky that she was square to me.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
Almost 50mm. I had the 24-70 and was at 67mm.
Houston Portrait Photographer
Children's Illustrator
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
I'm not sure what you mean, lol.
Houston Portrait Photographer
Children's Illustrator
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
Houston Portrait Photographer
Children's Illustrator
Thank you for all the great comments on here. You all are a great resource to portrait newbies like me.
MD
CBS Sports MaxPreps Shooter
http://DalbyPhoto.com
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
I key with frame fillers is to get in tight when you shoot. Here are a couple more, all composed in camera... no post crops:
Ariana
My wife - Jen
Moderator of the People and Go Figure forums
My Smug Site
CBS Sports MaxPreps Shooter
http://DalbyPhoto.com
Shot with a Rokinon 85mm 1.4 (at 1.4) on a crop sensor. This lens is manual focus only but when I have the time/patience to work with it the bokeh and sharpness are awesome. Not bad for a $300 lens.
This is how I framed it in camera. The only cropping in post was to make it a 5x7 ratio (chopped a bit of the top and bottom).
Diva, I loved the Lensbaby shot. One thing that's really cool about those is that rather than a "plane" of focus, it's more of a spherical surface. That means that you can sometimes line up both eyes along that sphere of focus and get them both tack sharp even while everything else is way blurry (as you did in that shot). But I agree about leaving the f/4 disc in there. I rarely shoot mine at any other aperture. It's the perfect combination of lots of blur but still not frustratingly difficult to focus.
http://blog.timkphotography.com
Hey that's neat, what a bargain! Nice shot, love the lashes. Would you mind sharing your skin smoothing technique?
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.