After injury portrait

lizzard_nyc

I wondered to myself later what kind of sick mom I was to take this shot, but I did and here it is.
This was taken after he missed a high pop fly (he lost it in the field lights) and it tipped his glove and then....

I took this after I cleaned him up a bit and he was watching tv about half an hour after he got home. I waited until the advil kicked in before I looked in his mouth and when I did, I grabbed my purse and took him to the emergency room.



I won't stop him from playing again of course, but I find myself not nearly as exited as I normally am to watch him play. I think he needs to get back out there (after getting m.d. clearance) ASAP, if not for his sake then for mine.

Javier

I have a similar image of my son as well (he is 12) after he ate dirt and rocks and who knows what else on BMX bike at the park. Thank God, no emergency room, but he was pretty tore up and I too have pictures to prove it, ....Best thing, is for him to get back out there and once he catches his first ball again, all will be good on planet earth.

TonyCooper

Is it appropriate to say "Great shot"? There's pain and bravery
there. I agree with Javier; kids are resilient. He'll be back.

Patti

Ohhh Liz!!! Poor baby. How's he feeling this week?

RSL

Ouch!

M38A1

Other than a whole boatload of emotion which you've captured, what I really like is the subliminal message of the single teardrop streak down his left cheek through the bloodied area. You have to look close to see/understand it.

A single teardrop trail most probably wiped away by mom. Wow.


.

lizzard_nyc

Thank you all,
I'm glad the photo is powerful and shows emotion--you can tell I was shaken up because I chopped his chin off.
Taking photos of him calmed me though and he was a trooper as they say.

Status update.
The wires holding his permanent teeth in place come out on Tuesday, no nerve damage when his baby tooth was knocked out. The cuts are healing but he remains on a soft food diet for a month.

He will likely get the green light to play ball again on Tuesday, albeit with some protective gear until he is back on solid foods. He is raring to go back and play, I mean to the point of tears and frustration. I want to wrap him in a bubble for a bit but won't. I will let him go back when he gets the green light. I know I will be nervous the first time he plays again.

THanks all for the concern, much appreciated.

bdcolen

Fantastic, Liz - but having just played with it, I would definitely open it up by the equivalent of a stop-and-a-half to two stops. Give it a try.

lizzard_nyc

bdcolen wrote: »

Fantastic, Liz - but having just played with it, I would definitely open it up by the equivalent of a stop-and-a-half to two stops. Give it a try.

This is where my ignorance shines forth like a beacon.
What do you mean?

Kick up the exposure?
Because when I read "open it up a stop and a half" I'm thinking you mean fstops and how do you do that in PP? I can only think to work w/ the clarity?

RSL

Liz, what are you doing your PP with? If it's Photoshop Elements, use the Levels command, or, better yet the Curves command if you have the most recent version, and pull the gamma slider to the left. In Elements, that's the little upward-pointing diamond below the Input Levels panel.

Better yet, if you're shooting raw, go into Adobe Camera Raw through Elements or Lightroom or, if you have it, Photoshop, and just slide the Exposure slider to the right until you've added a stop or so exposure.

But having said that, I have to tell you that I don't agree with BD. I think low key is the right light for this painful picture. It's fine just the way you have it.

Again, Ouch! I've seen my own sons in situations like this and I'm sure it's more painful for you than for him.

lizzard_nyc

RSL wrote: »

Liz, what are you doing your PP with?

Lightroom

RSL

We overlapped there. Fine. Lightroom's best of all. Just go to "develop" and slide the exposure slider to the right. That way you can see what BD's driving at and see if you agree. One caution: if you change the exposure you may want to make some changes in the blacks. I'd be more inclined to change brightness, which will leave the white point and black point where they are.

Quincy T

Javier wrote: »

I have a similar image of my son as well (he is 12) after he ate dirt and rocks and who knows what else on BMX bike at the park. Thank God, no emergency room, but he was pretty tore up and I too have pictures to prove it, ....Best thing, is for him to get back out there and once he catches his first ball again, all will be good on planet earth.

It's a great shot, Liz. I, like M3, find the teardrop trail one of the most interesting parts of the image.

Now, the reason I am quoting the above is because when Javier says: "He ate dirt and rocks and who knows what else on BMX bike"...it took me a minute to register what he was actually saying and for a moment I was thinking to myself: Damn. That is one hardcore appetite.

bdcolen

lizzard_nyc wrote: »

This is where my ignorance shines forth like a beacon.
What do you mean?

Kick up the exposure?
Because when I read "open it up a stop and a half" I'm thinking you mean fstops and how do you do that in PP? I can only think to work w/ the clarity?

Hi, Liz - I was speaking gibberish, applying shooting terms to pp. I played with it - I went to Image >Curves, moved the highlights slider to the edge of the histogram, and then gave it a very slight upward bowed curve, all of which had the effect of making up for it's being under exposed. You could do the same thing in Lightroom by just playing with the Exposure and highlight sliders, or by working with the curve.

sp-1-2-L.jpg

lizzard_nyc

bdcolen wrote: »

Hi, Liz - I was speaking gibberish, applying shooting terms to pp. I played with it - I went to Image >Curves, moved the highlights slider to the edge of the histogram, and then gave it a very slight upward bowed curve, all of which had the effect of making up for it's being under exposed. You could do the same thing in Lightroom by just playing with the Exposure and highlight sliders, or by working with the curve.

sp-1-2-L.jpg

thanks B.D.--I wasn't going to get around to it til this weekend.

Ok here is my opinion on the re edited version.
While the higher contrast is candy for my eyes, I find the more muted version more powerful emotionally. Make sense? I'm not distracted by how the higher contrast (Even though it is slight), it is a little bit distracting.

Anyone else? Is that just me? Am I being obsessive about my photo?

Patti

Although technically improved, i find that the original has a more melancholy mood while the adjusted seems a bit too 'perky' for the subject.

bdcolen

Ah, yer both crazy. Perky, Patti? Perky? Really? I can think of a lot of things I'd call any version of that image, but perky isn't one of them. And Liz, I get what you're saying. But underexposed is underexposed.
But it's your image, Liz. And besides, it would be a dull world if we all agreed all the time.

Besides, it's a terrific image - even if it is underexposed. :ivar

Patti

ROFLAO! Perky as in bright light, no reflection on the subject matter. I suppose it's like writing music in a major key for decidedly melancholic lyrics. Mind you, that can be interesting in its unpredictability. Regardless, this photo makes me weepy. Must be the mother in me.

RSL

Good conversion, BD. Technically it's a better version of the picture, but I think it's lost some of the moodiness of the original.

bdcolen

Patti wrote: »

ROFLAO! Perky as in bright light, no reflection on the subject matter. I suppose it's like writing music in a major key for decidedly melancholic lyrics. Mind you, that can be interesting in its unpredictability. Regardless, this photo makes me weepy. Must be the mother in me.

Weepy is good. Makes me weepy when properly exposed. But I clearly am in the minority on this one. :cry

RyanS

Reminds me of that Foster The People pop song "Pumped Up Kicks." My kids were jubilantly singing it the other day and thought it was a catchy dance track. Then I told them what it was about (youth gun violence, school shootings). The look on their face was pure horror. My daughter started crying because she felt guilty for feeling happy about people being shot (she is very sensitive about such subjects). I felt bad, but they learned a lesson about how mood can be controlled irrespective of content. The tempo of a song can mislead you. Once you understand both the content and the "tempo/mood", then you get an entirely different message. One that might be intentionally or accidentally communicated.

As far as using underexposure as a creative choice to elicit emotion, I'm down with that. I'm not quite sure the analogy to music works. If exposure were equivalent to 'tempo,' then it would.

seastack

I recently saw larger the life portraits done by Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra of battered Spanish bullfighters just out the ring. It's a contemporary ultra realistic style with a 4x5 camera, straight-on portrait but absolutely stunning both in the understated exhaustion apparent in the fighters while struggling to maintain their machismo and in the level of detail as every thread and speck of blood on their jackets is revealed, every bruise on their face rendered in subtle shades. I gained a great appreciation of this style of photography and its ability to convey much. Worth a thought I think in terms of approach and style. I'm not saying "do this" but just worth a look as food for thought.

And also, to say, great idea to do this. There is nothing wrong with it, it is LIFE, and personal, and you are simply documenting it. So good on ya.