More of Desiree - Senior Prom Shots
anonymouscuban
Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 4,586 Major grins
Some more shots from Saturday's gal:
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7
And a few with her date:
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And a few with her date:
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I'm diggin on one and seven.
Not sure if it's because her arms have more tan than her shoulders, but the skin tones look off to me in four and five.
Good catch Bryce. I gave those shots another edit to even the color of the skin on the arms. The updates will show in the original post but adding them here just in case your browser has the images cached.
Here is another shot of the dress:
And another shot of the two of them:
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Nope. No filters. Although it was bright out, in the shade of the large trees I had no problem shooting wide open or close to it with shutter speeds well within the sync speed. I think most of the shots were at f/2.8 and 1/125 shutter.
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LOVE #3, although I'll bet she doesn't like the shnoz in that (shame, because it's an outstanding picture).
This is a great series, Alex. For myself, I probably would have used a less grassy setting, but you made it work for you and they're absolutely beautiful images.
PS Q for the teaser (been crazy here so didn't have time to respond when you posted): it's gorgeous, but trying to figure out HOW you got as much of her face crystal clear while the tree was blurred out. Obviously, wide aperture blah blah blah, but did you add blur or something? I can't quite figure out how the "sweet spot" covers only what you want, and not nearby parts of the image that seem to theoretically be on the same plane....
Thanks Diva. Yeah, it was a beautiful dress. I'm all for loving our kids but it crazy to me how much money some of these parents spend on their children. And mind you, I don't think the parents are loaded either. And we wonder why kids today are such little a-holes.
The setting was their choice. I actually suggested we shoot these at the new performing arts building at the local college here. It's a beautiful modern looking building with a lot of glass and straight edges. I've been dying to use it at a backdrop and thought this would have been perfect but they saw some photos on my site at this location and it's what they wanted. Next time.
As for the teaser shot, I wish I could say that I new exactly what I was doing and the selective focus was exactly by design but it was not. Just luck. Although, she's not standing as close as you think to tree. I think she is a few inches in front of it. Here is the shot in case people are wondering and didn't want to hunt down the other thread. BTW, it was shot at f/2.8, 1/80, ISO 100 and 150mm.
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Explain how you evened out the tan and shoulder area if you can.
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Thanks Hack. For the skin tone it's that trick I shared of blending a B&W layer in. It really adds so much tonal depth to skin. You just have to play with the opacity a bit to get it right with different skin tones.
As for evening out the tan, quite simple actually and don't know if there are better ways of doing it. I just added a curves adjustment layer with the midtones pulled up, basically raising the overall brightness of the image. Then I added an inverted mask and painted on the brightness on the areas than needed it with a soft brush set at about 6% opacity and 50% flow.
Here is an image of a curves layer that demonstrates what I did. I actually use this type of adjustment layer quite a bit to brighten areas. I also do the opposite, pulled the midtones down, to darken parts of images. I use the a curves layer, with the midtones pulled down, to apply vignetting too. I use the gradient tool on the mask to create the vignette. What is nice about that, is I can choose the center of the vignette and adjust the how gradation of the transition.
Thanks Michael. I have to say the same about your recent sets. Our styles, I think, are quite different but I really like your stuff. One thing I've really been striving for is consistency and it's what I've noticed about your stuff. Very consistent and I think it's important because it establishes a "brand" of sorts.
The 365 project has helped me tremendously. Like everything else, practice makes perfect and the 365 forced me to practice everyday. It's really made shooting second nature, especially with my understanding and ability to control light. I still need to improve but I'm definitely very happy with how my skills have developed.
Thank you Trudy.
BTW, the mom stopped by a couple days ago. I reviewed the photos with her. It was so freaking awesome. She literally cried the entire time. AND NO... not because they were horrible but because she loved them so much. She could not stop thanking me. It was so rewarding and such a confidence booster. I don't know about you guys but me, no matter how good I personally think the photos I take are, I always have this fear that the client is going to hate them. It's a feeling that I have been unable to break. I have yet to disappoint anyone and hopefully, this experience will help me get rid of the anxiety a bit.
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I totally agree Daniel. It's just tough to places around here that are nice backdrops, don't have tons of people and won't ask you for a permit to shoot. I will be scouting some new spots though, I promise.
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Whoah Alex, thank you so much for the compliments! Your work (especially these past few months) have been incredible. You really have a solid understanding of light and how to manipulate it the way you want. I know that 365 has done you quite well. Our styles do differ a lot (I shoot mainly in natural light), but you and a few others have inspired me to use some off camera speedlites. I still have a lot to learn, but I'll see how much I can absorb this summer.
As for consistency, that is the only way you can establish yourself in the industry. If people can look at a photograph and tell it was from you, then you know you've nailed your style. Yours has matured very nicely, and I look forward to seeing this trend continue in the future