In response to Divamum's challenge...

StueveShots

...to get active again and post, I am doing so! I shot these pictures of my son before he headed off to his spring formal. It is rare that I can get him to slow down enough to get some decent shots, so I was pleased to have snapped these. Light was pretty harsh--we live far up north and the sun was still quite high in the sky at 5 p.m. I tried to capture his attitude and style before he headed out into his fun evening. C&C of course is welcome!





(As an aside: I don't know why the b&w is not displaying crisply--the focus looks soft, even though the original is very sharp. Any suggestions?)

Qarik

mission accomplished.. attitude and style captured. technically there are some things to be desired but I like the images overall!

StueveShots

Thanks, Qarik! I'd be interested in what technical things you would desire be improved (just to see if they match mine). These were quick shots taken in a matter of a couple of minutes (my son was not patient--he let me take five pictures total), but I am working on being more thoughtful about such pictures because some of my son's older friends have asked me to consider doing their senior pictures next year. I didn't do much editing on these at all (a little in LR), so maybe there is some I can do (like cloning out the power line on the first picture...and maybe the crack in our driveway!) One thing I'd wish I'd had was a reflector to soften the shadows under the hat.

Qarik

1st shot. The BG is bit mundane, open up that aperture and destroy the BG. If can't avoid harsh light, then process it differently. I find that harsh light is suited to edgy post processing (add a colorcast, higher contrast, non linear curves, etc)

2nd shot bump up the exposure 2/3 stop, warm it up a touch (I see too much blues in his white shirt), add a vignette, selectively brighten his up his face some.

divamum

FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Post more, please

I think I would go for more dramatic processing, too - I love the B&W (it really goes with the hat, if that makes sense!) and I think you can push both images a little further to make that attitude and style "pop" even more!

StueveShots

Thanks to both of you! I will spend some time on the images then... I'll try a few of the ideas you've suggested and repost.

Qarik, I absolutely agree with you about shooting wide open...and with the lens I had available, I was. This summer I took some portraits during our family's reunion and rented an 85mm f/1.2...oh, was that sweet! Wish I owned it outright!

watchmen

I really love these shots, and that hat but that's another forum. I agree with everything Qarik and Diva said, definately go with more punchy postwork. One thing I like to do is darken (burn) the background. It might help with keeping the eye on the subject in the first photo.