Desi

anonymouscuban

My favorites from Saturday's session:

First, we took a couple of shots in my home studio:

1


2


Then we went mobile:

3


4


5 - (I know... that dreadful branch. Ugh.)


6


7


8


9


10

Qarik

she is gorgeous..really good for the most part. it seems you are falling into the "tilt trap" (as you get better you are tempted to add tilt to make the image more dynamic..then eventually you mature out of that..like HDR!) I will help you along..LOSE THE TILT! The surprising thing is the "tilt trap" usually occurs at the "moderate advanced amateur" stage. your are WAAAAY beyond that!

Just ask yourself..how does tilt add to the shot? if you can't give a VERY reason why it helps with the composition..then keep it straight. The only time I have tilt is when the perspective is odd (shooting from low or high angle) or a dance shot where tilt may add to composition.

Hackbone

wow, 2-6-9 for me are terrific.

divamum

4/8/9. Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!

divamum

PS In 10 you got almost a tilt-shift effect - is it just the low perspective and wide aperture combo?

StueveShots

1, 2,4 and 7 (love her eyes) are tops for me. Beautiful! 6 is a great shot also, but the slight tilt doesn't work for me with those strong fence lines... (It might not have been a tilt at all, of course...fences do run downhill. But it leaves me feeling like I should lean a little when I look at it.)

Your work is great!

divamum

Hey Qarik - did you notice that even though it's not the same bridge it's the same park?!

Qarik

divamum wrote: »

Hey Qarik - did you notice that even though it's not the same bridge it's the same park?!

*shakes head* one trick pony that guy!

anonymouscuban

Qarik wrote: »

she is gorgeous..really good for the most part. it seems you are falling into the "tilt trap" (as you get better you are tempted to add tilt to make the image more dynamic..then eventually you mature out of that..like HDR!) I will help you along..LOSE THE TILT! The surprising thing is the "tilt trap" usually occurs at the "moderate advanced amateur" stage. your are WAAAAY beyond that!

Just ask yourself..how does tilt add to the shot? if you can't give a VERY reason why it helps with the composition..then keep it straight. The only time I have tilt is when the perspective is odd (shooting from low or high angle) or a dance shot where tilt may add to composition.

Man... I'm so confused by this post. At times I sense sarcasm but other times I don't. I read and get excited because I infer some praise but then I keep reading to become so sad to find that maybe it wasn't. I kid of course. C'mon man. I got two shots with a real tilt, #1 and #5, and the latter I how to in order to compose her the way I wanted with the tree behind and in the foreground framing her.

OK.... maybe #3 has some tilt too but in my defense, I was shooting while almost doing the splits. Even her mom commented on the extent I went to get that perspective. I guess I could have laid down on my stomach but I like to do things the hard way.

Hackbone wrote: »

wow, 2-6-9 for me are terrific.

divamum wrote: »

4/8/9. Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks guys. I think #4 is my favorite. At least right now it is.

divamum wrote: »

PS In 10 you got almost a tilt-shift effect - is it just the low perspective and wide aperture combo?

HAHA... I'm glad someone mentioned this because I thought so too. It's funny because I intended on shooting one of those stitched images where you take shit ton of shots wide open and then stitch them together to get a very narrow DOF look but I accidentally got it one frame. And yes Diva, it's just a combo of perspective and aperture. The spot where she is standing is high spot on the trail. I'm at the bottom and then directly behind her, the trail also drops down.

StueveShots wrote: »

1, 2,4 and 7 (love her eyes) are tops for me. Beautiful! 6 is a great shot also, but the slight tilt doesn't work for me with those strong fence lines... (It might not have been a tilt at all, of course...fences do run downhill. But it leaves me feeling like I should lean a little when I look at it.)

Your work is great!

Thank you. The bridge shot I did not tilt. Its the angle I'm shooting from and the bridge is not level.

divamum wrote: »

Hey Qarik - did you notice that even though it's not the same bridge it's the same park?!

Qarik wrote: »

*shakes head* one trick pony that guy!

OK... I never said it wasn't the same place!!! It's actually quite a large park. The infamous bridge is across the street in the smaller part of the park. The park actually meanders through a neighborhood. You cross a road where their is the park proper, with many trails that go up into the hills. We explored more of that area this time. Lots of nice little vignettes if you look for them and direction of the sun permitting.

I'm dying to find another spot but it's tough. I'm so busy with my day job. I'll be scouting some places soon though.

Bryce Wilson

anonymouscuban wrote: »

I'm dying to find another spot but it's tough. I'm so busy with my day job. I'll be scouting some places soon though.

Ever hear the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." ?

Two, Nine and Ten are my faves of a very nice bunch.

Qarik

alex I see tilt in 6,5,4,3,1. Note that sometimes the "horizon" may not be level although where you stand the ground is level, but then it appears tilted regardless..like 4. I know I mix my sarcasm probably TOO much with you..but this was not really sarcastic. I went through tilt phase..I have seen more then a few folks go through it as well. In the end we all come out better for it!

Hackbone

Tilt is really big in the world of senior photography and I don't mean a gentle tilt. On this forum I see more traditional views of the rules. I find that odd as many seem to want to be different. Many of the photographs on the forum seem mundane due to the adherence to traditional values. Just an opinion but I enjoy hearing the differing opinions.

bipock

Humor me, the new guy - when you went mobile, did you use lights or is it all natural light? Personally, I think they are all outstanding.

anonymouscuban

Bryce Wilson wrote: »

Ever hear the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." ?

Two, Nine and Ten are my faves of a very nice bunch.

Bryce... I completely agree. I shoot at this park often because people request it. They've seen the other sets I've done at the park and they request the same location. With that said, I do want to find at least one or two other locations I can shoot that are close by and a different feel.

Qarik wrote: »

alex I see tilt in 6,5,4,3,1. Note that sometimes the "horizon" may not be level although where you stand the ground is level, but then it appears tilted regardless..like 4. I know I mix my sarcasm probably TOO much with you..but this was not really sarcastic. I went through tilt phase..I have seen more then a few folks go through it as well. In the end we all come out better for it!

I don't mind the banter Daniel. I never take anything personal, even IRL. My wife says it can sometimes be one of my faults because I let everything slide. That said, I personally don't find the tilt on any of the photos to be distracting and how do you know I don't have a short leg and can't help it?

Hackbone wrote: »

Tilt is really big in the world of senior photography and I don't mean a gentle tilt. On this forum I see more traditional views of the rules. I find that odd as many seem to want to be different. Many of the photographs on the forum seem mundane due to the adherence to traditional values. Just an opinion but I enjoy hearing the differing opinions.

See my comment above Hack.

bipock wrote: »

Humor me, the new guy - when you went mobile, did you use lights or is it all natural light? Personally, I think they are all outstanding.

I always use flash outside... well, almost always. For these, I used an AlienBees AB800 studio flash head with a 4 foot octobox soft box. It was powered by a Vagabond Mini battery pack.

Bilsen

I guess I haven't reached advanced amatuer yet cause I still use the tilt on occasion.

She is seriously pretty and I like the entire set. I apologize for not having a better crit than that Alex.

michaelglenn

Gorgeous set Alex. Out of all of these, I love the emotion and lighting that is evoked in #8.

About tilt. I do this very rarely. However, it can be pulled off depending on the scenario. I like to tilt when the background is out of focus. To me, the tilt looks flattering in 3. The tilt in 5 and 6 is more distracting. Why is that? The background is in complete focus. My eye immediately gets distracted and feels like she is off balance. Imagine if the tree in 5 didn't exist in the front, but the tree in back still remains. See how that is more flattering with the tilt? I feel like tilt shots work great in a studio setting mainly because all the focus is on the subject. In outdoor settings, you really do need to take into account background elements, and be mindful of tilts.

Just my two cents.

For the set as a whole, I think it's awesome. I'm sure she will love these!

zoomer

Good series overall. Tilts as mentioned.
A couple have flat light, if you are going to drag the lights out there use them.
Try for more of a mix of angles and expressions.
I am sure she loved them.
1 is my favorite, nice light and color. Not loving the tilt, and not sure shooting her from above is her most flattering angle.

anonymouscuban

Thanks guys.

The one comment that has me scratching my head though is the that some have flat light.

zoomer

3 4 the light looks flat. in a series where they all looked like that wouldn't notice it so much, but in this series where the others have nice light they stand out.

jonh68

anonymouscuban wrote: »

Thanks guys.

The one comment that has me scratching my head though is the that some have flat light.

I don't get that one either. The pics work as they are. You have a nice variety for the client to choose from. I'm a fan of both shadowed and "flat". Ultimately it is the taste of the client that matters.

anonymouscuban

Well, I do see what Zoomer is saying.... when compared to the other shots, the ratios on the two are much smaller. I actually shot those that way purposely. I was shooting into the sun and had quite a bit of flare in the shot.

jonh68

anonymouscuban wrote: »

Well, I do see what Zoomer is saying.... when compared to the other shots, the ratios on the two are much smaller. I actually shot those that way purposely. I was shooting into the sun and had quite a bit of flare in the shot.

I noticed the lighting was different too, just don't see it as a nitpick. Just see it as different.

dlscott56

These are fantastic. Love 9. Just curious, are you going out with an assistant or having parents/friends help hang on to light stands and lug equipment?

Dreadnote

Qarik wrote: »

alex I see tilt in 6,5,4,3,1. Note that sometimes the "horizon" may not be level although where you stand the ground is level, but then it appears tilted regardless..like 4. I know I mix my sarcasm probably TOO much with you..but this was not really sarcastic. I went through tilt phase..I have seen more then a few folks go through it as well. In the end we all come out better for it!

Now I'm totally confused. I understand the idea of avoiding intentional tilt, if that is your preference, but #4 is shot on a hill and there is a natural slope to the ground. If you look at the fence posts they are completely vertical. Are you suggesting that the picture should be tilted to level out the hill?

Agnieszka

GORGEOUS, all of them! I prefer the outdoor photos, but I see why you did some of them inside (and they came out great!). I love the choice of your lens, the background is nice and smooth, nothing distracting from the subject and the compositions are beautiful! Well, well done!

anonymouscuban

dlscott56 wrote: »

These are fantastic. Love 9. Just curious, are you going out with an assistant or having parents/friends help hang on to light stands and lug equipment?

Thanks man. My wife typically serves as my assistant, a bossy one though so not sure who is directing and who is assisting.

She did come out on this shoot but I didn't use her, other than keeping the mom entertained. I actually put together a small rig that makes me quite portable where I'm able to do these shoots by myself. Its still needs a few tweaks but its getting there. I'll post a photo if you'd like.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

Dreadnote wrote: »

Now I'm totally confused. I understand the idea of avoiding intentional tilt, if that is your preference, but #4 is shot on a hill and there is a natural slope to the ground. If you look at the fence posts they are completely vertical. Are you suggesting that the picture should be tilted to level out the hill?

Never knew tilts or ones perceived could be so controversial.

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Agnieszka wrote: »

GORGEOUS, all of them! I prefer the outdoor photos, but I see why you did some of them inside (and they came out great!). I love the choice of your lens, the background is nice and smooth, nothing distracting from the subject and the compositions are beautiful! Well, well done!

Thanks Angie. Mom wanted the grad pics in studio so I complied.

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Dreadnote

anonymouscuban wrote: »

Never knew tilts or ones perceived could be so controversial.

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I don't have a problem with any of the tilts, intentional or otherwise. I think its a wonderful set. I'm just trying to see the pictures through Daniel's eyes. Trying to understand alternate views and all that.

dlscott56

anonymouscuban wrote: »

Thanks man. My wife typically serves as my assistant, a bossy one though so not sure who is directing and who is assisting.

She did come out on this shoot but I didn't use her, other than keeping the mom entertained. I actually put together a small rig that makes me quite portable where I'm able to do these shoots by myself. Its still needs a few tweaks but its getting there. I'll post a photo if you'd like.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

Yes, I would love to see your rig. I'm doing some family photos next week for a friend (and practice) and was thinking about bringing one octobox, light, battery to try out.

Just so you all know. I'm typing this while tilting.

dlscott56

Oh, and speaking of tilting. This is how I look at it. If the untilted image is no good, tilting won't make it better. I've see websites where nearly every image was tilted and if I looked at the actual image, composition, lighting, etc, they were terrible. Nothing better than a snapshot. In THAT case the tilting was an amateurish way to try and make it look better. It didn't work. In THIS case the images are all stunning and well done (tilted or not). So, tilting just becomes an artistic choice.

Qarik

Dreadnote wrote: »

Now I'm totally confused. I understand the idea of avoiding intentional tilt, if that is your preference, but #4 is shot on a hill and there is a natural slope to the ground. If you look at the fence posts they are completely vertical. Are you suggesting that the picture should be tilted to level out the hill?

shot 4 is an interesting example because upon close inspection the fence posts ARE straight so the horizen is naturally sloped as you point out.

But in fact at 1st glance it does appear to be tilted. even her pose is tilted and the big tree in the ULHC is tilted. In this case I would intentionally tilt the image so that horizen was near straight becasue just about every element in the image is tilting one way anyway.