Sunflower shoot
Sorry haven't been around too much - my mom's been in hospital and my dad isn't really coping, so it's been pretty crazy, to say the least. Snuck away yesterday for a little head-clearing mission with Mini-D, to a location I've wanted to shoot for YEARS but couldn't never quite time out when the blooms were in. It's quite famous around, here and with good reason - sunflowers as far as the eye can see. Field, after field, after field. We even got pretty light..... It's magnificent :lust
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Yellow reflections are unavoidable on the skin of the model, did you try to remove some (PS + NIK colorcast remove=yellow + PS layer mask voor skin only)
Not that it disturbs or so, I was just wondering how it would look.
Picture four has some minor burn-0ut , but then again it does work in this kind of shots.
Where is that place ? Looks so nice.... must be great with sunset
Alex
They are a bit hot Alex, bu then again I think that it fits the theme of the shoot. Lets face it, on a sunny day out in nature one can spot natural burns of white, light can be very bright .... I think that divamum has tried to create that feel. The best to answer that question is divamum.
A
http://clearwaterphotography.smugmug.com/
1 and 4 ftw I'd say. 2 and 3 are lovely, but probably could have benefited from a bit of fill and catchlights. #4 is a cracking landscape photo!
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Yeah, 1/4 are the most "portrait-y" keepers for sure, but I'm trying to get out of my headshot comfort-zone and do a bit else, hence why I put the 355mm on and played around with a more lifestyle vibe. Which leads me to....
Brian, thanks for the feedback. The reason that 3 sucks is because, um... it's the wrong photo.
Here's another - some of the same issues you mention, but I think possibly a better candidate:
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Kdog, I went 100% au naturel with these by choice and design - as much as an exercise to see how I'd handle it as anything (I told you I needed to clear my head!!). 5dII on spot meter with 5pm September sun low enough in the sky to be useable (another hour might have been even better OR it might have gone to full shade given the way the surrounding hills and trees fall). Hardest part was adjusting settings (because I couldn't see the in-camera meter while I was shooting into the light), and focusing (because the 5dII sucks when it gets confused). I was guessing about half my exposures, and given I was shooting straight into the light, I was actually pretty happy I was in the ballpark! Definitely not useable SOOC, but entirely edit-able. I've had to lift face exposure in post in many (I intentionally wanted to use that light as a rim/backlight), but given the gorgeousness of the surroundings and light I'm ok with it on this occasion. If I'd had an assistant, I'd have been ALL OVER a reflector (I considered my white jacket at one point, but didn't want to damage the flowers by hanging it on one in front to provide some fill!!)
Alex, it's interesting you comment on that - it's not the first time recently people have said my exposures look a bit hot. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with this as I'm getting responses from those with calibrated monitors. HOWEVER... the exposures aren't blowing the histogram, they look good on my monitor (bright, but not blown) and - the fact which will make me leave them as-is - they're printing up EXACTLY as they're showing on my screen once I've lifted them just a tiny bit further. So... iIs it just a matter of taste or....?? Definitely getting a bit confused by this, as it's only recently people have started mentiong it.
A few more... Again, trying to shoot outside my usual style a little. Not sure I've nailed it, but having fun experimenting
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4a Pirouettes in a sunflower field are harder than they look.... lol
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3a is smoking!
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Kdog, thanks! I'm getting really paranoid about exposures right now - I tend to push them to as-bright-as-possible-without-hot-spots-or-being-blown, but multiple folks (some with calibrated monitors, apparently) say they're seeing them as way too bright. Making me doubt myself (although my prints are typically coming out about right)!!
www.katetaylor.smugmug.com
"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." Mark Twain
2a, I realize into-the-sun flare shots are all the rage these days but I'm just not hip to that fad. Not my cup of tea. 3a, I wish that flower on the left wasn't there. 4a, I wouldn't get it without the explanation, so I think that tells you something.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
stueveshots.smugmug.com
@Jack Already some vignette there (most of my shots have at least a little)
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Yes. I don't mind the occasional specular blowout, but a couple of times in the last month people have said my skintones made people look like they were "glowing". They were bright on the histo, but not blown. It's just weird, after years of never having that be a comment, suddenly several people have said the same thing (which is why I'm taking it seriously
+1
Unsharp at any Speed
Hi! I'm Wally: website | blog | facebook | IG | scotchNsniff
Nikon addict. D610, Tok 11-16, Sig 24-35, Nik 24-70/70-200vr