sunny saturday with my son

Elaine

I really want to get better at using light to my advantage...and get better at processing it. I've never really tried such dramatic backlighting. I didn't get the best expression outa my little guy, but...any thoughts? (BTW, the flare is kinda supposed to be there. :wink )
For some reason, this looks sharper and cleaner in PSE.

Chrissiebeez_NL

photos that are intentionally and professionally done wrong are the best IMO! i like it!

DI-Joe

Elaine wrote:

...For some reason, this looks sharper and cleaner in PSE....

How are you exporting out of PSE? If they look different you might be exporting out CMYK colorspace files which get converted to RGB non-profiled colors. PSE will use it's own color profile while browsers have none. Just check how you're exporting.

jeffreaux2

The backlighting on your son looks great. I am not crazy about the house in the BG to the right. The one in the center in the distance is ok. I like that there is an old suburban in the drive that would make the viewer question the date of the photo. I am NOT opposed to lens flare, but in this case, I think the two in the bottom right...and slightly overlaying your son...are distractions. That one at bottom right is pretty bright.

...I like to experiment as well!!!

harrylew

Commendable effort, Elaine
It's great you tried something new and are pushing the envelope of convention.

However, I think the flare is maybe a bit overpowering, in that it makes the image more about the sun and less about your son. Was that your intention?

But I do like the photo quite a lot.

Elaine

Chrissiebeez_NL wrote:

photos that are intentionally and professionally done wrong are the best IMO! i like it!

Thanks, Chris!

DI-Joe wrote:

How are you exporting out of PSE? If they look different you might be exporting out CMYK colorspace files which get converted to RGB non-profiled colors. PSE will use it's own color profile while browsers have none. Just check how you're exporting.

I didn't do anything different with this photo (in regards to exporting, etc...) than I've done with countless others, so ?? I don't believe PSE has CMYK capabilities. I think it just looks clearer viewed larger, actually. Thanks for stopping by!

jeffreaux2 wrote:

The backlighting on your son looks great. I am not crazy about the house in the BG to the right. The one in the center in the distance is ok. I like that there is an old suburban in the drive that would make the viewer question the date of the photo. I am NOT opposed to lens flare, but in this case, I think the two in the bottom right...and slightly overlaying your son...are distractions. That one at bottom right is pretty bright.

1. like to experiment as well!!!

I figured that if I were to use this bench in a “real” situation that I should use a longer lens in an effort to blur out the background. I guess the flare doesn't bother me much at all, but I do agree that there are some bright spots. Thanks for commenting, Jeff!

harrylew wrote:

It's great you tried something new and are pushing the envelope of convention.

However, I think the flare is maybe a bit overpowering, in that it makes the image more about the sun and less about your son. Was that your intention?

But I do like the photo quite a lot.

I wouldn't say it was my intention to overpower my son, but for this shot, I was just seeing how I could capture some serious backlighting/flare and then work with it in post. I probably like it more than most because it is my son. Thanks for stopping by!

jeffreaux2

I assume you captured that with your 17-55mm. I have found that it will flare, but is pretty good at avoiding it as well. I was surprised that this shot (below) had no flare as I was pointing nearly straight at the sun. During the same afternoon, I had to skip some shots I had planned because of flare that could not be avoided.

urbanaries

Elaine, I love love love the colors in this photo and the effect. I can see where you were experimenting with this, I have tried to get that golden backlighty-flarey effect many times, and never obtain as beautiful colors as this. Did you use flash at all? I think the exposure of your son is wonderful considering the strong backlight.

Had the sun set or was it just about to?

I am dying to try this out now that DST is in effect!

Elaine

urbanaries wrote:

Elaine, I love love love the colors in this photo and the effect. I can see where you were experimenting with this, I have tried to get that golden backlighty-flarey effect many times, and never obtain as beautiful colors as this. Did you use flash at all? I think the exposure of your son is wonderful considering the strong backlight.

Had the sun set or was it just about to?

I am dying to try this out now that DST is in effect!

Thanks, Lynne! No flash was used. I did underexpose a bit (should have used the spot meter, I think) and did some tweaking in ACR and with curves in PSE to bring him out more. My current pp usually involves doing an Overlay blending mode and taking the opacity back to 15-30%. I think I did that more than once here, because shooting into the sun makes it pretty washed out to begin with. The sun was just about to go behind some trees. Thanks for commenting!

Mitchell

Interesting experiment with some nice colors and flare. Your son looks cooperative but bored.

I've always added a bit of fill flash for these which makes your life a little easier.