Z-Z ..... Stark shadow lighting can be dramatic,I love it..... but perhaps, stark lighting works better with your models with lovely skin texture - unless your desire is to demonstrate the damage done by the years and the sunlight. Lynn expressly asked for suggestions for lighting that would help show off her older models in the best light ( NO PUN HERE!) put their best appearance forward. I for one think the soft light she chose is a good one.
I might be mistaken, but I believe waxy took that from a different thread with a different focus. While I still believe no great photography is possible without great lighting, I wouldn't advise Lynn to go for stark shadows in this job.
Good point that dramatic side lighting would accentuate the age of the subjects' faces. Perhaps Lynn can experiment with both shadows and flat lighting and see what she prefers? As the shots are now going to be in color, some of the contrasty B&W techniques may not be as valuable.
I'm not sure that I'm with you on your suggestions about the background, however. Aren't a lot of portraits shot with a relatively long lens (100mm or so) to accomplish two things: smooth the facial features into something more flattering, and allow for a wide aperature that gives a very narrow depth of field? In other words, it puts the background out of focus? Seems to me that fixing the background in the shot is a lot cleaner and easier solution than playing in Photoshop on every image (even tho you did a sweet job on your doggie.) I know we try to get depth behind people when we shoot interviews.
Still, as I have no experience posing people for portraits, only for video camera interviews, I'll try not to bombard Lynn with too much silliness.
Lynn, I admire the way you're digging into your project and experimenting.
It's 4.53 am and I've been awake since 2, I'm gonna be good for nuttin today I can see that. Thought I'd have a quick cup of tea and a read to see whats going on here in dgrin world and just wanted to say how I love this forum.. You guys are great. Having no schools or classes readily available I have to get my tutorials where I can and this source is fantastic, I feel I've learned so much already. Thanks all for such interesting and supportive comments, I get a lot out of all, both sides.
By the way Sid, you cannot have too much silliness in the world, I'm a great believer in it so please bombard away:D
It's 4.53 am and I've been awake since 2, I'm gonna be good for nuttin today I can see that. Thought I'd have a quick cup of tea and a read to see whats going on here in dgrin world and just wanted to say how I love this forum.. You guys are great. Having no schools or classes readily available I have to get my tutorials where I can and this source is fantastic, I feel I've learned so much already. Thanks all for such interesting and supportive comments, I get a lot out of all, both sides.
By the way Sid, you cannot have too much silliness in the world, I'm a great believer in it so please bombard away:D
Just an added thought, (being as now I'm totally awake) I tried to imitate light from a window, in fact I used about 400 watts of light from home made lights and used a reflector made of the stuff you build houses with, insulation stuff, light weight white on one side and silver on the other, you can get a whole bale of the stuff for 12 bucks . I could see the light was wrong, but I also had my camera settings all wrong but you know how it is at first, all excitement and bungling. I was going for the "big light" theory.. obviously need to practice that more as my son commented on the shot... "nice concrete wall mum" :lol Plus all my lights kept falling off the backs of chairs and tops of things nearly maiming my elders... thinking about it.. it's lucky it came out at all.
Thanks again folks.. tell it like it is.. I love it. I think I'll go back to sleep now:snore
Good point that dramatic side lighting would accentuate the age of the subjects' faces. Perhaps Lynn can experiment with both shadows and flat lighting and see what she prefers? As the shots are now going to be in color, some of the contrasty B&W techniques may not be as valuable.
I'm not sure that I'm with you on your suggestions about the background, however. Aren't a lot of portraits shot with a relatively long lens (100mm or so) to accomplish two things: smooth the facial features into something more flattering, and allow for a wide aperature that gives a very narrow depth of field? In other words, it puts the background out of focus? Seems to me that fixing the background in the shot is a lot cleaner and easier solution than playing in Photoshop on every image (even tho you did a sweet job on your doggie.) I know we try to get depth behind people when we shoot interviews.
Lynn, I admire the way you're digging into your project and experimenting.
Actually Wxwax you are perfectly correct that the concrete background in focus, no less, is better fixed by depth of field and perhaps a change of surface like suggested by AltPro - Just moving the model a few more feet further from the wall might be sufficient without any camera changes. The posing reminds me of Whistler's Mother - a painting of some renown. I kind of liked it. It was not a tight composition like the other poster suggested, just like Whistler's Mother.
I was just trying to encourage Lynn for giving broad light sources a try and to remember that the background problem can be dealt with after the fact if necessary. But not needing to clone in a new background is always preferable. I said I was lazy, see, its true! Just PUI last nite I think.
DD, that's a wonderful image. Very sweet expression and nice colors.
I was concerned that it isn't quite centered but I had to shoot it quick as she was painting a child's face and was moving alot. I took a few more of the kids she was painting and will put them in another thread. I find myself spending way too much time in here.
I was concerned that it isn't quite centered but I had to shoot it quick as she was painting a child's face and was moving alot. I took a few more of the kids she was painting and will put them in another thread. I find myself spending way too much time in here.
Check out this thread about the rule of thirds, and scroll down to Baldy's post with Shay's avatar and a headshot of his own. They might make you feel better about how her head is positioned!
Knowhatchamean about spending too much time here. But man, you really seem to enjoy shooting, might as well indulge a little, no?
I might be mistaken, but I believe waxy took that from a different thread with a different focus. While I still believe no great photography is possible without great lighting, I wouldn't advise Lynn to go for stark shadows in this job.
Your comment about great lighting I absolutely agree with - lighting, not subject or posing, is the ultimate determinator of great images. But when Lynn asked for suggestions about lighting for elderly females, several of us suggested window light type soft illumination - I thought Wxwax was among those, because I remembered his comments about the sun being a small point source as oppposed to cloudy overcast days with their more diffuse light.
Hopefully, my post was clear that my comments were in good faith and an attempt at humor and support for Lynn, and not a real flame at the other posters who were clearly making genuine and thoughtful suggestions for Lynn about other types of lighting eg: much more dramatic. But like Hutch said - the lady seems more like grandmother than Scarlet O'Hara.
Picture of Christopher Cheboiboch winner of the 2002 Boston Marathon. I took this at about the 25 mile mark with the 100-400 IS lens fully extended. You can see the concentration or maybe even introspection in his face.
Charles Richmond IT & Security Consultant
Operating System Design, Drivers, Software
Villa Del Rio II, Talamban, Pit-os, Cebu, Ph
Picture of Christopher Cheboiboch winner of the 2002 Boston Marathon. I took this at about the 25 mile mark with the 100-400 IS lens fully extended. You can see the concentration or maybe even introspection in his face.
To me that looks like the face of someone who's ignoring a lot of pain. :-)
Picture of Christopher Cheboiboch winner of the 2002 Boston Marathon. I took this at about the 25 mile mark with the 100-400 IS lens fully extended. You can see the concentration or maybe even introspection in his face.
Very nice shot, cmr. Beaucoup bokeh. And a great expression. I see a man conserving his resources to deal with what's going on in his body - he doesn't have any energy left over to interact with the world outside.
Picture of Christopher Cheboiboch winner of the 2002 Boston Marathon. I took this at about the 25 mile mark with the 100-400 IS lens fully extended. You can see the concentration or maybe even introspection in his face.
Fabulous image... Wonderful Expression... Focus is excellent, dynamic color range! Great job!!!
I really love the photo!!!
Love to see more, if you have others!
ginette
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
One of my favorite portraits
I've been working hard on perfecting my technique.. I've been taking photos for a while with on and off success. This was a quick shot I took right before
leaving for a Mardi Gras party.
Very nice shot, cmr. Beaucoup bokeh. And a great expression. I see a man conserving his resources to deal with what's going on in his body - he doesn't have any energy left over to interact with the world outside.
Thanks, I am going to differ with you on the bokeh though. There is no particular shapes characterizing the background and going by the original use of the word there is in fact no bokeh or in the US usage you might say creamy bokeh. (heheh was that pedantic enough? ) The smoothness is helped by the 8 bladed diaphram and by the fact that the lens was
not stopped down more than a stop or 2.
Fabulous image... Wonderful Expression... Focus is excellent, dynamic color range! Great job!!!
I really love the photo!!!
Love to see more, if you have others!
ginette
Thank you for the compliments. Actually the focus was not that great but I applied a slight sharpening before posting here. I did not do anything to the color or light though. It is just as shot in that way. You can see the shots from that day (bad and good) by going to Boston Marathon 2002
Charles Richmond IT & Security Consultant
Operating System Design, Drivers, Software
Villa Del Rio II, Talamban, Pit-os, Cebu, Ph
I've been in Florida for a few days taking shots.. one of them was my hostess whose doggies is getting old and she asked me to shoot her and Ty for her dresser... whaddya think... too glam?
Methinks you're improving by leaps & bounds, Lynn.
Thank you zero, you're a sweetie. I'ma tryin.... I'll keep at it.
More elders to do today. I'll try to remember all the things I'm sposed to be doing....
Good tip for pre-arranged portraiture: do all your tech work beforehand, even using a stand-in model if possible. Then, as the real deal starts, be all about the person in front of you. Much better rapport than if you're fumbling with equipment.
Good tip for pre-arranged portraiture: do all your tech work beforehand, even using a stand-in model if possible. Then, as the real deal starts, be all about the person in front of you. Much better rapport than if you're fumbling with equipment.
Ya know? this is the sort of teaching I need... thanks zero, so simple but this will make all the difference to todays shoot of my elders. I fumbled around sooooo much last time, the lights, the cords, nearly lost one old lady into the lamps.. wrong iso, and on and on.... If I have learned anything at all, it's been from this forum, thanks again, so valuable.:D
I've been in Florida for a few days taking shots.. one of them was my hostess whose doggies is getting old and she asked me to shoot her and Ty for her dresser... whaddya think... too glam?
Fess up now Lynn - this shot is great but I think it is not dsiplayed as shot - Did you dodge and burn the background or something? Did you add a diffuse glow or G blur to the lower part of the image. Time to kiss and tell Lynn.
I agree - you keep getting better - and Z-Z's suggestion sound just spot on!
Fess up now Lynn - this shot is great but I think it is not dsiplayed as shot - Did you dodge and burn the background or something? Did you add a diffuse glow or G blur to the lower part of the image. Time to kiss and tell Lynn.
I agree - you keep getting better - and Z-Z's suggestion sound just spot on!
no did not... well not much he he he... I did not dodge the background but I did use a reflector for her eyes and the doggies, I used Waxys tutorial for glamour pics. A healthy layer of gaussian blur and then brushed most of it off and brushed all of it off the eyes, teeth jewellery and the dog, left more around the edge. Kicked up the saturation a bit and maybe the contrast (I loose track). I'm heavily into gaussian blur right now... its a faze...
no did not... well not much he he he... I did not dodge the background but I did use a reflector for her eyes and the doggies, I used Waxys tutorial for glamour pics. A healthy layer of gaussian blur and then brushed most of it off and brushed all of it off the eyes, teeth jewellery and the dog, left more around the edge. Kicked up the saturation a bit and maybe the contrast (I loose track). I'm heavily into gaussian blur right now... its a faze...
Has anyone else noticed that Lynn's eyes blink when you scroll over to the left?
Even my boys have noticed it!
Hmmm...
How's she do that?
Hey, it's even when NOT scrolling!
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Comments
By the way Sid, you cannot have too much silliness in the world, I'm a great believer in it so please bombard away:D
Thanks again folks.. tell it like it is.. I love it. I think I'll go back to sleep now:snore
I was just trying to encourage Lynn for giving broad light sources a try and to remember that the background problem can be dealt with after the fact if necessary. But not needing to clone in a new background is always preferable. I said I was lazy, see, its true!
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Check out this thread about the rule of thirds, and scroll down to Baldy's post with Shay's avatar and a headshot of his own. They might make you feel better about how her head is positioned!
Knowhatchamean about spending too much time here.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Hopefully, my post was clear that my comments were in good faith and an attempt at humor and support for Lynn, and not a real flame at the other posters who were clearly making genuine and thoughtful suggestions for Lynn about other types of lighting eg: much more dramatic. But like Hutch said - the lady seems more like grandmother than Scarlet O'Hara.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Here's my currant favourite - its a priest. See my entire collection at http://kolya.smugmug.com
Cheers,
Kolya
[thread hijack] Did you check the Abbas piece? [/thread hijack]
Yes I did - thanks for the feedback as well.
Cheers,
Kolya
http://kolya.smugmug.com
Operating System Design, Drivers, Software
Villa Del Rio II, Talamban, Pit-os, Cebu, Ph
To me that looks like the face of someone who's ignoring a lot of pain. :-)
Cool shot.
jimf@frostbytes.com
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Very nice shot, cmr. Beaucoup bokeh. And a great expression. I see a man conserving his resources to deal with what's going on in his body - he doesn't have any energy left over to interact with the world outside.
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
Fabulous image... Wonderful Expression... Focus is excellent, dynamic color range! Great job!!!
I really love the photo!!!
Love to see more, if you have others!
ginette
I've been working hard on perfecting my technique.. I've been taking photos for a while with on and off success. This was a quick shot I took right before
leaving for a Mardi Gras party.
Comments/suggestions are welcome!
not stopped down more than a stop or 2.
Thank you for the compliments. Actually the focus was not that great but I applied a slight sharpening before posting here. I did not do anything to the color or light though. It is just as shot in that way. You can see the shots from that day (bad and good) by going to Boston Marathon 2002
Operating System Design, Drivers, Software
Villa Del Rio II, Talamban, Pit-os, Cebu, Ph
More elders to do today. I'll try to remember all the things I'm sposed to be doing....
I agree - you keep getting better - and Z-Z's suggestion sound just spot on!
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Has anyone else noticed that Lynn's eyes blink when you scroll over to the left?
Even my boys have noticed it!
Hmmm...
How's she do that?
Hey, it's even when NOT scrolling!