Final Product

beetle8

here is the final edit for a portrait I did for a friend to give to dad for fathers day.
We were battling against time and I was marching into my first outdoor shoot.Oh I forgot to mention totally unprepared and unexperienced. Schedules mandated a 9am shoot which sadly for me, threw me under the bus as far as lighing.
This editing happened in Aperture, I put together a few versions in PS but this ended up being my fave.


Bigger one here

It's too late for this one but I am continually learning so all C&C is appreciated.

Thanks
-Keith

cmorganphotography

Just because chins are evil. People always look better looking up. If you had been above them and they turned around the light would have bounced off the rock wall and their faces [chins and all] would be more smooth, relaxed, and shadows wouldn't fall in bad places.
Helpful at all?

beetle8

yeah, everything is always helpful,
the from above angle haunted the days shooting and the chins were the customers complaint on this one. the "rock wall is actually trees that were blown from the daylight.
The other noticeable thing about the up angle is the eyes they tend to look more squinty.
Being new to a particular kind of shooting reminds me a little of playing golf. There are so many things to think about and remember, that if you try to think about them and remember them they tend to end up screwed up or forgotten.

how do you feel about the crop and processing?

cmorganphotography

beetle8 wrote:

yeah, everything is always helpful,
the from above angle haunted the days shooting and the chins were the customers complaint on this one. the "rock wall is actually trees that were blown from the daylight.
The other noticeable thing about the up angle is the eyes they tend to look more squinty.
Being new to a particular kind of shooting reminds me a little of playing golf. There are so many things to think about and remember, that if you try to think about them and remember them they tend to end up screwed up or forgotten.

how do you feel about the crop and processing?

I like a richer tone in black and white and there seems to be a bit of a washout. I understand now the choices you made. One day you and I will have hella great instincts and won't have to think about what to do, it'll just happen.
The crop and pose are really nice. I'm sure the mom loved how you cropped her arm and made it look smaller. Women love looking smaller. Plus, as photographers we are there to help everyone look their best and it helps them feel better about themselves.
Now that I know those are trees you could have gotten some nice shots in the shade. The best Light I've had is on an overcast day. Makes the skin look perfect and you still get shadows for depth but it's like a giant softbox on the sun.
When you can't get the clouds tho, being under trees, next to a building in the shade - the sun will reflect off the concrete... that's all that I can remember right now. Maybe a reflector could have helped. Enslave a friend for a day and pay their gas.

beetle8

Damn-it...
Enlist a friend?
Uhg, I brought my wife,
Just kidding, she was great,
this is actually the best of the bunch because we are in the shade of a house, they are leaning on the rail of the stairs from the back deck, the house is behind me with the sun coming over the roof. Here is the rest of the culls,
What I needed was a reflector, what I used was bounce flash of the house.
The issue? While my wife continually tells me she is there to help, I am constantly afraid of her feeling like I am bossing her around.

cmorganphotography

beetle8 wrote:

Damn-it...
Enlist a friend?
Uhg, I brought my wife,
Just kidding, she was great,
this is actually the best of the bunch because we are in the shade of a house, they are leaning on the rail of the stairs from the back deck, the house is behind me with the sun coming over the roof. Here is the rest of the culls,
What I needed was a reflector, what I used was bounce flash of the house.
The issue? While my wife continually tells me she is there to help, I am constantly afraid of her feeling like I am bossing her around.

The really nice thing about people participating in photography is they feel a part of the process and I've had enthusiasm. If she's holding the reflector and you "chimp?" with her and show her the images and tell her where you need the light and she SEES it, you're not bossing, you're including. I tend to boss when in group participations but I always tell myself in my head "how would I like this said to me?" or "was that too harsh, I'll tone it down and apologize." Plus, she's your wife, she'll know when you're being bossy for real and when you're being photographer-hubby.
My husband has to deal with I'm-playing-video-games-talk-to-me-and-I'll-bite-your-head-off wifey... and it ain't pretty.