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Jennifer -- Session 2
This was my second time shooting this lovely girl and we had a blast yesterday evening. The light was pretty harsh in many of the photos and I tried to make use of it rather than fight it. Some shots are blown out, some are desaturated and some are... just processed to hell. In then end, I liked the results and I hope you do too.
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Thanks for looking!
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Thanks for looking!
Travis
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Comments
And to the rest of you:
What's the deal here? 200 views and 1 comment (which is infinitely better than the 150/0 before While I'm Waiting posted)? Do I have to post a picture of my neighbors baby to get some feedback? Are they that horrible that none of you can stand the thought of commenting on them? Are they so incredibly good that you're all speechless? Do I need to change my name to closely mimic some popular member of the forum?
This is the second of my posts to be treated this way (the other had no replies at all) and, quite frankly, I'm having a hard time understanding why I should bother.
I really don't understand how so many posts just get flat-out ignored. If you sort this forum by number of replies you'll see that there are 50 pages of 0-reply posts out of 830. There are 120 pages of 0/1 reply posts -- 15% of posters getting the cold shoulder. Why?
Hi Travis - I understand what you mean - it happend to me.
First - don't take it personally. Second, to a certain extent there is an inner circle here and evidentally you aren't in it. Neither am I. That's OK with me - I come here to see good photos and try to learn from everyone's efforts and generally the major players here are very helpful when they get the time.
I'll tell why I personally rarely reply - I don't think positive feedback for what I consider ordinary photos does anyone any good and at the same time, what makes a good photo is sometimes so subjective as to be pointless to discuss. Take for instance female nudes - how many times on this site (and especially FM) I've seen responses like "oh my gosh you are like a god and that is the best photo in the world" and my thought is the photo is NOT good but its of a naked women so despite poor techincal or artistic merit some people like it - BUT, the fact that it has no technical or artistic merit is just MY opinion. Same for babies. I've seen what I consider to be artistically bad photos here that people gush over so for me to say that a pose looks odd, shadows are unflattering, a perspecive would have been better from below the subject, too much distraction in the frame etc is just too subjective for me so I don't offer it. I leave that to the pros here (of course with which I sometimes disagree:D ).
SOOOOO, just keep shooting and showing your work and take the comments you get and don't take it personally if you don't get any.
My Site
Proud Photog for The Littlest Heroes Project and Operation: LoveReunited
Lovin' my Canon 5D Mark II!
Thanks for the reply Gventure. I am not taking this personally and will not. However, I will not post my work only to have it ignored; I could be using that time to watch t.v. or something equally useless.
Forums, in generally, seem to have this large hole in which those with moderate skills (not horrible but not great) just get ignored. The photos are not good enough to make someone speak up and not bad enough that the average person can critique them. I suspect this is my problem. However, I need to know if this is the case or if I have leprosy or something. I can't keep spending my time for nothing.
3- looks a little over saturated
4/5- slow shutter or camera shake causing blur
6- looks like there is high iso noise or it was originally underexposed (I'm guessing the later) most noticeable in her hair
8- My favorite of the bunch. Sharp focus and nice pose.
I wouldn't give up on the forum yet. It's a very busy place and most of the time everyone's out actually shooting or processing.
Chris
Hi Chris, thanks for taking the time to comment.
I agree with you on #3 being over saturated. I felt as thought it was when I processed it but did it anyway. I guess I should trust my opinions a bit more.
4 was taken under a dark canopy of trees and the shutter speed was very low. Rather than throw the shot out, as I liked it, I introduced a radial blur in PS to make it purposeful. I don't know if the shot ended up being successful overall but I decided I liked it.
5, again, was a low shutter speed on purpose. I wanted the motion blur to simulate a snapshot from maybe a few decades ago. Again, it may or may not have worked.
6 was actually a huge failure. As I mentioned, it was early in the evening and the sun was still bright. The camera metered for the sky and left her nearly black. I added a very extreme fill light in Lightroom and actually liked the washed-out 80's look in the colors.
Number 8 was my favorite of the day. I'm glad you agree on that one!
Thanks again!
_________
i'm not a regular commenter/critique-r yet because I don't feel qualified to critique. I probably need to get out of my shell more as I get more involved with this forum.
that being said, I do not feel forced to comment here but I just came across this posting. I also won't repeat anything that was already said. I understand the need to get creatively motion blurred shots and I like that look on some shots. I really like number 6 I just wish her face was brighter.
Anyway that's all I got except when I opened this I totally got the Forrest Gump-Jenny feeling, expecially on the ones with the gravel road and number 6!
Haha, I think that's great. I'll make sure and let the model know!
Thanks for stopping by!
On number of views, comments, etc.: As Gventure said, don´t take it personally. There are a lot of random factors at work here. Non-member views are counted but they cannot post, for starters. Many people have fairly narrow interests and generally don´t comment on pics outside their specialty. People come and go and I´m told that some of them have real lives outside of Dgrin--I can´t speak from experience
On the inner circle: There´s some truth to that, but anyone can join. It´s like moving into a new neighborhood. You don´t know anyone at first but over time you get to know people and become more integrated into the community. Many people have been posting here for years and some know each other from shootouts, workshops, etc. in real life. I think you´ll find that if you post your own shots and comment on others regularly, after a time you´ll start to get better feedback.
I *think* that there's also many a member here that's trying to become better shooters but are also taken back at offering C&C because they feel that they aren't good enough, yet.
Kinda a catch 22.
Actually, a good number of the frequent "people posters" have been around and posting since I put this up. There were enough posts in 24 hours to push my thread off the page -- that's a lot for this forum. I guess that's where the mystery lies for me.
At any rate, thanks for posting and thanks for the pearls. I'm not trying to ruffle anyone's feathers -- just get a feel for what to expect.
Incidentally, there's a couple dozen more shots to be seen here. Some of them are even in focus!
I see some nice stuff in there....
Thanks D'Buggs!
The Whipping Post is where I usually hang out where feedback is direct and the standard is a professional portfolio shot. That also my reference point and below I’ll provide some thoughts.
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RE: the lack of feedback here, I occasionally post in the other forums and have been bemused by what gets people’s reactions. I’ll add to the insights preceding me by saying that a certain style or genre of images seem to be evolving that are designed to look good on a backlit computer monitor.
These images (some call them the “Flickr aesthetic”) are bright, even a bit garish (think HDR), and viewers in many fora including this one react positively. For many newer photographers the Internet is the preferred delivery vehicle. And their mental reference model is built from that input more than anything.
<o:p> </o:p>
For an older shooter like me who hangs stuff in galleries and has worked in darkrooms going back 40 years, the print is the ultimate. Unfortunately what looks good as a print (especially on matte paper), doesn’t always translate well on a screen.
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To which I say, oh well, it’s all good.
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Your shots:
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1)<!--[endif]-->I realize you had the challenge of harsh light and it shows here. Your model looks like she is fighting the light and smiling as a physical reaction.
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->2)<!--[endif]-->It could be sharper, but I like the sense of humor. That’s rare in photography sadly.
<o:p> </o:p>
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3)<!--[endif]-->Her expression here looks unhappy, like she is tired. Her dress also seems a tad crooked.
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->4)<!--[endif]-->This is an interesting shot, I just wish she was in focus more or the background was even more dramatic.
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->5)<!--[endif]-->She looks great here, but the tree branch bokeh is a bit too nervous and distracts slight too much. You may be able to fix this with software easily.
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->6)<!--[endif]-->I’d probably cull this one out. Her expression looks a bit pained, the lighting is off BUT I’ll grant you an alternative interpretation: there is a bit of a psychodrama to the shot brought on by the flower in her hand and how it is at the bottom of the frame. It looks like she was there intending for a reconciliatory talk and it played out badly So maybe this is the best shot <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/ne_nau.gif" border="0" alt="" >
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->7)<!--[endif]-->Better. More like what I wanted in no. 4
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->8)<!--[endif]-->Technically sharp, but she looks so serious!
Hope this helps.
M
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Since you took the time to comment on each photo I will do the same in return.
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The expression in this shot is exactly what you say it is. The sun was bright and she was straining to look towards it. There was no glamour here and I thought the shot expressed it well. What I set out not to do, with this shoot, was to shoot fashion or beauty. I really tried to shoot Jennifer and, I think, this is one of the shots that succeeded.
Ditto on the sharpness. I wish it hit the spot as well. I appreciate that you found the levity in the shot, though. Kudos to you!
<o:p> </o:p> I had previously not noticed this but I see that you're right; she does look tired. I'll be honest and tell you that I really don't know what I was shooting here -- then or now. It is really just a snapshot that I included to add a little color to the set. In retrospect, I should have left it out.
<o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p>
This seems a common response to this photo. During PP I thought the additional blur would save it. Unfortunately, it didn't quite make it. I still dig it, though, and will surely get it right the next time!
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I see what you mean. I like this shot a lot so I'll try to revisit it and see what I can do about that tree.
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Your second suggestion interests me. As I mentioned before, this shot was "saved" in Lightroom with the addition of massive amounts of fill light. I kept it because I felt a stir from it, as though the photo itself was brooding. I appreciate that you felt something similar.
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Excellent. I really thought this image would get more comments but it seems to have been lost to the mechanical problems of the others. I'm glad it's a step up.
She is a very determined girl. At the moment, she is training for a triathalon and she means business. I thought this shot, with her at the end of the path (or beginning?), showed some of that determination. Next week I plan to get some shots of her training so you may get to see more of her seriousness!
It sure does and I thank you. I'll come visit the Whipping Post as soon as I have the guts.
I haven't had a chance to look at your photos -- may be back later for that -- but thought I could chime in on a couple of points as to your "so many views, so few comments" question.
First off, your images are pretty big files for the Web (the first b&w shot is 273k), and you posted eight of them in one thread. As soon as I opened this thread, my son started complaining about network lag. So I stopped loading the thread without looking at the photos. We have a pretty decent DSL connection; I imagine those with slower connections might just bail out and not come back.
Second, I'm pretty new around here and still learning Dgrin's culture. People here seem to be a lot kinder, gentler, and more diplomatic than on DPR, which is where I "came from" and can be a pretty nasty place. I don't want to breach the forum etiquette, so most of my time here (for now) is spent "lurking and learning" and also seeing what kind of comments are appropriate around here.
So there you have it -- one thing that's you (thread weight) and one thing that's me (n00bness). Hope this helps a little on that front.
got a nicely running thread here now
Something i personally add to my posts is " C&C appreciated " or some line like that. When i look at your photos there are a number of things that i notice and because you sort of have an unique style people may be afraid to step on your toes. by adding a C&C =
ill comment on the photos later, short on time now.
keep posting
Thanks for the comments. I don't know what your DSL line is rated at but a couple meg worth of pictures should not drag down your local network any noticable amount. If it does then there is something else going on. Besides, the last thread that sank into oblivion had a single photo; surely 200k isn't too much stress for an ISP.
Your second suggestion may well be appropriate, however. Perhaps folks would rather say nothing than be negative. That would certainly be refreshing were it true.
Haha, it seems that way. I guess there's more than one way to get people talking!
That's probably a good idea. I used to post "C&C Welcome" and such on all my posts but I had some issues (not with my own photos but in general) with another forum I used to frequent which made me stop doing it. I reckon it's a safe addition here that could put folks at ease. Thanks for the suggestion!
The main point of that, though, was that a fair number of viewers might just not be interested enough in "Jennifer" to stick around waiting for 2-3MB of jpegs to download. Or, come to think of it, maybe some lurkers from outside the community click off as soon as they realize that Jennifer's wearing more than a micromini and a pout. The number of views doesn't necessarily represent the number of full loads from members of this community.
That could very well be. I didn't mean to trivialize your suggestion but I was concerned for your internet service!
look... maby you need to turn your eyes at your self:
you are kissing up members with high postcount
by putting me down because i dont wright perfectly english?.... and now...
now you complaint no one comment in your thread??
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
hahahahahahahahahahaha
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa hahahahahahahahahaha !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not a very constructive or relevant comment. If you are looking for fights, I suggest you try another Web site.
I agree with the inner circle thing.
I normally don't take the time to post pictures because it takes me longer to resize and post the pictures than it does to read the 2 or 3 responses that I get for posting them.
Why bother??? I feel your pain.
If you are in here all the time posting and responding to others posts you eventually get more feedback, but who has the time to be on here that much.
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