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Post Effect & Shooting into a bright b/g
I'd like your feedback on getting things about right here. We were at a wedding over the Thanksgiving weekend, and on the last day I got to shoot a bit and wanted to see about keeping the b/g lit and using just the speedlight on a cord.
These first two were shot on the back covered porch around mid-day. 1/1600sec, ISO100, f/4 (I wanted the shallower DOF). The flash had to work its butt off and still required a bit of a bump in post. First one is natural, the second I chose to play with Topaz Adjust -- do you think it works?
1.
2.
3. This is indoors, f/4, ISO800, 1/80sec with the flash bounced to CR and allowed to spill forward as well.
4. Lit all by bounce flash ISO1600, f/4, 1/60
These first two were shot on the back covered porch around mid-day. 1/1600sec, ISO100, f/4 (I wanted the shallower DOF). The flash had to work its butt off and still required a bit of a bump in post. First one is natural, the second I chose to play with Topaz Adjust -- do you think it works?
1.
2.
3. This is indoors, f/4, ISO800, 1/80sec with the flash bounced to CR and allowed to spill forward as well.
4. Lit all by bounce flash ISO1600, f/4, 1/60
0
Comments
#1 really caught my attention. Reminds me of one of those grand eighteenth century paintings. All that's missing are the riding crop and hunting dogs. Very nice.
You should try one like this with a great depth of field to show the details of the rolling landscape for comparison.
#4 is a wonderful capture. Maybe just bring out more of the catchlights in their eyes in pp.
#2 &3 don't appeal to me at all. Overwhelming and distracting effect that doesn't add anything IMHO.
It is about how that thing looks photographed." Garry Winogrand
Avatar credit: photograph by Duane Michals- picture of me, 'Smash Palace' album
One is over lit for a good portrait...dial your speedlight down a stop or two. Second, move back from your subject...you have her legs looking twice the length for her body...reaching for infinity.
Two is not very appealing in that the action you used has caused a very distracting strange affect in the BG just to picture right by her head. This is not usually considered desirable in portrait work...or people photography for that matter. The action you used has gone beyond bokeh to objectifying your BG. Her knees are looking too large for her body...reference her hand laying on her leg and compare to the size of her knee. Now compare hand and knee sizes in three. You were too close to the subject here too. Her clothes are taking on a strange affect...like from an action. It's distracting. Your subject in this one is also over lit and flashy looking.
Three is a really cute image...it would have been nice if you would have ironed her shirt...nice and flowing...but, kids are kids. I do like your post processing in this one much better than the first two. It appeals to me in an artistic sense...and I think that it's a good capture with a nice lead in line formed by the hand rail. I would think that this too is a keeper.
While I like three...four steels the show and is very nicely done...your post processing is spot on here for the style you are going for, as far as I'm concerned...pose and camera angle are also very good. This image makes me think that if you can reproduce this type of photograph day in and day out...quit your day job...lol. I might look at cropping options for this one, if you have room. I second the catch lights in the eyes being a little brighter. You might also play around with brightening the iris a little...just to see if you like it more, although just fine as it is.
Hope this helps.
Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
Ed
The feedback on the Topaz sort of confirmed my suspicions...
I did like what the filter did to the waterfall in the stairwell, and I dialed it back a bit. Unfortunately, the republish blew over the original in the post, so there is new image on #3.
This is the original on #2:
#4 is a simple bounce flash, which I seem to be getting fairly reliable a directing while having it still mounted on-camera.
I haven't really played with synthetic catch-lights at all in post. I'll have to look around for a tutorial on that.
Not as an excuse, but the range on the HSS was only a couple of feet for the shot in #1, so moving back wasn't an option. I only had a short sync cord and no wireless. I knew her legs were going to get distorted, but sort of ran with it to keep her interested in the process. Ed, I'll look at evening out the exposure. I see what you mean in terms of the balance of ambient to the flash.
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