Father/Daughter

DRebelGirl · November 5, 2004

How does this photo make you feel? I'm trying to develop my eye for what makes a meaningful moment stand still forever. Does it work?

DRebelGirl · November 5, 2004

i also shot this one.
You guys are so great...I just love asking for your opinions. This is a wonderful learning experience.

miketaylor01 · November 5, 2004

Both are great
I like them both but think I prefer the composition of the first one you posted better. Much more emotion in being able to see both of their faces. The only thing I dislike about the second image is how it appears that you tried to add a sort of glow to the image. I think this works except for the fact that I can make out the outline of where the effect starts and ends around the outline of their bodies. Kinda makes it look a tiny bit fake. But I love the idea of it. Any chance that you still have the original? Im curious to see how that compares to this.

DRebelGirl · November 5, 2004

This is the original....

miketaylor01 wrote:

I like them both but think I prefer the composition of the first one you posted better. Much more emotion in being able to see both of their faces. The only thing I dislike about the second image is how it appears that you tried to add a sort of glow to the image. I think this works except for the fact that I can make out the outline of where the effect starts and ends around the outline of their bodies. Kinda makes it look a tiny bit fake. But I love the idea of it. Any chance that you still have the original? Im curious to see how that compares to this.

This is the photo in it's original form before I turned it B & W and enhanced it in Photoshop. Thanks for the great feedback Mike. I love your photos...be careful out there.

ginger_55 · November 5, 2004

I like the second one better.............guess that must mean they are both good.

I agree with mike on the blue stuff. I do several things with backgrounds. One I have found quite effective, without being obvious, is to let it go dark......actually, I make it go dark.

I hate to say I use a mask, I don't know what a mask is, but I think I do. I use the marching ants around the main interest people/are/ or both. The I invert that so the main thing is not effected, and I just darken the background a bit. Then I might use a small bit of blurring on it, not much, just a small bit. The whole I idea being that the subject, and/or area stands out without the viewer being distracted by noticing that I have manipulated the print.

I do that in a background like yours, the background is good, even shows where the people are and all, in itself, it is not bad. I just want to bring the main interest out a bit. I eyeball what I am doing, I have never written this down as to how much to darken or blur. I find the darkening to be a very effective thing, makes the blur less noticeable, too.

If the background has nothing to do with anything, is a complete hindrance, I get rid of it. There are other ways to do that. Just as a funny thing, once I did a portrait of my dog. The background was doubly distracting, no reason for it, as a portrait thing. So, I put the marching ants around the dog, after I had cropped, then I inverted and blurred the background as much as a background can be blurred. Worked like a studio backdrop.

Don't forget to use the feather tool. I use it liberally when I am doing stuff like that.

ginger

Good photos. In the top photo, the one where they are doing that dance maneuver, the slanted photo bothers me. I really like the second one, in color, too. Nice how the lights are subdued in the blk and white.

digismile · November 5, 2004

I like the composition much better in the first. The second could be improved by some serious cropping. After seeing the colour version, I really like the colour. Give it a try and crop it tight. Even angle it if that's the style you like, but focus on the father/daughter, not the room.

Good catch!
Brad

miketaylor01 · November 5, 2004

I was talking about the other image. Not the one with the fathers back to the camera, but the one where they are holding hands and looking at each other and smiling from a distance. Thats the one that I like better. That is just my opinion though. After seeing the original of that one though I like what you did with the b&W and blur in that one even though its very dirrerent than the oapproach that I take with B&W. That would not work here at all. Although it might have worked without the blur as the background is already so dark. Just my opinion though.

rutt · November 6, 2004

Please, can we see the original of the first one as well? You might not know it, but many dgrinners know that I usually think B&W conversion is a mistake. When you do it, there has to be a reason good enough that you can articulate it. I can go on and on about this, but this isn't the place.

From the look of the second, I think you may not know how to get great color from these images, but probably you can and it's a skill well worth learning. I like Dan Margulis's book "Professional Photoshop". Try google for "Dan Margulis".

As for the compositions, I also like seeing both faces, but I'd straighten out the first shot and crop as needed afterwards. The backgrounds add nothing to either shot. You could easily use curves to blaken it and make the couple stand out better.

If you post the original of the first, I'll give it a try.

rutt · November 6, 2004

Oh, and learn to use an indirect flash. The direct flash shadows are ugly and distracting. Even if you can't afford an off-camera flash that you can bounce, you can rig something with tape and paper to bounce and defuse your on-camera flash.

DRebelGirl · November 6, 2004

Here is the other original........

rutt wrote:

Please, can we see the original of the first one as well? You might not know it, but many dgrinners know that I usually think B&W conversion is a mistake. When you do it, there has to be a reason good enough that you can articulate it. I can go on and on about this, but this isn't the place.

From the look of the second, I think you may not know how to get great color from these images, but probably you can and it's a skill well worth learning. I like Dan Margulis's book "Professional Photoshop". Try google for "Dan Margulis".

As for the compositions, I also like seeing both faces, but I'd straighten out the first shot and crop as needed afterwards. The backgrounds add nothing to either shot. You could easily use curves to blaken it and make the couple stand out better.

If you post the original of the first, I'll give it a try.

So this is the original color photo before BW conversion/ photoshop enhancement. Good advise on the book..I'll be buying that asap.
As far as the flash goes, I have a canon 420EX and I'm waiting for the 580 to come out before I upgrade. I also just ordered Gary Fong's new lightsphere II flash diffuser last week. I can't wait to get it so that I can do away with all the harsh light and many of the shadows.

I would prefer to shoot in color and leave the image in color but alot of brides these days are big into BW and Sepia. I have no choice but to do conversions...I just need to learn how to do cleaner conversions.

rutt · November 6, 2004

DRebelGirl wrote:

I would prefer to shoot in color and leave the image in color but alot of brides these days are big into BW and Sepia. I have no choice but to do conversions...I just need to learn how to do cleaner conversions.

Dan Margulis' book is good on this topic. Read the chapter "Friend and Foe in Black and White".

rutt · November 6, 2004

DRebelGirl wrote:

As far as the flash goes, I have a canon 420EX and I'm waiting for the 580 to come out before I upgrade.

You don't need to upgrade and you probably don't need a defuser to get less harssh flash. If the celling is white and not too high, just bounce.

rutt · November 6, 2004

I did a little editing to straighten and clean up a little of the flash problems. If it were my photo and I had a lot of time, I think I'd try to paint out the background in black. That really isn't my thing, but in this case, the background only distracts from the real subject.

cmr164 · November 6, 2004

rutt wrote:

You don't need to upgrade and you probably don't need a defuser to get less harssh flash. If the celling is white and not too high, just bounce.

I used the 420ex at a wedding and it just does not have the oomph. She is right in wanting to upgrade. Even though I detest flash I will be ordering the 580ex real-soon-now.

The 420ex does give some special effects as in:

But for overall lighting you need a lot more flash.
Taken at the same wedding with a borrowed pro flash.

Father/Daughter

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