C&C first time Portrait

steoc

Hi All,
Im a long time viewer first time poster.
Was looking for some honest C&C for my first shoot.
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I dont know if the photos has up loaded.... If not ill find out how

Cheers
Steoc

steoc

Sorry cant work out how to upload photos :mad:
Can i upload them from Facebook or from 500px ?

Promac

You should set up a flickr or pix.ie account and use it to host the images you want to share here. On either of those it should be fairly easy to figure out how to link them to here.

oshead

I don't know what your intention for the image is so my opinion is purely conjecture. It's a nice enough image if a little boring. It looks like it was colour corrected and IMO needs a little bit of yellow and magenta to correct her skin tones. Though you probably ran an action on it to make it look like that.

bullpost

Agree with this and would also say get in closer and maybe use a portrait format to focus more on the model.

oshead wrote: »

I don't know what your intention for the image is so my opinion is purely conjecture. It's a nice enough image if a little boring. It looks like it was colour corrected and IMO needs a little bit of yellow and magenta to correct her skin tones. Though you probably ran an action on it to make it look like that.

steoc

Thanks for the quick reply Promac,Oshead and Bullpost.

How did you get the photo posted Oshead??? I cant work out how to do it :rolleyes:
As for the image its self a small group of amature photographers went to a local beach with friends and Wives (my one posted) as subjects to pose for us so as we can get experance with portrait photography.
We where taking photo's really at random in the dunes and on the beach by the water. It was getting late in the evening and the light was nice.
As for the image i did some raw edditing and put it through a Nik filter probebly glammer glow
Should i skip the filter and concentrate more on the raw image?
Any tips gladly welcome as im newish to this.
Will re do it again soon to correct the skin tones.
Thanks Again.
Steoc.
Ps excuse my bad spelling.

steoc

http://www.stumbleupon.com/to/2zUZuo/500px.com/photo/1784373/t:4e649ef22106f;src:all


Just another one for C&C please...
Still trying to work out how to post photos
Had to post it from 500px.com to Stumble.com
The photo is of a fella i know had a pint with him in a local of mine and did some work on it in Silver effects pro Nik Software.

sineadw

This one's much better It has life, and movement, and shows something of the subject's character. I would hold way back on the processing though. It's an opinion thing, but the textures are far too strong for my eyes. His jacket looks oversharpened or something, and it's so strong it's drawing my eye away from his face. Less is more try doing the minimum with processing and concentrate on getting the image in camera. Most other things are unnecessary.

sineadw

btw.. your link isn't working properly. I had to remove the http bit..

steoc

Thanks for the http thing Sinead.
I have to stop messing around with them slider bars :rolleyes:
As you say some times less is more.
Anyone know of any good sites/books for help with portrait photography?
My photo's straight from camera look flat. I shoot with a Canon 5dmk2 and only shoot Raw....
Thanks again.

sineadw

If you do a simple levels adjustment it usually sorts the flatness out -try http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/levels.htm (although I don't adjust in rgb; I go into each colour and adjust separately..). That and a small bit of sharpening is usually all you need for a colour image..

steoc

I hope i have it sussed now?
Sorry for being a pain:)
One more from my first portrait shoot.
Steoc

kelly1

Nice shot Steve. I'm wondering if the feet should be included or crop more of the legs, don't know.

What kind of flash modifier did you use?

oshead

I agree with sinead. The second one is better but the processing is a little too much. It kinda distracting for me too. Use levels like sinead said and/or a curves adjustment and leave it at that. The image has enough going for it without the need for too much embellishment.

Btw, stay shooting in raw. You could use lightroom or ACR to process the image. Just be careful with the sliders.

steoc

Thanks all again for your time to comment.
I have never worked with levels or curves....
But will have a go at it soon.
Is it all down to the eye or is there some sort of clippings to high light like as in over or under exposure in ACR?
btw the 3rd photo i think now would have looked better now with more of the legs cropped.
Kelly1 i just used my flash 580ex11 mounted on the camera no modifier used. But i did do some work in Nik Software...

Any thanks again....
And heres to my levels and curves learning.
Steve.

kelly1

steoc wrote: »

Kelly1 i just used my flash 580ex11 mounted on the camera no modifier used.

I mentioned it because the light is a bit harsh. An umbrella or softbox would make all the difference.

steoc

kelly1 wrote: »

I mentioned it because the light is a bit harsh. An umbrella or softbox would make all the difference.

I have ordered a soft box waiting on delivery
Flash is also very new to me. What i did is put the camera on P mode (canon) and the flash on ettl...
Im loving my new hobbie lots and lots to learn. Any one know of of any one that would teach flash work? To a small group of amature photographers. Maybe a portrait photoshoot work shop ???

kelly1

steoc wrote: »

I have ordered a soft box waiting on delivery
Flash is also very new to me. What i did is put the camera on P mode (canon) and the flash on ettl...
Im loving my new hobbie lots and lots to learn. Any one know of of any one that would teach flash work? To a small group of amature photographers. Maybe a portrait photoshoot work shop ???

Very good. Have you ordered a light stand and wireless triggers? You really want to get the flash off camera.

With flash, you have 4 parameters to control exposure. The diagram below explains how they interact:



Ambient is your continuous natural or electric light. Flash generally illuminates the subject and not much of the background (depending on distance).

If you want to change the ambient exposure alone, adjust the shutter speed (keeping it below 1/200 or 1/250). To change subject/flash exposure adjust the flash power (manual setting). ISO and aperture control ambient and flash exposure simultaneously.

When using flash, you're better off with manual setting on the camera. With flash you can use ettl if your trigger supports it or you use an extension cord. But again manual flash power is best and use a meter ideally.

steoc

Ouch my head hurts
Thank you very much for the info Kelly1 I will have to try and digest that over some time.
When i said i ordered a soft box i was wrong it was just a diffuer i ordered...:(
Still paying of on the 5dmk2...
Are you N.Kelly from 500px by any chance?

kelly1

steoc wrote: »

Ouch my head hurts

Just a matter of trying it out for yourself, it's the only way you'll get the hang of it. You could try photographing something with a window behind it and try controlling the ambient/window exposure and then doing the same for the subject. Both controlled independently.

steoc wrote: »

When i said i ordered a soft box i was wrong it was just a diffuer i ordered...:(

Diffusers is no good outdoors. All it does it lessen the flash power. Not even sure it's of much use indoors.

steoc wrote: »

Are you N.Kelly from 500px by any chance?

That's me

sineadw

If I were you I'd learn the basics of the camera itself before moving onto flash. It's a whole other learning curve..

steoc

sineadw wrote: »

If I were you I'd learn the basics of the camera itself before moving onto flash. It's a whole other learning curve..

I have been taking photos for a couple of years now Sineadw and feel its time to learn some flash work :pac:
I have worked up from fully auto mode to aperture shoot mainly manual mode now.
Feel the need to learn more

BlastedGlute

hahaha I love how people are trying to give you advice on that second image or telling you to learn about your camera(i cant see the first one for some reason)

Anyway, you nailed it, it's not oversharpened but if there was a "filter" setting applied(red,green,yellow etc") It can make things look like that a bit. It certainly doesn't look like a novice shot it by any stretch and I don't think you need to tone it down. People around here often forget about having a style.

Anyway that black and white is a beauty. Very well done!

jpb1974

Personally I think that all you need for good portraits is some natural light (of the gentle and in-direct type) and possibly a reflector. I've always found that this combination gives lovely results.

hahaha I love how people are trying to give you advice on that second image or telling you to learn about your camera

Why is that?

sineadw

BlastedGlute wrote: »

hahaha I love how people are trying to give you advice on that second image or telling you to learn about your camera(i cant see the first one for some reason)

Um.. what exactly is one supposed to do when someone asks for C&C then? :rolleyes: The title of the thread made me assume the OP was a learner, not the quality of the images posted...

BlastedGlute

sineadw wrote: »

If I were you I'd learn the basics of the camera itself before moving onto flash. It's a whole other learning curve..

Pretty much that quote! XD

sineadw

What?

magicbastarder

feedback was specifically requested for the second image.
i suspect BG is getting at the fact that the image is excellent and doesn't need improvement. however, BG might be doing with a bit of C&C on 'getting your point across without confusing or aggravating people'.

sineadw

@Blasted Glute As I've already stated, it wasn't the quality of the image but the title of the thread that gave me the impression that the poster was a novice, and there was certainly no offence meant. As for whether it can be improved, I gave my opinion, which is what was asked for. If you have a problem with that then I humbly suggest you don't read C&C threads any more.

@OP, apologies for making assumptions on your experience. I've seen people try to master flash photography early though, and it can lead to a *lot* of confusion. Hence my suggestion.

BlastedGlute

sineadw wrote: »

@Blasted Glute As I've already stated, it wasn't the quality of the image but the title of the thread that gave me the impression that the poster was a novice, and there was certainly no offence meant. As for whether it can be improved, I gave my opinion, which is what was asked for. If you have a problem with that then I humbly suggest you don't read C&C threads any more.

@OP, apologies for making assumptions on your experience. I've seen people try to master flash photography early though, and it can lead to a *lot* of confusion. Hence my suggestion.

Your opinion was to disregard using flash until he understood his actual camera. You assumed he doesnt know how to use his camera even though prior to that he's posted 2 images which in my opinion show that he is quite aware of what his camera is doing. Ive only been taking pictures for 6 months and as of yesterday i own 3 flash guns. I dont see how your advice is in anyway constructive to the op's progress or ability at present.

Sucking eggs comes to mind. C+C with a bit more integrity and post images of your own which would best help the OP to understand and compare his work. I could care less if someone is stroppy about being "aggravated" about making such a bone remark to begin with. Thats called having an ego aswell as an opinion.

jpb1974

I dont see how your advice is in anyway constructive to the op's progress or ability at present.

I don't see the OP taking any offence so I certainly don't see why you need to.

BlastedGlute

jpb1974 wrote: »

I dont see how your advice is in anyway constructive to the op's progress or ability at present.

I don't see the OP taking any offence so I certainly don't see why you need to.

OP, get stuck into strobe/flash work. Its the best thing ive done since i started taking photos so why the hell not?? Dont take these guys as seriously as they take themselves xD

jpb1974

Dont take these guys as seriously as they take themselves xD

I really think you should read back on your own advice in the thread below and possibly take it into consideration...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=74208676&postcount=24

Any post that is posted by this account, is in fact, the opinion of, this account. It doesn't take a genius to realize that and anyone who would read anything posted by an individual user (most certainly in this case including yourself) has to take it as the individuals opinion and not the rules of the game.

BlastedGlute

jpb1974 wrote: »

I really think you should read back on your own advice in the thread below and possibly take it into consideration...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=74208676&postcount=24

jpb1974 If that is supposed to be some kind of circuitous way to snare me on my own advice then you failed immensely. Pander to whatever audience you think you have but if you have nothing to say about my advice then why are you bothering.

Also it's both funny and sad that you would look up a previous posts to try and "figure me out" or make a point.

All I'm telling him is to go for it, and disregard what other people think is the appropriate learning curve. Their experience is present in their work and not in their words. I have no experience either and I don't care because I'm still getting some wonderful photos by experimenting outside of my comfort zone.


The pro-tidbit on "If I were you I'd learn the basics of the camera itself before moving onto flash. It's a whole other learning curve.." is plain condescending and is all I was focusing on.

But then to follow it up with " I've seen people try to master flash photography early though, and it can lead to a *lot* of confusion"

Honestly that's some of the most patronizing "advice" or "c+c" I've ever seen and I don't understand how you can defend that.

challengemaster

BlastedGlute wrote: »

All I'm telling him is to go for it, and disregard what other people think is the appropriate learning curve. Their experience is present in their work and not in their words. I have no experience either and I don't care because I'm still getting some wonderful photos by experimenting outside of my comfort zone.

Nobody said anything about an appropriate learning curve. Sinead mentioned that you need to know what you're doing with the camera first before messing around with flash. That's not telling the OP that they can't learn about things too quickly, or start learning about X, Y or Z after only having a camera for a month.. Just to understand the camera first.

The pro-tidbit on "If I were you I'd learn the basics of the camera itself before moving onto flash. It's a whole other learning curve.." is plain condescending and is all I was focusing on.

How is it condescending? It's advice, and even more so it's advice based on experience. And it's a fair assumption that Sinead made from the thread title "first time Portrait" that the OP might not have that much experience. Probably the first two things people try take photos of when they get their camera are A) Landscapes and People, unless there's something major they're interested in, that is.

But then to follow it up with " I've seen people try to master flash photography early though, and it can lead to a *lot* of confusion"

Honestly that's some of the most patronizing "advice" or "c+c" I've ever seen and I don't understand how you can defend that.

You might consider it patronizing, but you're the only one that does. There is a hell of a lot to flash photography, a lot of theory and especially a lot that won't make one bit of sense unless you really understand how your camera works in the first place. And it's not one word of a lie.

If you don't know what aperture is, what it does, etc, how are you expected to know how to control off camera lighting? Depth of field? Balance ambient and flash? heck, how would you even know what sync speed to use? Then you have hard light, soft light, light fall off, inverse square law...and about a million more things.

You can't tell me that if you, as a complete beginner only in the first month of picking up your camera started hearing all these words and not really understanding any of them, that you wouldn't be confused at all? Especially if you didn't bother to learn how to use the camera properly in the first place.

There's a lot to be said for experimenting and pushing beyond your comfort zone, and yes, it is necessary to improve and learn, but walk before you can run and all that.

There was nothing condescending said - just solid advice to lay the foundation first. And it's advice thats coming from experience. You've only been taking photos for 6 months, so it's a bit rich to come on here and try tell people who've been shooting for years that they're wrong. And I'm sure the OP can defend himself, so why you felt the need to get offended on his behalf, who knows.

Apart from all that - None of this bitching at eachother is being helpful in terms of C&C to the OP, it's only degrading yet another photography thread into yet again, an arguement which will just get locked and help nobody


OP, the last image is much improved on the first one - but as already said, the processing is just a little too much. The skin tone (noticeable mainly on hands) is very orangey and the pose just looks a tiny bit awkward to me

jpb1974

@BlastedGlue -

Look... lets cut to the chase here - You're coming across like a bit of attention grabbing gobshíte and I doubt that many people reading this would disagree. Harsh words perhaps... but I think you're in need of a reality check here.

Honestly that's some of the most patronizing "advice" or "c+c" I've ever seen and I don't understand how you can defend that.

Whether I agree or disagree with the advice is irrelevant... it's someone's opinion and I respect that.

magicbastarder

guys, there's a simple solution to this - ignore him. without the oxygen of publicity, yadda yadda.

CabanSail

This thread is getting way off topic and out of hand.

The general etiquette for C&C is to give an honest opinion and advice. If another has a different opinion then that is stated too.

What is not the norm is to denigrate the opinion of others and cause a thread to descend into a shambles. This is not helpful and will not be tolerated.

Please keep things civil if you cannot manage friendly.

Thank you.

squareballoon

My 2c on the images posted.
The first one doesn't do too much for me. It's partly the blue green wash which isn't great to use on a portrait unless it's a very stylized shoot. The other reason is that the horizon is cutting her at the neck.

The second one I like. I like that his diagonal line is balanced by the diagonal line of the window frame. I like the conversion, the catchlights and the grunge look. I'm less keen on the lack of eye contact and the clutter out the window. I don't think that with this kind of photography you need the subject looking at you but if you don't know what they're looking at it distances you from them.

The last I like the best. There's just two things i would do. 1. straighten the horizon and 2.Crop the bottom and right side so that you can't see the shadow that has come from your flash. Like this.

It's confusing to have two sets of shadows and gives the game away that you were lighting artifically. Better still get yourself some trigger and get your flash off the camera. I got my in Conn's for €60 but you can probably get them cheaper some where else.

steoc

Well ehem Hi again all...
All as i asked for was some C&C which i really apreciated and thank every one for taking the time to view.
I would like to state that i have taken no offence at all for any remarks that was passed....
I am glad to receive your comments.
I should have made my origional post a little clearer maybe? But as i said im a long time view first time poster.
I hope everyone can kiss and make up
@ Square balloon i cant see the image you have cropped?
Thanks again all.
Steoc

BlastedGlute

Yeah your stuff is great so keep it up and get some flashes it's not that complicated or confusing.

Actually I bought a couple of wireless triggers, I now have 3 recievers and a transmitter and they cost an amazingly low £40 for the lot! You have to run your flashes in manual mode so you have to walk up to each flash to make the changes you want(unlike pocket wizards and such which you can control from the camera) but it's a small inconvenience for something so cheap and powerful! I'm going to do a short video on how best to use them and what kind of results you get. I'll post you a pm when it's done!