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Digital Camera pic of the day (1 Viewer)

Parmcat said:
goonsquad said:
camperguy01 said:
Parmcat said:
I would love some comments on a few shots I have taken in my small home studio. One strobe, one reflector

I am hoping to branch out a bit into some portrait stuff for friends/family

Thanks for looking

Rockin Dudes

Concentration

A Boy and his Flower
Click to expand...
The one thing that really sticks out to me on these images is how soft you've made the light. This is something I struggle with when taking portraits and would love to know what you used to soften the light (softbox?, umbrella?). I don't know if I've ever captured images with such nice light. Very nicely done. About the only thing I would add is some kind of "separation light" to make the outline of the subjects more defined - but that's being nit-picky. Great job Parmcat!
Click to expand...
Hmm... kind of hard to comment on lighting without knowing how much was adjusted in post. Here's my take:I think "Rockin Dudes" would really benefit from less blur. To me, the image is way too soft and this conflicts with your concept. As for the lighting, I think your lamp is too close to the sunglasses kid; you're getting too hot on his face and sleeve. Pull it back or dial down the power if it's adjustable. Also, I'd suggest moving your light off to the side just a bit. I know you only have a single light here, but it looks to be almost straight-on the models so you're not really getting any definition and are flattening out their faces. I'd move the light off to a more 3/4 angle, maybe bounce some light from the other side as well.

On "Concentration", I think you just over-adjusted the levels to pull up the whites. You're blowing out the details of his face; his eyelashes and nostrils are too light (not black). The focus here is the boy's face, hands and guitar. It's OK to let his off-side fall back a bit. I did a quick adjustment of the levels in Photoshop and think it helps quite a bit. Feels more natural to me, less harsh like an interrogation room. Notice the difference in the darks of his eyelashes, nose and mouth. Letting the chair fall back in shadow puts focus back on his face and hands as well.

"Boy and Flower" is beautiful. The composition of his straight profile against the flat black background is really effective, love the play between the positive and negative space. Great work!
Click to expand...
Wow...Thank you so much for the comments.

When I have a few more minutes I will recomment, but this is exactly what I was looking for. I have nver had anyone critique my portrait images, so this was very wanted.

Again, thanks for taking the time!

Parm
Click to expand...
No problem, Parm. I hope it makes sense, I actually wrote about half of it before seeing that you made adjustments in post as well. So my assumptions about your lighting may be wrong. Anyway, nice work!
 
goonsquad said:
Parmcat said:
goonsquad said:
camperguy01 said:
Parmcat said:
I would love some comments on a few shots I have taken in my small home studio. One strobe, one reflector

I am hoping to branch out a bit into some portrait stuff for friends/family

Thanks for looking

Rockin Dudes

Concentration

A Boy and his Flower
Click to expand...
The one thing that really sticks out to me on these images is how soft you've made the light. This is something I struggle with when taking portraits and would love to know what you used to soften the light (softbox?, umbrella?). I don't know if I've ever captured images with such nice light. Very nicely done. About the only thing I would add is some kind of "separation light" to make the outline of the subjects more defined - but that's being nit-picky. Great job Parmcat!
Click to expand...
Hmm... kind of hard to comment on lighting without knowing how much was adjusted in post. Here's my take:I think "Rockin Dudes" would really benefit from less blur. To me, the image is way too soft and this conflicts with your concept. As for the lighting, I think your lamp is too close to the sunglasses kid; you're getting too hot on his face and sleeve. Pull it back or dial down the power if it's adjustable. Also, I'd suggest moving your light off to the side just a bit. I know you only have a single light here, but it looks to be almost straight-on the models so you're not really getting any definition and are flattening out their faces. I'd move the light off to a more 3/4 angle, maybe bounce some light from the other side as well.

On "Concentration", I think you just over-adjusted the levels to pull up the whites. You're blowing out the details of his face; his eyelashes and nostrils are too light (not black). The focus here is the boy's face, hands and guitar. It's OK to let his off-side fall back a bit. I did a quick adjustment of the levels in Photoshop and think it helps quite a bit. Feels more natural to me, less harsh like an interrogation room. Notice the difference in the darks of his eyelashes, nose and mouth. Letting the chair fall back in shadow puts focus back on his face and hands as well.

"Boy and Flower" is beautiful. The composition of his straight profile against the flat black background is really effective, love the play between the positive and negative space. Great work!
Click to expand...
Wow...Thank you so much for the comments.

When I have a few more minutes I will recomment, but this is exactly what I was looking for. I have nver had anyone critique my portrait images, so this was very wanted.

Again, thanks for taking the time!

Parm
Click to expand...
No problem, Parm. I hope it makes sense, I actually wrote about half of it before seeing that you made adjustments in post as well. So my assumptions about your lighting may be wrong. Anyway, nice work!
Click to expand...
Yeah...A bit in post.

When I got the strobe and softbox, I knew NOTHING about lighting with strobes, and jumped right in. I was always told to place the softbox as close to out of frame as you could to get the best wraparound soft light. I have always done that, but I guess I need to dial the exposure on the lights back a bit. I don't have a light meter, so there is a lot of swoot and hope.

The light here was at abour 40 degrees camera left and above eye level. There was a small while reflector to camera right, but it was mostly ineffective (This is for tough guys)

I am always looking to get better, and a fresh perpective is always welcome..so thank you again

BTW...A Boy and His Flower took a silver medal at out photoclub year end Salon for Monochrome

 
Parmcat said:
pantagrapher said:
Dwellings

Hookahs
Click to expand...
Hey Pant,

Your eye for urban photography is incredible. This is an area that I really fail at. I admit, when in the field, I just don't see it.

All the best!

Parm
Click to expand...
Thank you! Getting such a late start, I joined Flickr and was immediately influenced by all the urban photographers out there. Natasha in Oakland in particular has such a beautiful grasp of composition and I am still inspired by her stuff. My one failing right now is that I still shoot predominantly using auto settings. It's a drag to have to continually account for the abrupt changes in light while walking through the city. I'm rambling a bit here, but I appreciate the kind words. Feedback really keeps me plugging away at this hobby.
 
Parmcat said:
Yeah...A bit in post.When I got the strobe and softbox, I knew NOTHING about lighting with strobes, and jumped right in. I was always told to place the softbox as close to out of frame as you could to get the best wraparound soft light. I have always done that, but I guess I need to dial the exposure on the lights back a bit. I don't have a light meter, so there is a lot of swoot and hope.The light here was at abour 40 degrees camera left and above eye level. There was a small while reflector to camera right, but it was mostly ineffective (This is for tough guys)I am always looking to get better, and a fresh perpective is always welcome..so thank you againBTW...A Boy and His Flower took a silver medal at out photoclub year end Salon for Monochrome
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity, what strobe equipment are you using? Congrats on the award! Well deserved, IMO. :goodposting:
 
pantagrapher said:
Parmcat said:
pantagrapher said:
Dwellings

Hookahs
Click to expand...
Hey Pant,

Your eye for urban photography is incredible. This is an area that I really fail at. I admit, when in the field, I just don't see it.

All the best!

Parm
Click to expand...
Thank you! Getting such a late start, I joined Flickr and was immediately influenced by all the urban photographers out there. Natasha in Oakland in particular has such a beautiful grasp of composition and I am still inspired by her stuff. My one failing right now is that I still shoot predominantly using auto settings. It's a drag to have to continually account for the abrupt changes in light while walking through the city. I'm rambling a bit here, but I appreciate the kind words. Feedback really keeps me plugging away at this hobby.
Click to expand...
She has some good stuff. I love decay. This site is also good for that kind of stuff: Industrial Decay Network
 
goonsquad said:
Parmcat said:
Yeah...A bit in post.

When I got the strobe and softbox, I knew NOTHING about lighting with strobes, and jumped right in. I was always told to place the softbox as close to out of frame as you could to get the best wraparound soft light. I have always done that, but I guess I need to dial the exposure on the lights back a bit. I don't have a light meter, so there is a lot of swoot and hope.

The light here was at abour 40 degrees camera left and above eye level. There was a small while reflector to camera right, but it was mostly ineffective (This is for tough guys)

I am always looking to get better, and a fresh perpective is always welcome..so thank you again

BTW...A Boy and His Flower took a silver medal at out photoclub year end Salon for Monochrome
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity, what strobe equipment are you using? Congrats on the award! Well deserved, IMO. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I'd also be curious about what equipment you picked up, how much it cost, opinions on the setup, etc. good stuff!
 
ODoyleRules said:
goonsquad said:
Parmcat said:
Yeah...A bit in post.

When I got the strobe and softbox, I knew NOTHING about lighting with strobes, and jumped right in. I was always told to place the softbox as close to out of frame as you could to get the best wraparound soft light. I have always done that, but I guess I need to dial the exposure on the lights back a bit. I don't have a light meter, so there is a lot of swoot and hope.

The light here was at abour 40 degrees camera left and above eye level. There was a small while reflector to camera right, but it was mostly ineffective (This is for tough guys)

I am always looking to get better, and a fresh perpective is always welcome..so thank you again

BTW...A Boy and His Flower took a silver medal at out photoclub year end Salon for Monochrome
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity, what strobe equipment are you using? Congrats on the award! Well deserved, IMO. :X
Click to expand...
I'd also be curious about what equipment you picked up, how much it cost, opinions on the setup, etc. good stuff!
Click to expand...
Sorry for the delay in responding. I have the Calumet Genesis 200 kit with stand, softbox, speedring and strobe. Also came with the sync cable. I bought an extra modling light.

I paid 200.00 for this last year. I doesn't look like that kit is available right now. I have been told it is very close to the Alien Bees in quality.

lmk if you have any questions

Here is the kit with umbrella

 
goonsquad said:
camperguy01 said:
Parmcat said:
I would love some comments on a few shots I have taken in my small home studio. One strobe, one reflector

I am hoping to branch out a bit into some portrait stuff for friends/family

Thanks for looking

Rockin Dudes

Concentration

A Boy and his Flower
Click to expand...
The one thing that really sticks out to me on these images is how soft you've made the light. This is something I struggle with when taking portraits and would love to know what you used to soften the light (softbox?, umbrella?). I don't know if I've ever captured images with such nice light. Very nicely done. About the only thing I would add is some kind of "separation light" to make the outline of the subjects more defined - but that's being nit-picky. Great job Parmcat!
Click to expand...
Hmm... kind of hard to comment on lighting without knowing how much was adjusted in post. Here's my take:I think "Rockin Dudes" would really benefit from less blur. To me, the image is way too soft and this conflicts with your concept. As for the lighting, I think your lamp is too close to the sunglasses kid; you're getting too hot on his face and sleeve. Pull it back or dial down the power if it's adjustable. Also, I'd suggest moving your light off to the side just a bit. I know you only have a single light here, but it looks to be almost straight-on the models so you're not really getting any definition and are flattening out their faces. I'd move the light off to a more 3/4 angle, maybe bounce some light from the other side as well.

On "Concentration", I think you just over-adjusted the levels to pull up the whites. You're blowing out the details of his face; his eyelashes and nostrils are too light (not black). The focus here is the boy's face, hands and guitar. It's OK to let his off-side fall back a bit. I did a quick adjustment of the levels in Photoshop and think it helps quite a bit. Feels more natural to me, less harsh like an interrogation room. Notice the difference in the darks of his eyelashes, nose and mouth. Letting the chair fall back in shadow puts focus back on his face and hands as well.

"Boy and Flower" is beautiful. The composition of his straight profile against the flat black background is really effective, love the play between the positive and negative space. Great work!
Click to expand...
Did you take this picture with a tripod or camera stand"

Did you use Photoshop surface blur or a Special filter for the skin (like Nik)?

Goonsquad made some great points. When using lights the professional like to get some shadows to create some depth to to the face (it isn't flat). Many photographers use ratios like 3:1, 4:1 and 9:1. The higher rations create more of an edge. The standard is 3:1.

Soft boxes and umbrellas create nice soft light but the shadows are also less intense. Harder light might be more effective in high contrast situations like your photos. It was odd to me to see a soft picture, with soft lighting, on boys in high contrast photos.

Stabilize your camera with a tripod in controlled situations. Skin soften techniques should never affect the eyes, mouth, eye brows and framing hair.

My son only let me take 5 pictures, and he will not comb his hair, so this isn't the best picture but is illustrates the point. I used a Wal Mart $ 9 spot like and a reflector on the back side so that you could see the eye.

HTH.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Konotay said:
goonsquad said:
camperguy01 said:
Parmcat said:
I would love some comments on a few shots I have taken in my small home studio. One strobe, one reflector

I am hoping to branch out a bit into some portrait stuff for friends/family

Thanks for looking

Rockin Dudes

Concentration

A Boy and his Flower
Click to expand...
The one thing that really sticks out to me on these images is how soft you've made the light. This is something I struggle with when taking portraits and would love to know what you used to soften the light (softbox?, umbrella?). I don't know if I've ever captured images with such nice light. Very nicely done. About the only thing I would add is some kind of "separation light" to make the outline of the subjects more defined - but that's being nit-picky. Great job Parmcat!
Click to expand...
Hmm... kind of hard to comment on lighting without knowing how much was adjusted in post. Here's my take:I think "Rockin Dudes" would really benefit from less blur. To me, the image is way too soft and this conflicts with your concept. As for the lighting, I think your lamp is too close to the sunglasses kid; you're getting too hot on his face and sleeve. Pull it back or dial down the power if it's adjustable. Also, I'd suggest moving your light off to the side just a bit. I know you only have a single light here, but it looks to be almost straight-on the models so you're not really getting any definition and are flattening out their faces. I'd move the light off to a more 3/4 angle, maybe bounce some light from the other side as well.

On "Concentration", I think you just over-adjusted the levels to pull up the whites. You're blowing out the details of his face; his eyelashes and nostrils are too light (not black). The focus here is the boy's face, hands and guitar. It's OK to let his off-side fall back a bit. I did a quick adjustment of the levels in Photoshop and think it helps quite a bit. Feels more natural to me, less harsh like an interrogation room. Notice the difference in the darks of his eyelashes, nose and mouth. Letting the chair fall back in shadow puts focus back on his face and hands as well.

"Boy and Flower" is beautiful. The composition of his straight profile against the flat black background is really effective, love the play between the positive and negative space. Great work!
Click to expand...
Did you take this picture with a tripod or camera stand"

Did you use Photoshop surface blur or a Special filter for the skin (like Nik)?

Goonsquad made some great points. When using lights the professional like to get some shadows to create some depth to to the face (it isn't flat). Many photographers use ratios like 3:1, 4:1 and 9:1. The higher rations create more of an edge. The standard is 3:1.

Soft boxes and umbrellas create nice soft light but the shadows are also less intense. Harder light might be more effective in high contrast situations like your photos. It was odd to me to see a soft picture, with soft lighting, on boys in high contrast photos.

Stabilize your camera with a tripod in controlled situations. Skin soften techniques should never affect the eyes, mouth, eye brows and framing hair.

My son only let me take 5 pictures, and he will not comb his hair, so this isn't the best picture but is illustrates the point. I used a Wal Mart $ 9 spot like and a reflector on the back side so that you could see the eye.

HTH.
Click to expand...
yes, used a tripod, and shot in raw. Used CS3 to convert to Tiff then sed NIK and the Tiffen program. I really liked the end result of Tough Guys, and probably have used the effect too much now.

I really appriciate your input!!!!

Parm

ETA...The shot of your son is a keeper. I would love to get one like that...the catchlight is cool!!!!!

Love it!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Last edited by a moderator:
ODoyleRules said:
Incogneto said:
guderian said:
Incogneto said:
Here is my daily photo project. Would love to hear some feedback...

http://borotsikphotoproject.wordpress.com/
Click to expand...
Nice work. :wall:
Click to expand...
Thanks! Any feedback you may have is appreciated.
Click to expand...
I like June 16th and June 20th (whirlpool). Where did this whirlpool occur? I'm curious too if you took pictures just of the whirlpool itself and the water reflection around it.
Click to expand...
That pic was taken from my vehicle....and was a flooded area in Saskatchewan. The whirlpool was a culvert that flowed downhill to the opposite side of the road.I recently updated the site with many new pics from my new home in Victoria, BC.

 
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