The Shutterbug Society; Activity #3: Ask and Answer

[ed1nburgh.livejournal.com]

Activity: Ask and Answer
Points: 10 points participatioon
Dates: NOW until Thursday, July 1 at 22:00 PDT.

Details: Since this is a photography club and we have members of all skill levels, for this activity, you're going to have the opportunity to ask or answer photography questions you've always wondered!

FOR QUESTIONS: Be sure that it is a question of substance. Asking, "What's a camera?" will not get you points, but asking something of more substance, such as "What is the rule of thirds?" or "What's the difference between digital cameras and film cameras," will count towards points. If you are only planning on asking questions, you must ask THREE questions to get participation points.

FOR ANSWERS: If you know the answer to a question you see, feel free to respond! In order to get participation points, you must answer one question with at least five, complete sentences. It is encouraged that you post an example of what you're talking about, to make your answer totally clear.

Of course, feel free to go beyond the minimum! You may ask more than three questions or answer more than one, or any combination thereof.

If you have any questions for me, please respond to the thread below!

Shoot things, legally! Join The Shutterbug Society today!

Comments

[marchenland.livejournal.com]

For portraits, I've gotten the best "casual" and traditional portraits with a 100mm macro lens that just makes people look good. It's long enough that I can step away from a group and still get fantastic full-face shots of people, without being right in their faces and making them nervous. I can focus on one person and wait until they aren't talking (no one looks good with their mouth open) and get a great shot of them listening to someone else - one of those most engaging expressions we have.

There's so much to it, though -- can you describe what kinds of shots you're trying to take (portraits, snaps, group shots, etc.) and what challenges you're having?

- Madelyn / Slytherin

[katshakespeare.livejournal.com]

It's hard to explain my challenges because it's very rare I manage a good portrait!

I don't have any fancy lenses yet (was planning on getting a better zoom soon but that's set aside because I unfortunately had to replace my computer suddenly), so I just have my standard DSLR. I think my biggest trouble is in getting people to look natural and not getting them to look faded or washed out. I'd really like to be better at candids / snapspots before I try to go into anything else.

The best photos I've ever taken have been of babies or cats or flowers. :/ So unfortunately I don't quite know what I'm asking.

When you take photos of people, do you do it in group settings and do you tell them? I mean, do you have friends willing to do this? That might be another problem. I recently went on vacation with two friends and said hey, I want to work on my people photography so don't mind me and they really weren't interested or engaged with it.

Sarah//Gryffindor

[marchenland.livejournal.com]

What camera are you using, and what lens?

I used to loathe taking photos of people, even REFUSED to do it, and now I love it.

The 100mm macro is a Canon lens. I got it for macro reasons, but it turned out to be so great for portraits. I hardly ever take it off my camera!

"Faded and washed out" sounds like a flash issue. Turn off the flash? Maybe you can post some examples?

It may be that my friends are vain, or they are just used to me stepping out of a conversation and shooting, so they don't even blink. 2 people might not be enough -- I usually do this when there are 5 or more people talking.

Like I said, the lens allows me to step just a few feet out from them, and still fill the frame with their face. Patience is important, too. They'll be aware of the camera at first, but after a few minutes, they get into the conversation and they don't FORGET you, exactly, but they get less concerned. These are all examples of this technique. These people were all aware of me there, but engaged in other things and all okay with being photographed:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marchenland/3092102466/in/set-72157623019635034/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marchenland/3224055787/in/set-72157623019635034/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marchenland/2493730808/in/set-72157623019635034/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marchenland/2599260380/in/set-72157623019635034/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marchenland/2599260176/in/set-72157623019635034/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marchenland/2598429499/in/set-72157623019635034/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marchenland/2759348114/in/set-72157623019635034/

These aren't especially interesting photos, but they are my favorite kind of portrait, because they capture my friends in action. People love to see photos like this of themselves, too.

- Madelyn / Slytherin

[katshakespeare.livejournal.com]

I definitely loathe it right now too. I LOVE your photos and I think that's pretty much exactly the sort I'm looking to take. Besides in group situations, but I suppose most of those are group but you've used your macro lens?

I have a Nikon D5000 with just the standard 18-55mm lens.

Okay, here are two examples of people photos I've taken that I've really really loved.
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g158/lionxserpent/photographs/DSCF0576.jpg - (taken with a cheap digital, not the DSLR I currently have)
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g158/lionxserpent/photographs/DSC_0415.jpg

And here are ones I wish could have been better. (I delete a lot of the really really bad ones though. Ha.)
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g158/lionxserpent/photographs/DSC_1025.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g158/lionxserpent/photographs/DSC_0415a.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g158/lionxserpent/photographs/DSC_0249.jpg

I'm sure it all has to do with the moment, and sometimes I manage it and sometimes I don't...?

Also, I try not to use my flash whenever possible, honestly.

Thanks!

Sarah//Gryffindor

[marchenland.livejournal.com]

I have some constructive critique for these; would you like it? :) I promise to be nice!!!

[katshakespeare.livejournal.com]

Yes please! And you don't have to be nice. I'm a writer; I've heard all ends of the critique spectrum, really.

[marchenland.livejournal.com]

I'm a writer too -- tech writing. I know the feeling. :)

For all of these, I' suggest some light, basic color correction. If you have Photoshop, this is easy. I have an auto-action that makes a copy of the image, applies auto-levels, then makes a copy of that layer and applies auto-contrast, then makes a copy of that and applies auto-color. Then I can compare the different layers and determine what tweaks need to be made to get a really good shot. (All of this is outside the usual allowable edits in Shutterbug Society, btw!)


The little girl in pink dress is a good shot. I think it could have been a GREAT shot, though. First, I'd have gotten down with her, as low or even lower than her, and shot up. A lot of photos of children are shot from adult perspective; getting down gives you a really cool and different photo. Also, I'd have angled over to the right to get rid of the adult leg in the background. Sadly, she isn't in focus; the background to the left is. One thing you could do to improve it now is to crop in a bunch, so you crop out the in-focus background and most of the adult leg, which will make the in-focus stuff go away, which in turn will make the fact that she's so soft not as obvious!

The woman with the kid is a wonderful shot. I would have snapped of 20 of them, and used the best -- preferably with the baby's arm not covering his face, and maybe with him not in full profile (3/4, like the woman's face, is the most preferred, usually). But really, this is an awesome shot. Good job!

The red-haired girl and the child definitely suffers from flash, and could really use a crop, especially across the right and top. Color correction would make it look a lot better.

The family on the stairs is a toughie. I'd have had the guy in front move over to the left, and then zoomed in more to cut out the wall on the right and the portrait in the background (if the bottom was still there, I'd photoshop it out). Also, it's a little off angle -- the lines along the sides aren't straight, which you always need to watch any time you have vertical or horizontal lines in a shot. That can be fixed with a crop, too. Again, the flash is washing them out. If you have people posing, bring over a lamp, or open the shades, or turn on the lights, and use as much natural light as you can. And in a posed setting like this, you do NOT want the conversation / laughing thing -- you want everyone to relax and look at you. Again, I'd shoot quite a few and keep the best (and even photoshop some faces together if Aunt Jill's eyes are closed in EVERY one where Uncle Rogers are open, and vice versa. Oh, and if possible, get UP for this shot -- stand on a stool or a chair and shoot them from above.

In the last one, the couple in the garden, again, I'd have zoomed in -- there's a lot of wasted space around them, especially the statue on the right. The focus is kind of soft on them, but not too bad. I'd kick up the contrast a bit. I love the emotion in them, though -- this is a cute shot.

I think you WILL get the shots you want. Keep at it; you're doing really well. Good luck!!!

[katshakespeare.livejournal.com]

Mmmn thank you!! That all helps so much. The one of the little girl I have always loved and I think your suggestion to, next time, get down closer is a great one.

I have a LOT of the mother and baby actually. This one is one of my favorites but there might be a few others that fit your description. I might look through and see.

Really, everything helped so so much. I think I'm going to have to bookmark this reply so I have it for reference.