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David McClenaghan
{K:9481} 4/21/2004
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Okay you asked for it :)
Cuppla things.
The background is too distracting.
Try using less DOF.
Or move them away from the background.
It doesnt need to be sharp for people to understand its a xmas tree.
You really only need the faces to be acceptably sharp.
I use f4 and f5.6 for most single and double portraits.
Ultimately tho its about getting the subject to relax. The girl on the right is forcing her smile.
Only way to get around it is shoot lots of shots.
Sometimes I dont get it right tho, but with the magic of photoshop I have copied eyes, smile etc from one shot and pasted them into another (gasp)!!
Plus the image looks a bit flat on my screen.
Overall tho its a very nice attempt.
Keep up the good work.
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Brent Mills
{K:730} 1/1/2004
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Overall I like the portrait. I definitely agree with the smiles and the poses mentioned earlier. Try having them look away and then looking up right before you take the shot. I used to use that when I modeled and it produced a natural smile when nothing else would.
Regarding the tree, I would simply make the background black and white and make it darker to draw your eye to the girls more.
If you simply wanted to work in photoshop and not redo the shoot, I think you should first look at the colors. There appears to be too much red in the image. The white part of their hats is slightly tinted red as are their teeth. You can simply dodge their teeth to fix them, then I would leave the white part of the hats in black and white to remove the red tint. Then you can blur the background from there. I hope you dont mind my messing around with the image a little. Hope this helps.
-Brent
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Karen Siebert
{K:12076} 12/9/2003
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Well Audi, it looks like you have gotten some pretty good advice. I definitely agree about the pose, loosen them up a bit and balance the hats. The lighting here does not bother me at all - in fact I think it is quite nice.
My only other suggestion would be to move the girls farther away from the tree and use a larger aperature to blur and separate the subjects from the background.
Otherwise cute shot. I look forward to viewing the rest of your portfolio.
Regards,
Karen
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E.J. Billy Kim
{K:745} 12/8/2003
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May be have the kids not too close to the tree with minimum DOF to blurr and may be over expose a little...just a thought.
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Marcy Massura
{K:1848} 12/8/2003
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I am NO expert but
the tree is a bit busy for such a tight shot-the girls look like they are leaning on it!!!(I read your notes so I understand why)....I think the lighting works here- but it is the smiles that take this down a notch- heck I would rather see kids serious, than 'mall pose smiles'!!! But they are great models to sit so well for you!
Good luck- looks great.
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Gabriella Carta
{K:22879} 12/7/2003
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lovely portrait, good
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Audi Bastie
{K:65} 12/7/2003
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Thanks for the help guys. I will keep all of this in mind. I need to work on catchlights. I've only had my Alienbee flash system for a week so, I'm in the learning phase. I have shot all natural light up until now. I will remember next time to post more info. I used two umbrellas on two Alienbee 800's, I don't remember exactly what they were set on. I changed the settings several times for different effects, therefore I don't remember. The tree was only about 5 foot from the opposite wall and I had about 5 ft of width to put all my gear into! It was REALLY tight.
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David Yates
{K:4698} 12/7/2003
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Audi,
First, if you want constructive crticism it would be goog to provide more info on what you did- aperture, speed, tripod, use of flash, etc.
I would agree w/ Cherri's comments about the pose- it looks a little forced. One of the nice things about digital is you can take lots of frames. Use the first several (or 10 or 20) to get your settings right (check histogram for exposure, zoom in to check focus, etc.) and get the subject used to being photographed. Talk to the subject, joke, encourage them to relax, etc. I often ask subjects to think about certain things they might want the photo to convey (i.e.- how excited they are that Christmas is coming).
The most important element of a portrait is the eyes- they're what you should focus on. It always helps to get a little reflected catch light in the eyes to make them lively (while I'm no professional myself, I think you can see examples of some of these concepts in the portraits in my portfolio).
The best thing to do is just keep shooting and experimenting. Hope this helps.
Regards,
David
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Marcos Duarte
{K:15402} 12/7/2003
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Nice shot
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Cherri Lanagan
{K:258} 12/7/2003
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It's a good portrait, but not great. They looked like they were taking pictures. It would have been better if they had a more natural smile, like they were having fun and just happen to look at the camera. Also if you put the santa hats on with the pom pom folded over the top, both showing and opposite each other it balances better. Good luck with your work.
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