Waiting out Winter

[showalt3]

I haven't taken many decent close up shots so any advice would be helpful. Based on a prior post I tried to be a little more aware of the background colors and tried to make sure the close subject stood out compared to the blurred background. I tried to make sure the eyes were in focus but what are other things I could be working on to make these close ups better? What do some of you think about when you're taking close ups? Should the eyes be not so reflective? Maybe I should have closed the blinds so you couldn't see my whole living room and camera in her eyes.



Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T1i
F-stop: f/4
Exposure Time: 1/20 sec
ISO: 640
Exposure bias: 0 step
Focal length: 18 mm
Max aperture
Metering mode: Pattern
Subject distance
Flash mode: No flash, compulsory
Flash energy
35mm focal length

[karen_s]

Oh what an adorable little guy(gal?) And a very good shot in my humble opinion.

First off, great focus on the eyes. You nailed it. You seem to have enough depth of field to get both in focus so even better. And it's kinda workin' for ya that he(she?) has such big beautiful browns.

I personally love bigger reflections in the eyes. Reflections and highlights give the eyes life, thus giving the subject life. On the other hand, the lack of reflections and highlights can render a subject somewhat lifeless. I would say keep the window shades up. (I kinda like to see the environment in the eyes because it gives me a sense of the world around them, and in a way, the ablility to see the world through their eyes.)

*Warning: Begin Nit-Picking*

As far as improving this image, you might crop just a little more off the right side. I think it works ok as is, just seems a tad static to me because the eyes seem so centered. I guess I would rather see a little more body and a little less couch.

The cutting off of the ears can be tricky. It honestly does not bother me at all in this image but it is something to keep an eye on as you shoot in the future.

I'd play with longer focal lengths if you can. 18mm is NOT WRONG for portrait type shots, but it does tend to distort features. It can most definitely work, but do play with longer lengths too. Maybe take this same shot and try two or three longer lengths and compare.

*Warning: End Nit-Picking*

Lastly, print it, frame it, and enjoy it. It's a very nice photograph.

[showalt3]

Thanks for all your comments!

It's a girl - Maiden Thanks for all the compliments also! It's nice to know what I'm doing right because I try to follow the rule of thirds or get the eyes in focus when taking a picture but I'm not sure if those things are really good things to make priorities or if there are huge things I just don't know about yet. So it's good to know I'm at least focusing on some of the right things. Maiden is a very patient subject who will let me get right in her face so she's a good one to practice on

That's a good point about the reflection in her eyes. I guess I was thinking about pictures people take of their cats eyes where you can see the rich colors. I feel like the reflection takes away from that. But it is nice to be able to see everything around her - I agree about it adding some life to the photo. Pictures of cats eyes are more photographs to protray beautiful eyes, not necessarily trying to convey any personality of the cat.

I love the nit picking -

How does this cropping look?


I did think about the ears - I'll watch for that in the future. I think with this one I wanted it to be a little closer in her face but it does see to me a little cut off in certain areas.

I was also just wondering about focal lengths with portrait shots - I feel like I have the tendency to want to be close to get all the detail but at the same time it does seem to get a rounded feel. I definitely need to practice being a liiiittle farther back.

Thanks again for all your tips!! It's so so helpful to hear other opinions.

[karen_s]

I love the new crop! I think it balances a bit better than the first. (Her little body now takes up more area than the white couch.)

And I'm glad you enjoy my nit picky-ness. I always tell people is is my special gift, well, that and sarcasm.

Is this shot framed and hanging on your wall yet?

[Jim Poor]

Beautiful! Especially after the crop.

Opinions vary about multiple catch lights in the eyes, but especially with a window-lit photo, I don't mind them.

One possible suggestion would be a very slightly dark vignette around the edges that roughly follows the shape of the face. I'm talking so slight that you can't really notice the difference without overlaying the before/after and switching between them. It's easy to over do it!

From a planning perspective, a bit more ambient light would have contracted the pupils a bit and showed more of the eye color.

Here's what I'd do to the eyes to give them just a little bit extra:
1. Brighten one catch light in each.
2. Darken and desaturate the pupils.
3. Ever so slightly increase the saturation in the iris (use the vibrance slider rather than saturation if you have the tools).
4. Sharpen the eyes a bit more compared to the rest of the image.

There is a Photoshop action from MCP Actions called "The Eye Doctor" that makes all those steps a breeze, but they aren't that hard to do on your own.

[DelCan]

#2 is much better.
Print it and hang it. It's a keeper...

(Cute little guy)

Del