Fun and games

[ELAY]

Two of the 11-year old, aspiring soccer keeper. Had to totally blow out the sky to expose him properly -- I know, I probably could have reined in the sky if I had popped him with some fill flash, but I wanted the shadows from the sidelight.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67761809@N00/856637761/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1112/856637761_586f8c486e.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="DSC_4155 edit" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67761809@N00/856637617/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1130/856637617_832f24e86c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_4153 edit" /></a>

One of the 8 year old, very unhappy with me for making him stop for the photo. Cut off his toes -- doing that on almost all my "up-high" shots lately. I used white balance adjustment to tint the background sort of blue-acqua, while masking the brat.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67761809@N00/856646539/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1183/856646539_c5bdd9b0b4.jpg" width="500" height="339" alt="DSC_2938 edit" /></a>

EL

[jiminyClickit]

ELAY,

Skies are replaceable, good skintones are not. These appear very natural. The poolside edit worked well, along with the angle down. Are you experimenting with low and high position shooting?

[wulf]

On the pool one, portrait orientation might have been good. It would give less background (although still enough to give context) and more vertical space to help you catch the toes! Nice tones but, because of the composition, not quite a top rank picture (IMHO).

With the goalie, the colours are fantastic (expecially his hair) and I think the first shot is better. I wonder if, by standing up a bit taller and tilting the camera down, you could have caught the same light, avoided the sky altogether and not made the angle look too unnatural?

However, it certainly looks like you are building up a great porfolio of both of them.

Wulf

[ELAY]

Jim --

Yes I am experimenting a bit with high-low -- it is one kind of shooting though, where I think I need to get my zoom out. You just don't have the same ability to walk around and recompose when you are working in the vertical plane, and so my 50 ends up amputating toes a lot (or at least I do when wielding it).

The white balance adjustment is something I picked up over at Radiant Vista (http://www.radiantvista.com/) -- don't know if you have been there, but they have video tutorials (maybe not optimal for dial-up...) by some very gifted photographer/photoshoppers. There is one, called Elise by the Dock or something (under the Video Tutorials I think), which really opened my eyes to some new possibilities. Maybe next time you are at your local library (do they have high-speed there?) and have twenty minutes or so (they are long sessions!) you could have a peek, or who knows, maybe there is another solution.

Wulf --

You are right about the crop on brat #2 (what a surprise!). When I set up I was thinking landscape, just because I liked the tiles and thought he would look good framed with space on either side -- but having experimented a bit, the portrait would have worked, and would have left him with all toes intact. For the redhead I was thinking I wanted some sky to ensure good separation, but I think I got good separation from the sidelight which is a bit behind him and giving me a bit of rim, and I could have stood a bit taller to ditch the sky (at least for another year or two anyway).

Cheers,

EL

[Teewinot]

ELAY,

I think you've got some great shots here and it's cool that you are practicing portraits and unique angles. That said, I want to say that I really love the first shot! Such red hair! But aside from that, I think the lighting is spot on and the pose is really effective. I see what you mean about the white sky, but at least it's a small part of the picture (and believe me, everyone's eyes will be drawn to the hair anyways!).

Being the line perfectionist that I am, the one thing that I wonder about fixing with the first shot is the yellow net pole on the right. As is, the pole is not parallel to the edge of the frame. Would rotating the shot make the subject lean too much? I also notice (but not as much) that the buildings in the background are slanted too (impossible to mend in camera it seems, based on what I see in the second shot). Again, I am really too much of a stickler with lines in photos (must be my personality)...but just thought I'd point it out. :) In the end, the viewer just sees how perfect you captured the subject and likely will not notice anything else.

Thanks for sharing your experiments (and successes!).

[ELAY]

You're right -- each photo could stand to be rotated a couple of degrees clockwise. I think the post was reasonably perpendicular to the horizon -- if you look at it next to some of the window framing, they seem parallel -- so the rotation shouldn't throw things off-kilter.

Good eye, thanks.

EL

[angeleyes216]

As a beginner i was surprised at how many things there are to follow such as rule of 3rds and catchlights, horizons being straight and other things. But that first photo is striking and sometimes i think we are lucky enough to catch that special photo and not always have everything politicaly correct ( so to speak).
That red hair just catches your attention and the skin tones are beautiful or is that handsome?:D