First Post

[jpendley77]

Hey this is my first post! I am very beginner; I have only had my D40x for 6 months. I love to learn and love reading all your post and comments and seeing all the different views on DPS.

Anyway the pic is of my son and at a local park. Sun was super bright, but I found this bench under a nice big oak tree which provided some nice shadows and I also used a polarizer on my 55-200mm.

[clockdoc]

Nice casual shot of your son. What you have is what is called paramount or "butterfly" lighting in portraiture. This comes from the shadow under the nose that looks like a butterfly. You took on some harsh lighting, tone-wise, and did a nice job of holding shadow detail. It is difficult for the subject to be properly exposed in cases like this without blowing out the background. It will help immensely if you could also post EXIF data on future posts such as camera/lens, ISO, f/stop and shutter speed. Welcome to the group!

[QNormal]

This is a good shot. The lighting is nice. The depth of field is just right for the portrait. I would suggest cropping the photo so that there is not so much space around the boy. Try cropping just to the left of the boy and just on top of his head. It would focus the photo more on him with much less negative space.

[jpendley77]

Here is this and thanks for that tip i will post w/EXIF from now on.

Lens: 55-200mm F/4-5.6 G
Focal Length: 60mm
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern
1/320 sec - F/4.5
Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

As far as the paramount lighting goes, is that a type of good or bad lighting? I am so new at this i did not even notice the shadow, but i learn quick.

Thanks,
Jason

[clockdoc]

Hi Jason. Thanks for posting the EXIF data. It sometimes helps me understand how the photorapher used their camera to take the picture. For example, here you are using your 55-200mm lens at the shorter focal length setting which is good for portraits such as this one. You also shot wide open, which cause the background to drop out of focus quickly. Always remember to check your background as it plays a big role in the impact of a photo. You were shooting in Aperture priority but wide open. Was this selection because you wanted to limit depth of field or because that is what the camera was previously set on? Your subject may not have been patient enough for you to experiment but next time try shooting from farther away and using a longer focal length and see how it affects the final image.
Paramount lighting probably got its name from years ago when female movie stars were photographed for their theater publicity shots. The downward direction of the key light emphasized facial structure and had a more dramatic effect than flat frontal lighting. I would not say it is good or bad but just one of several traditional means of lighting a face for a portrait. The other styles are the "Rembrandt" lighting where you will see a small triangle of light on the shadow side of the face. Look at Rembrandt's portraits for a better idea of how this looks. Loop lighting creates a longer nose shadow to the side of the face. You can see how this works by starting with the butterfly lighting and slowly moving the key light away from the camera. Split lighting simply lights one half of the face leaving the other side in shadow. It is not a flattering light and is used more for dramatic effect. Last is rim lighting where the key light is place behid the subject and to the side. It creates a line of light that creates a "rim" on the subjects facial features.
Take some time to look at lighting in portraits with these comments in mind and you will soon see the differences. Keep shooting!