lady godiva....

[peeperita]

this young lady had asked me several weeks ago to shoot some "lady godiva" shots....(we worked up to those)...i drug all my lights out there but, when we got to a suitable location there was no power for what measly lights i had....this is shot with a little fill flash and is the best of the bunch as far as my eye could tell....i felt that the exposure on her skin was just right....

i had never shot horses before and i did find i had a great deal of trouble with the depth of field and using an onboard flash...especially when my model was on the horse and i was going for her on the back and the horse's snout to be in focus....if anyone has suggestions on how to increase the depth of field while using a flash, i would very much appreciate hearing from them....

i get wordy, don't i?....anyway, what are your thoughts/suggestions on this shot....

thanks

peeper

[wulf]

The challenge is that you either need to use a smaller aperture (reducing the light and, if you turn up the flash to compensate, you will get a more unnatural result) or get further away (so the effect of the flash will be reduced).

Anyway, I think this shot has worked well, although it might have been good to take another one with horse and lady a bit more to the left so there is less empty space on the left and a bit more of the horse to the right.

Wulf

[RexK_Cozumel]

Lighting looks pretty even very safe lighting but not interesting. As far as compositionally I feel that this photo should be either tighter or wider. This middle ground where you lost the back of the horse but not really tight in on the head is bothering for me. I think that if you cropped in a little on both sides and some off the bottom it would put more emphasis on the interaction between the lady and the horse. Or you can go for a wider angle shot to get the entire lady and horse into frame.

As far as the lights go if you have to plug in your light sources then you might want to take a car that has a normal 110v outlet. A lot of newer model cars have that nowadays. Or I believe that there are some adapters you can buy that plug into your cigarette lighter outlet in a car and then you can plug in a standard 110v...... or if you need a lot of lighting then you can bring along a portable generator...... kinda a pain in the arse but......

[WooD]

I love it, and think you did a fantastic job with the light you had to work with.

I might wood try to clone out some of her fly away hair.

I tried a few different crops on your shot, the best I could come up with was just above the horses ears, and just below her elbow. I didn't like it as well as your original shot, because it seemd the horse overpowered the shot.

I'd love to see the rest of the shoot

[wulf]

Originally Posted by WooD

I'd love to see the rest of the shoot

Remember there is a section set aside for any nude shots; send a PM to NaturesPixel to be granted access.

Wulf

[WooD]

Originally Posted by wulf

Remember there is a section set aside for any nude shots; send a PM to NaturesPixel to be granted access.

Wulf

I have access to that area of the message board, but seriously doubt those pictures will be posted. There is great multitudes of trust between the model, and photographer when nude comes into play. Not that I woodn't love to see them, I was joking when I posted it.

[DennisL]

I like it!
Shows a nice relationship between the 2.
Nice lighting and well composed!

[peeperita]

Originally Posted by wulf

The challenge is that you either need to use a smaller aperture (reducing the light and, if you turn up the flash to compensate, you will get a more unnatural result) or get further away (so the effect of the flash will be reduced).

Anyway, I think this shot has worked well, although it might have been good to take another one with horse and lady a bit more to the left so there is less empty space on the left and a bit more of the horse to the right.

Wulf

thank you wulf for your observations.....it was hard for me to find that middle ground...i guess what i was really asking for was how you increase your depth of field while maintaining a a good fill flash...i moved this way and that, trying all the while to maintain a good distance so i wouldn't "blow out" the lightness of the horse.....i reckon i just want that magic bullet, ya know....

as far as composition, i have over three hundred shots to choose from.....but, that darned depth of field excluded so many...

thank you again....i knew i had made a number of mistakes...it just takes another's eye to discover them.....

peeper

[peeperita]

Originally Posted by RexK_Cozumel

Lighting looks pretty even very safe lighting but not interesting. As far as compositionally I feel that this photo should be either tighter or wider. This middle ground where you lost the back of the horse but not really tight in on the head is bothering for me. I think that if you cropped in a little on both sides and some off the bottom it would put more emphasis on the interaction between the lady and the horse. Or you can go for a wider angle shot to get the entire lady and horse into frame.

As far as the lights go if you have to plug in your light sources then you might want to take a car that has a normal 110v outlet. A lot of newer model cars have that nowadays. Or I believe that there are some adapters you can buy that plug into your cigarette lighter outlet in a car and then you can plug in a standard 110v...... or if you need a lot of lighting then you can bring along a portable generator...... kinda a pain in the arse but......

rex, thank you for taking the time to reply.....i know that this thread can be tedious at times to muddle through....i agree now through your eyes that the composition was not all that it could have been......as i have said in a previous post.....i was having a hard time working with the depth of field....

in the future, i will consider working with lights that will allow alternate power sources....(such as my car)....thus upping my chances at a decent depth of field....

again, you are a good man to take the time to really look at my image....

thanks

peeper

[peeperita]

Originally Posted by WooD

I love it, and think you did a fantastic job with the light you had to work with.

I might wood try to clone out some of her fly away hair.

I tried a few different crops on your shot, the best I could come up with was just above the horses ears, and just below her elbow. I didn't like it as well as your original shot, because it seemd the horse overpowered the shot.

I'd love to see the rest of the shoot

thanks for seeing that which i did not....the fly away hair never occurred to me as i was so focussed on what was not in focus....you're a good man with a good eye...

i too had issues with the crop.....i know the rules but in a "double" portrait such as this i couldn't find that "happy" place...

i'm not too sure that you will see more of this particular session as the model hasn't yet approved all the shots.....i was really venturing out to see what an unjaded eye saw before i presented the shots to to her.....

thanks again...

peeper