Welder doing his thing....

[Mitchel]

Hi,

Please feel free to critique this photo, it was for an assignment in my photo class. I was supposed to take a photo of a person in there work enviroment.



Thanks,

Mitch

[Ron Ingram]

I LIKE it!
Ron I

[clockdoc]

Hi Mitchell and welcome to the group. A little low power flash fill may have helped here, either onboard or off camera. Also try flipping the image from left to right and see how it works. It may help to keep one's eye in the frame a bit longer. Let us know what your instructor says.

[Mitchel]

Originally Posted by clockdoc

Hi Mitchell and welcome to the group. A little low power flash fill may have helped here, either onboard or off camera. Also try flipping the image from left to right and see how it works. It may help to keep one's eye in the frame a bit longer. Let us know what your instructor says.

I'll try flipping it and see if it looks better. Interesting that you would say it may have benefited with some flash, I actually did use a flash...the 430ex. I actually darkened it up a bit in Photoshop with Levels because it showed too much of the workshop and it was distracting.

Thanks!

Mitch

[clockdoc]

Hi Mitch,
When you used the flash for fill light was it on full power? What I was suggesting was to lower the flash output if your camera/flash allows that. Otherwise you would need to use some diffusion material (or even a snoot on your 430) to cut down on the light and control where it illuminates the subject. A colored gel over the flash would be an interesting experiment as well. Can you show us the original before you darkened it?

[Mitchel]

Hi Lee:

Here you go, this was before cropping and making it darker via Levels. Yes, the flash was on full power. I have not experimented with flash power yet, I am still learning my new XTi.



Let me know if you think I went overboard?

Thanks,

Mitch

[clockdoc]

Hi Mitch,
Thanks for your quick reposting. Comparing the two, my thought is that the 'best' would be somewhere between the two. As you become more comfortable with your camera and its capabilities, you will be able to apply fill flash in more situations like this. I can also visualize how an off camera flash, possibly with a snoot, could be used effectively. Not to add too much to your learning curve while you are getting used to your new camera but when time permits, take a look at the Strobist website at www.strobist.com for some excellent info on using off-camera flash. Best of luck with your assignment. I am always happy to help where I can.

[Taallyn]

What were your exposure settings? Would you have been able to use a slightly longer shutter speed to get more length to the spark-trails? That would have given a more dramatic sense of movement to his work.

I agree with Clockdoc about the fill flash. I'm still getting a handle on it myself, but a snooted, lower power flash might have allowed you to light the welder more selectively.

Otherwise, I like the photograph.

[Manila_Joe]

I like how you were able to catch the smoke in the first. It seems that it got lost in the darkening process. The brightness in between the both might show the smoke but darken the background enough to be less distracting. You can also crop the right side to remove the white thing on the far right about half way from the top.

Good luck with your assignment.