OK- retakes done- I think these are actually worse!

[ali1977]

I like the old ones better! The woman said she wanted them brighter. I used a SB-600 flash with a diffuser, and 55-200mm lens. Did the best I could with the background. Luckily, it seems I am better at Photoshop than school pictures in a dingy gym, so I can get rid of a lot of the background. I couldn't find any place where there were no other people. This was the best light I could get to.
I am so over this. I really just want to tell these people where to go and how to get there and just give them their stupid refund and never look back.
Anyway- here's one SOTC. Then, if you look at the flickr page, the grown up with no blacked out face was my model. I thought he looked good. Is it because these kids are just not photogenic? Or do I just suck at this?
Any PP thoughts?
Thanks for everyone's help! I just have to get these down and then I'm back to trees and friend's kids!

[CheaperKings]

Well, if it was me, I would've just brought my own lighting kit. That way you can control the lights. I think that's your only problem here. I don't care how good you are, you can't do anything in crappy lighting...

[zona5101]

The picture of the adult is much closer so the flash lighting contributed much more to the over all exposure.
I think the first shot with the red wall pad was better. Hopefully you can work some PP magic and get this one the way you think they want it. I'd be curious to see what you finally hand over and the outcome.

I wish you luck in getting everything squared away and done.

[Gina9942]

Is it okay to edit your pic? I want to play around with it and see if there is anything I can do to help you make these work rather than deal with the headache of re-doing them again.

Okay I reread and saw that you were looking for some info as far as PP. I played with it a little in Photoshop and this is what I came up with. What do you think? If it's not okay feel free to take it down.

[zona5101]

Nice edit Gina9942

[Gina9942]

Originally Posted by zona5101

Nice edit Gina9942

Thank you

[Benji]

Your first mistake was in not understanding what the word photograph actually means. Unfortunately not many people do.

Your second mistake was in not looking at what other photographers have done when photographing basketball players and then duplicating what they have done. I believe had you done this they would have been happy.

Third mistake was allowing them to tell you what you are going to do. You should have insisted on an area that you could shoot in where you would not have to contend with people walking around in the scene.

Benji.

[cherrygirl]

Unfortunately I think that you will end up providing these photos gratis. I'm sorry you had to go through this but charging for them is not right. There was just no way to get a good set of photos without a light kit....a gym is a horrible place to shoot without proper lighting. It was a bad situation all the way around. I would give back the money and wash my hands of it.

I know that you did this as a favor but next time, know your limits. Seems like you were uncomfortable from the get go and you should have told your friend that you didn't have the right equipment to get the right photos. If they couldn't understand that, then they really aren't much of a friend!

One more point....if you find yourself in a situation where you need to take a photo of a person and the lighting is bad and you don't have lighting equipment, try to get that person outside. In my job, I take photos for a business publication and don't have time to set up lights so I work with a flash and natural light. Most offices have horrible lighting so I always try to find a window with good light coming in or I get them outside.

Good luck!

[ali1977]

Ok- ouch to the person who said I don't know what the word photograph means. Kinda harsh, but whatev.
I made it absolutely clear that what I have is what I have. I don't do this for a living. I charged what it costs me to print, so nothing. I asked if they would rather me print or just email the file, and they all wanted me to print. Had they just wanted the file, it would have been nothing.
Anyway- yes- the lighting blows. I saw the shots from last year, and they really were no better, some were worse. but, no one complained! I have taken pictures of this particular friend's children, but on a personal- not a school picture taker level- and outside. I couldn't do it outside b/c 1- it's basketball, and 2- they practice at night, and 3- it was snowing.
I prepared as much as I could. I honestly did the best I could do. I am not a school picture photographer.
But, here is what I am playing with- I'm just trying to figure out how to blend it better.
Oh- and the picture I posted had ZERO editing done. I opened the RAW file, saved it as a jpeg and posted it. So, ease up a smidge, please! I'm already upset enough about this

*****ETA***** I uploaded the wrong one. Oops!*****
[IMG][/IMG]
and PS- this is very raw. I haven't really cleaned it up that much. I'm trying to remember how
Thx!

[Nicole]

Don't forget to do the area between his arm and body (left side in this case).

Although one other thing that stands out in the edit is that the player looks much noisier than the background. Do you have any noise reduction software you can run to help match it up a bit better?