Day in Ottawa

[Mathieu C]

Hey guys,

As promised, here is another shot that I took with my girlfriend while walking in Ottawa.



EXIF Data:
Camera Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 21 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire
Lens EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS


I would like to know about the composition of this picture and also if I should have used a fill flash in this circumstance.

Thanks again for all your help,

Mathieu C

[scootermcq]

Originally Posted by Mathieu C

Hey guys,

I would like to know about the composition of this picture and also if I should have used a fill flash in this circumstance.

Thanks again for all your help,

Mathieu C

I like the use of the negative space.

Shooting at 1/1250 means fill flash would be almost useless once you change aperture to maintain exposure. Your aperture would be so small (around f/11), that the flash would need to be extremely powerful. This would also have created such a large DOF that the background would become distracting. You could have used a bounce card or reflector to put some light on her face, which I would have liked.

[Doug Sundseth]

The background is already sharp enough that additional BG sharpness wouldn't hurt the image significantly (IMO).

If you're not actively trying for a near silhouette, I think that fill light would have helped here, though I agree that a bounce card might have worked well.

Had you used flash, since you're so close to your subject, you would have gotten some additional background separation from flash falloff anyway, so I think it would have been worth a try.

[Niresangwa]

I don't really feel like you needed fill that much in this situation, but the points above are well made.

My bigger issue here is that its so dark. I believe you're working with LR, so I"d really suggest bringing up the fill and adjusting the contrast to balance it. I don't know if you're using a preset for the conversion or whether you did it on your own, but either way...

I do like the toning, and i'm usually not fan of sepia, and i really like the composition. it's just so...dark.

[Mathieu C]

Hey guys,

From what I can read it seems like my main problem (based on the last 2 pictures I uploaded) is the exposure of my shots always being too dark.

I do work with LR and I will concentrate on exposing my subject better. I don't know about bounce cards yet or how they work but if anyone wouldn't mind explaining to me it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all your patience with me,

Mathieu C.