Musician photo shoot

[SGToliver]

Back from a month long vacation to the states and finally getting through all of my photos. This is one of my favorites from a shoot I did for an old friend that is in a band. He sings country music and recently opened for Wayne "the train" Hancock and loves Dale Watson (to give you a sense of his style.) As usual, I used only one bare SB600 off camera to the right. I would like feedback on the use of lighting, post processing and whether you think I was able to convey anything about his style of music without coming off as gimicky.



Exif data

Camera Nikon D3100
Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/4.0
Focal Length 22 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash On, Return detected
Date and Time (Modified) 2011:10:21 01:45:43
Exposure Program Aperture-priority AE
Max Aperture Value 4.0
Subject Distance 2.24 m
Metering Mode Spot
Exposure Mode Auto
White Balance Auto

[sk66]

I can't really see the flash used, which means you did a pretty good job of fill. Especially considering the rather harsh lighting. I think it conveys something of his "personality", but not necessarily of "his music".

To me the ambient is still a bit to harsh. You might have been able to increase the flash output to knock back the ambient a bit more.

[ChrisAdval]

I totally agree sk66, but I would like to add maybe trying a higher aperture like f/8 or f/10 for a more environmental portrait feel added to the photo would add a bit more depth in my opinion. Also the crop seems a bit tight (on the lower sides and bottom of the frame) maybe adding a tiny bit more space when framing the shot.

[graciousness]

If you raise the f stop to f/8 or f/10, you will lose blur in the background. You want your subject to pop, esp in shoots like this.

The crop to the left is a bit too tight for me. And I agree with SK66 with the ambient lighting.

You are almost there, but just requires tweaking.

[SGToliver]

too easy to fix the crop because I shot wider just for this reason. Thanks for the other advice, I will keep it in mind next I am out.

[graciousness]

Just as a note, what I meant to say in regards to narrowing your aperture (higher f/stop as Chris as adjusted) is that I wouldn't recommend it. You want your background blurry so that your subject pops in the entire image. If you had used a higher f/stop, your background would be in focus and you'd lose your main subject.

If you notice how brilliant images look (portrait, etc), the difference is because the background is blurry.

I am also thinking that the focal length you have used, which is 22mm is too wide. I am aware that perhaps, you would have treated this as an environmental portrait, however, the use of a longer focal length would have aided in a more blurry background. Your main subject - the musician - is what is important in the image. You want him to pop in the image; the background is only a secondary support, but doesn't have any real significance to your main subject. Hence, I believe that I would have treated this as a normal portrait shoot and using longer focal length. I hope I was making sense? Sometimes I just type so much I get lost in the thought....

There is another thing that is bothering me, though, and I've just figured it out. The image looks a little bit flat. I don't know if it's the edit, the minimal colours in the image (with majority being green from the trees), the lack of contrast, lack of blur on the background, but whatever it is (or all of what' I've mentioned), the image feels flat to me. Have you tried a different edit version, with a little bit more saturated colours and contrast or does that make the dappled sunlight and flash use more prominent?

I do like this shot, though and I think you've done well with the vision. Again as I've mentioned, just requires a little tweaking or variation.

Cheers,

Grace

[sk66]

LOL!
Two completely different suggestions on f-stop/ DOF.....
Either/Neither could be "correct" and both would give a different "feel".

IMO, the DOF is quite good given the subject/idea. The country lane (to "convey" country music I imagine) is prominent enough to "contribute" to the idea, but not so prominent as to be overwhelming.

I just don't think the composition quite pulls it together....but I'm also not sure what change I could suggest.

[SGToliver]

this was the edited version that the musician liked the most from the ones I created here is the original image:

[sk66]

I like the new crop better....
Maybe something like this?
I went a bit "stylized" and a little "grittier"....Might not suit as it's a bit away from "realistic", but I like it.

[SGToliver]

I like what you did there. Did you do anything to specifically lighten the background?