First Solo Shoot

[imagesbyjk]

Originally Posted by SJH Foto

I agree to a point. PP work is good, and it's always good to understand how to do it, but in-camera settings need to be addressed much more often than they are in my humble opinion.

I'm still waiting for the point where we stop agreeing.

[SJH Foto]

sorry-i meant to say, "I agree to your point."

[wulf]

When I work on cropping in post processing it is partly to get a better result from an existing picture but also to train your eye to what to look for when out in the field. If in doubt, it is better to frame your shots on the loose side, which gives more scope for adjustment but it will save a lot of time if you take some of your shots close enough that you don't need to crop them later.

I like the lefthand one of the second pair you posted more. All the diagonals in the picture are expanding out from the bottom left towards the top right and it has a strong flow.

With the grass, it is definitely worth considering pushing it to one side for the close-up shots. it works fine in the wider view but as a blurred foreground element it is distracting.

Wulf

[brandonwarren]

Thats obviously the place I want to get myself to. To develop my eye to know exactly how I want it framed so I can eliminate having to crop distractions out of the image. A lot of what I have been doing is completely trial and error, that's just going to have to work for now! But when you say framing on the loose side, maybe you could explain more on that. Do you mean better to include distractions and cut them out later, than leave out details and have no way of getting them back?

[imagesbyjk]

I frame it as I want it in camera. Sometimes I know I'm going to crop square or some special way but most of the time I don't crop beyond what I did in camera. If it doesn't fit a standard size then it gets a border to retain its original ratio.

[wulf]

Originally Posted by brandonwarren

Do you mean better to include distractions and cut them out later, than leave out details and have no way of getting them back?

That is exactly it. In my own shots and offering a critique on others, I often think "what if I hadn't cut off X on the left?" or "would it be more balanced with a bit more space on the right?". You can crop down to focus in but you can't pull the camera back after the fact without getting into a different digital art ballgame.

The LCD review screen is also invaluable. If you have time to check what you have taken you might spot some of those things while you are still in a position to take more pictures; there is no shame in throwing all the near misses away when you get home.

Wulf

[imagesbyjk]

The real key to all this is learning to see what's in the frame - not just the subject but the background. And how they all work together. Its also why I try several compositions with any given subject. But I still do 99% of all my cropping in camera.

[brandonwarren]

Well I have 3 jobs this weekend.. so hopefully I can apply some of these principles. I'll be second shooting a horse show and two weddings, which should give me some creative time to explore different options. Thanks for all the input guys!

[imagesbyjk]

Originally Posted by brandonwarren

Well I have 3 jobs this weekend.. so hopefully I can apply some of these principles. I'll be second shooting a horse show and two weddings, which should give me some creative time to explore different options. Thanks for all the input guys!

Well, have fun. Second shooting is a great way to learn. I always liked shooting weddings. It was all the other crap I got tired of. So when someone asks me to second shoot I love it.