cuppa on the spot

[rebel_John]

Surprised nobody mentioned the ISO and shutter speed. Were trying to have noise? At an ISO of 400 and a shutter speed that fast you could have easily shot these pics at ISO 100 since they are sitting still that would have gotten you less noise. Also if you wanted them to be a bit sharper choosing a smaller apature would help, 1.8 can be a little soft on th 50mm.

[imagesbyjk]

Originally Posted by rebel_John

Surprised nobody mentioned the ISO and shutter speed. Were trying to have noise? At an ISO of 400 and a shutter speed that fast you could have easily shot these pics at ISO 100 since they are sitting still that would have gotten you less noise. Also if you wanted them to be a bit sharper choosing a smaller apature would help, 1.8 can be a little soft on th 50mm.

John, do you see excessive grain? I don't see what I would consider excessive grain.

[katsclass]

Originally Posted by imagesbyjk

John, do you see excessive grain? I don't see what I would consider excessive grain.

No it's ok, the man in the picture had apparently been playing with my camera while I was inside (with my hubby's approval) and I didn't check my settings except to get a good exposure and wb. I almost always have mine on 100 iso and a 1.8 aperture b/c I shoot alot of portraits and I like a bokeh/ little grain. I straight up didn't check. And I'd also forgotten about the best aperture for this lens for sharpness is at a f/4- but I bought it for the large aperture, I could get an f/4 and have more zoom flexibility with my kit lens.

While the settings ended up working fine for this shot, I should've checked and didn't...

[ttosifa]

Originally Posted by katsclass

went back to the original and tried again as I had a feeling I got more right in camera than I did in pp last time. How does this one look/feel?

I hate to say it, but it still has a cyan cast (too little red), but now it also has a blue cast (too little yellow). I think this means there is still too much green, but I am not sure. Plus there is just no "weight" in the photo -- I don't know how to describe this precisely -- but there is little differentiation from your subjects and their background.

I have had a small go at your picture (posted below). If you open both in Photoshop and paste one over the other, you will see big differences. The skin color is much more warm in mine (red + yellow). The shadows reveal more detail (her hair, his jeans, and the soles of his shoes). Not perfect, I will admit, but a direction of improvement I think.

Previously mentioned problems such as the lack of detail on her arm, etc., seem out of reach for me.

[jiminyClickit]

katsclass,

Here's a slightly more open crop, and a vignette to bring the background down to a level more contrasting to couple. Colors of Original have more red and yellow added, couple is lightened some, and Aaron's eyes a little extra.

[katsclass]

Originally Posted by jiminyClickit

katsclass,

Here's a slightly more open crop, and a vignette to bring the background down to a level more contrasting to couple. Colors of Original have more red and yellow added, couple is lightened some, and Aaron's eyes a little extra.

And teeth whitened too, I might add! It's a bit yellow on the l side of her face, this is what I have been struggling with when bringing in the yellows and reds. Do you mind sharing how you got his eyes to open up more like that, I swear he wasn't looking into the sun! I like the looser crop and the differentiating the vignette did- how'd you do that without affecting the couple- a mask?

Thank you all for the time you put into my picture, I hope someday I'll be able to do this all on my own!

[SJH Foto]

I like Jiminy's redo and yours on post #9 the best. Either way, it's a good pose for an engagement shot, and I think your people will be well pleased.

Now, I know I shoot at too high an ISO sometimes, but I don't think ISO 400 is too extreme on an SLR.

[katsclass]

ttosifa- I also really appreciate your edit and input, I'm having problems deciding between crops. I think the tighter is more flattering for the lady, but a looser helps that weight it's missing. Hmmm decisions decisions. I don't know what to do about her arm either, the color is there so it's not overexposed, guess the aperture made the lens soft in that area. You live, you learn...
Thanks again!

[ttosifa]

Originally Posted by katsclass

Thank you all for the time you put into my picture, I hope someday I'll be able to do this all on my own!

No problem -- I not only enjoy it but also learn from it. And I will never be the least bit insulted if you do not prefer my suggestions -- it all comes down to style and taste, and everyone is different.

[jiminyClickit]

katsclass,

Saw the teeth on uploading to Flickr and left them. They can be tamed down, as easily as his eyes were lightened with the mask you surmised. Same with her yellow side (all subjective stuff is a combination of eyes and monitors): a mask of blue or magenta or some of each in that one area could make your view what you want. You can tailor a mask with Opacity and Erase. The catchlight in each eye is 5 pixels, one bright surrounded by four less bright.

A mask around the couple takes time and patience, and gives you complete separate control of both. This background looks a little gray here, and could be adjusted for color as well as light/dark on your monitor. A second mask for the eyes allows lightening, and another gradient in lower right corner sort of adds some dimension (or minimizes the attention) on her arm.