Please Do Not Pick Apples

[ocnsprt]

This is a shot from my recent modeling shoot with a good friend, and I played alot with the colors. I love the overall effect and the colors of the wall and the ground, and shes a beautiful subject, but what I want critiqued is the composition of the shot, and if it is distracting that shes sitting against the background, with very little foreground and background contrast and blur. Thanks in advance.





Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 70 mm
Exposure: +2.00
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: -2 EV
Flash: On, Fired




link to set
Client Katie's Modeling shoot - a set on Flickr


link to website Sadi Lane Photography - Home

[16braddog]

I love the colors in this portrait! The background is also very nice! The only thing I did not like about this shot was the angle. Possibly going lower with your camera to get a worms eye view could have been more successful, but I think it is pretty good just how it is! Nicely done

[krenka]

I think it's a fantastic shot as well - lighting etc is great! I'd be inclined to agree with braddog - I think the more distracting element is the ground and that nice and low would take that out and let us concentrate on the model and the sign. Thanks for sharing the shot.

[srt]

Hi, I really like this shot too...I love your models look and the colours are good. Compositionally I would have liked to see her more in the foreground with the apple with the sign more in the background, so that you look at her first and then to the sign behind if u get what I mean. Even not so against the fence would have been good. Still a great shot tho

[ocnsprt]

Thanks to all of you, I was actually laying on the ground to get this shot with my camera about three inches from the street, unfortunatly we shot this in the mountains on the side of the road around a blind curve and the road was about two feet higher then were shes sitting so she couldnt sit closer and have been entirely in the shot because I couldnt have gottten any lower, but I agree I wish it couldve had a little more depth and would have looked better from a lower perspective, there is a shot with the worms eye view on my set, its a black and white, and its a style I love, maybe if we find a similar background we can set up better and shoot his shot again. thanks again

[kencaleno]

I think a straight shot looks the best:

[ReflectingGrace]

the *way* she is sitting is distracting to me. its hard to tell which leg is which and where her other foot is?

fun playful shot though

[nategesner]

Yeh, straighten out the shot and separate her from the background. It's just too strong for me. I also find her black pants a little too distracting; they blend into one big black spot, which just doesn't work for me. A different pose would return the definition.

But in the end, it's a very nice picture!

[MSidPhoto]

Sharp colors, good contrast...good work

[newPerspective]

Sadi, you have a some good things going on this shot. The subject(cute mode) and the surroundings are interesting. But I think there are a couple of things that I can point:

1. He pose is awkward. She is not at ease. She doesn't want her pant to get dirty and in a hurry to get done with the shot.

2. The angle of the shot is not pleasing. First I thought it was a mistake, but then looking at some of your other shots on Flickr, seem like you have made it your style to tilt the camera a little bit not only in the vertical plane but also the horizontal plane and to shoot either from way below. Its good to have your style but you need to recognize when something is not working. In this case you are shooting against a background that has very strong vertical lines and its unnatural to seem them titled slightly like that. And for tilting it in the other plane gives an illusion that the your (or the viewer) is standing at incline. Shooting at different angles is good, but when you go to the extremes of taking the camera all the way to the floor(different shot on your Flickr) to do a portrait shot can make the model look like a giant. Do you really want to do that a pretty model.

3. The settings you used for flash here make this this shot look flat. its not complementing. Did try dialing it down a little bit?

4. Foreground is not lending to the shot. I do understand the conditions in which you shot this, but can you try cropping it in PP.

Overall good work and don't stop experimenting.