Part 2 -- My Wife Taught me to Shoot People

[Digidave]

Thanks for the feedback. I was worried that the four photos may be a bit much. I had previously thought that the moderators' rules were useful for the critique and share your shot forums but were restricting for more open ended posts. However, I may do well to follow those rules even in areas where they are not strictly enforced (gee who would have thought the rules were there for a reason??)

I'm no Moderator but I would say in a situation such as this, that more than 1 picture is okay. I would classify this thread as a tutorial & you are showing multiple examples of your lighting technique. I find these threads of yours quite informative & hope you don't give up on them.

[pkd14u]

Oh these are great! I like the color version of your wife alone better than the B&W. I think it's because she's got such beautiful eyes, it's a shame to take the color out. I wonder if a little desat would work for that photo leaving the eyes alone but perhaps taking down some of the other colors? Anyway, great photos and thanks for telling us how you did it. I'm getting itchy to try some of this stuff myself!

pkd14u

[peeperita]

i'm sorry that you felt dissapointed with the lack of feedback.....in this section of the forum a lot of people will come look but might hesitate to comment as it is not in a critique section....i know i tend to shy away from anything more than a "nice shot" comment here as well, because gnerally speaking, posters aren't looking for comment.....

try critique....

peeper

[Sandie]

I find it interesting that you have progressed from studio lighting to natural light with reflectors, as most people tend to go the other way. Besides the convenience of not carrying lights around, what is it about natural lighting that you prefer?

When taking portraits, I like to capture something special about that person. With adults it wasn't too hard to get them in the studio with a 'prop' that meant something to them (instrument, special clothing, food, costume, etc) and get a pretty good shot, but when I started photographing more and more children the studio didn't work for me anymore. Kids are not natural in a 4x4 square with big lights pointed at them.

I started taking them outside to play and just shooting them. It is trickier to get a 'technically' perfect shot, but the emotions and natural faces more than made up for it. So, I started doing the same thing with adults, putting them in their envirnoments and shoot with as much natural light as possible and as little intimadating equipment as possible. It worked for me, I started getting the portraits I always wanted.

I haven't made a living doing portraits in over 10 yrs, because my career went off on another path all together, but I still love doing them as gifts and just for my personal enjoyment. All I use is a camera, a white sheet or blanket, a fold-up reflector or two, and a fill flash when absolutely necessary.

[kimspics]

I really really like the pic w/your wife, mother and the pet dog. what a great shot !!!!

[RussHeath]

Arun and Kimspics -- Thank you both. That particular picture has certainly become a family favorite. Now if I could just get the cat to hold still too . . .

Originally Posted by Digidave

I'm no Moderator but I would say in a situation such as this, that more than 1 picture is okay. I would classify this thread as a tutorial & you are showing multiple examples of your lighting technique. I find these threads of yours quite informative & hope you don't give up on them.

Digidave -- You may not have a moderator title, but you're certainly one of our most senior members (I mean that as a compliment, not a crack at your age ). I guess tutorial is probably a good description of what I'm doing. Perhaps if I do more along the same lines I will change the title to something a little more descriptive (i.e. "How to shoot your wife -- A tutorial"). Glad you're enjoying them.

Originally Posted by peeperita

i'm sorry that you felt dissapointed with the lack of feedback.....in this section of the forum a lot of people will come look but might hesitate to comment as it is not in a critique section....i know i tend to shy away from anything more than a "nice shot" comment here as well, because gnerally speaking, posters aren't looking for comment.....

try critique....

peeper

Peeper -- I wasn't so much looking for comments on specific pictures (although those are always appreciated) as I was trying to have a discussion about portrait lighting by posting some examples of what I had tried. I really like the new critique forum and will certainly post there when I want help on a single picture.

And I'm glad you're one of our new critique moderators. Your advice on my pictures and those of others has always been very educational.

Originally Posted by pkd14u

Oh these are great! I like the color version of your wife alone better than the B&W. I think it's because she's got such beautiful eyes, it's a shame to take the color out. I wonder if a little desat would work for that photo leaving the eyes alone but perhaps taking down some of the other colors? Anyway, great photos and thanks for telling us how you did it. I'm getting itchy to try some of this stuff myself!

pkd14u

Pkd14u -- Something like this? I decreased the saturation of everything except the eyes by about 50, then shifted the color of the eyes and sharpened them slightly.




I appreciate the suggestion.

Originally Posted by Sandie

When taking portraits, I like to capture something special about that person. With adults it wasn't too hard to get them in the studio with a 'prop' that meant something to them (instrument, special clothing, food, costume, etc) and get a pretty good shot, but when I started photographing more and more children the studio didn't work for me anymore. Kids are not natural in a 4x4 square with big lights pointed at them.

I started taking them outside to play and just shooting them. It is trickier to get a 'technically' perfect shot, but the emotions and natural faces more than made up for it. So, I started doing the same thing with adults, putting them in their envirnoments and shoot with as much natural light as possible and as little intimadating equipment as possible. It worked for me, I started getting the portraits I always wanted.

I haven't made a living doing portraits in over 10 yrs, because my career went off on another path all together, but I still love doing them as gifts and just for my personal enjoyment. All I use is a camera, a white sheet or blanket, a fold-up reflector or two, and a fill flash when absolutely necessary.

Sandie -- Thank you so much! This type of discussion is exactly what I had in mind when I started working on these threads. I know what you mean about working with kids. I don't have any of my own, but I've shot some for friends and it's a whole different ballgame. It was quite a scene to try and crawl around on the floor with our friend's 1 year old, the whole time trying to reposition my flash, keep her attention, and keep her happy.

I'd love to see some of your natural light portraits. I would bet that your experience in the studio makes it possible to get results with natural light that would be educational to many here.

[peeperita]

you taught me something today....

i thought i'd try to be more helpful after your last post, so i went prowling around looking for a better section for you to discuss this in.....low and behold, i found the heading of this part of town to be dedicated to the discussion of technique....

image the color of my face..,...

thank you for making me look more closely at this site.....

peeper

[Sandie]

I'd love to see some of your natural light portraits. I would bet that your experience in the studio makes it possible to get results with natural light that would be educational to many here.

All of my good stuff is on film. The reason I am here, on DPS, is I just recently (like less than 2 months ago) made the jump to digital for more than just capturing snapshots family events. I have yet to take someone out for a real honest to goodness photo shoot. I plan on doing so as soon as the weather warms up to at least 30 degrees Subject tend to shiver when the wind chill is below zero.

Here is one I took, and haven't had time to process, with just window light....

[Digidave]

Digidave -- You may not have a moderator title, but you're certainly one of our most senior members (I mean that as a compliment, not a crack at your age ). I guess tutorial is probably a good description of what I'm doing. Perhaps if I do more along the same lines I will change the title to something a little more descriptive (i.e. "How to shoot your wife -- A tutorial"). Glad you're enjoying them.

[RussHeath]

Originally Posted by peeperita

you taught me something today....

i thought i'd try to be more helpful after your last post, so i went prowling around looking for a better section for you to discuss this in.....low and behold, i found the heading of this part of town to be dedicated to the discussion of technique....

image the color of my face..,...

thank you for making me look more closely at this site.....

peeper

Peeper -- Thank you for your good intentions. Your story reminds me of when I walked around the house for over 30 minutes madly trying to find my glasses, which were on my face.

Originally Posted by Sandie

All of my good stuff is on film. The reason I am here, on DPS, is I just recently (like less than 2 months ago) made the jump to digital for more than just capturing snapshots family events. I have yet to take someone out for a real honest to goodness photo shoot. I plan on doing so as soon as the weather warms up to at least 30 degrees Subject tend to shiver when the wind chill is below zero.

Here is one I took, and haven't had time to process, with just window light....

Sandie -- Very nice lighting! Did you use a reflector for fill or did that nice soft light just happen from the window?

You will find DPS a valuable resource while making the switch to digital. I never took more than snapshots with film, but I find myself doing much more these days with the help of the kind folks here.