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Archive 2014 · Four Swans (ballerinas)

  
 
shymon
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Four Swans (ballerinas)


Shot these for work at Los Angeles Union Station as part of promotion my agency is doing with local ballet company. Very short notice what I was shooting, so just grabbed Nikon df and 50mm 1.8 lens and flash -- which I mostly didn't use.

Hardly perfect, but pleased with results. I tried some different processing for some different looks as these will be used online and I have the latitude to be creative. C&C always welcome.

1.



2.



3.



4.



(yes, I know the strap is falling off her shoulder -- ugh!)

5.



6.



7.



FWIW, #1 is my favorite by far. Captured a nice moment when they were standing in good light.

Tx for looking! steve



Sep 17, 2014 at 11:21 PM
John Caldwell
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Four Swans (ballerinas)


Yes, #1 is really great. Congratulations, Steve.

John Caldwell



Sep 18, 2014 at 12:08 AM
steelydan
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Four Swans (ballerinas)


I like them all, but I think the black and white are better, because the dancer stand out from the backgrounds better. The colours of the station are subtle and the whites of the dresses seem to blend in with It

Number 1 for me but close second is number 5, again I would like to see the black and white version of that.



Sep 18, 2014 at 03:35 AM
sibirdie
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Four Swans (ballerinas)


steelydan wrote:
I like them all, but I think the black and white are better, because the dancer stand out from the backgrounds better. The colours of the station are subtle and the whites of the dresses seem to blend in with It

Number 1 for me but close second is number 5, again I would like to see the black and white version of that.


+1



Sep 18, 2014 at 05:43 AM
Eyeball
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Four Swans (ballerinas)


These are very nice and I certainly don't underestimate the challenges with an on-location shoot like this.

That said, I would have liked to see better subject separation from the background on a few of these, including a little better juxtaposition of the subjects to the background elements (heads in a clean spot, limbs not getting lost in architectural details, etc.).

Maybe you have some other shots where you tried this but I think you missed an opportunity in 3 and 7 to get some very nice floor reflections of the ballerinas.

In terms of post, I suggest you try bringing up the black levels of the background in some of these. The background environmental details will still be there to see but the lighter contrast of those elements won't compete so strongly with the dancers.

Just giving you my initial impressions. I recognize that perhaps the agency was after something specific or perhaps there were other constraints that I'm not picking up on.



Sep 18, 2014 at 08:48 AM
Steve Wylie
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Four Swans (ballerinas)


Nice. I like number five a lot. I'm curious, though, having commuted through LA Union Station everyday for years, did you have permission to shoot there? Or was this a "run and gun" project and hope you didn't get hassled? Regardless, you did well.


Sep 18, 2014 at 05:30 PM
shymon
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Four Swans (ballerinas)


Hey Steve -- I work as the blogger for the MTA (Metro), which owns Union Station. The ballerinas were there for a Metro promotion and I was taking pics for the blog and our social media. I'm a writer by trade but a photo enthusiast and it's nice to have a job that allows me to shoot on a regular basis. And it means my camera and equipment purchases are a tax writeoff!

John, Steelydan,sibirdie and Eyeball: thank you for the feedback!

I thought your comments were spot on. I managed to get some decent photos but while reviewing and processing the images I saw some missed opportunities and things I should have paid more attention to -- in particular making sure the ballerinas weren't posing in front of a distracting feature of the building.

And for the purposes of photographic improvement, a couple other things I should keep in mind next time around:

1. I should have brought a small ladder or stepstool to get a higher vantage point. I bet there are some sweet angles in Union Station just a few feet higher than boring old eye level.

2. I ended up shooting the entire batch with just my 50mm 1.8 lens -- even though my 18-35mm 3.5 was in my camera bag. A wider angle would have encouraged me to better explore the possibilities of photos using the ballerinas' reflections. What I really should have done is rent a 2.8 midrange zoom to give me all those options in one lens.

I'm going to keep working on processing and I'll work on the black points. Steelydan -- here's the B/W version of that one pic:



Again, thanks everyone for taking time to look and the suggestions. Extremely helpful!



Sep 19, 2014 at 12:32 AM
Paul Mo
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Four Swans (ballerinas)


The backgrounds are very dominant. If you ever shoot in this style again, I'd carefully select locations and take a long fast lens - 135 f2L, 200 f1.8/2 - to gain greater control over the balancing the subject and backgrounds.

You needn't shoot wide open, but try to tone the distractions down.

Be careful to level horizons, and as with Shot #7, there is too much (busy) space, too many hard, graphic forms competing with the main subjects - the dancers.

That being said knowing it was a grab some gear and shoot gig.



Sep 19, 2014 at 12:43 AM
prairietom
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Four Swans (ballerinas)


Hey, since you wrote C&C always welcome, I would say try not to beat yourself up so bad. I think these are great shots of Union Station with ballerinas in them to grab your attention. I am betting your boss is very pleased. And the ballerinas are probably giggling like school girls, too. and they should be.


Sep 20, 2014 at 12:50 PM
shymon
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Four Swans (ballerinas)


Hey prairietom - thanks! I'm actually pretty happy with the pics -- just always looking for ways to improve and get a few more keepers.


Sep 22, 2014 at 03:30 PM
fingerda
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Four Swans (ballerinas)


#5 for me.

DaveF



Sep 22, 2014 at 04:00 PM





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