Some background, based on Steady Hand recommendation...Photography is just one of my hobby to balance my geeky work and natural tendency! I just moved from years of P&S to a 1D 'classic' early March; so as you can imagine I've still a lot to learn, which is the fun and challenging part!
My style is more about candid, PJ (don't really like this term but lack of a better one) and also product photos that look candid instead of studio/perfect look. I try to do little post-processing, even if 'little PP' is subjective and every one may have a different definition of it. So far, I only use Lightroom and focus mainly on exposure, curve and slight color work depending of the frame I'm working on. On my B&W ones I do more work on the grayscale mixer to reach the effect I want. If a frame requires too much PS than I consider that the photo was not that good, i.e. I'm trying to force myself to take better photos without counting too much on post-processing. Do you think that this approach is ok?
Bottom line, as-of today I consider myself at the other side of HDR work and other heavy PS 'customization', even if I respect and enjoy looking at some great HDR frames.
And my wish, at this stage, is to progress without any specific end goal. But being able to do an expo one day is one of my dream even if it's only in my neighborhood coffee shop ;-)
I didn't want to post too much photos, so I tried to have a short selection of only my 'people' photos. Let me know if the rule is better to only post one photo per topic, or if a few is permitted.
I think your attitude is just right too. I appreciate your approach of wanting to get the exposures etc. right without resorting to too much PP. Commendable.
Since you have a wife and baby...and a cute dog....I expect you will have many opportunities to practice. Show us more as you go along.
A Tip: Show more of the faces of your wife and child.
#1 ... due the background the object in the man's hands isn't easy identifiable. Otherwise composition could work. The object is on a "key point" and if somewhat more upper the girl head also
#2 OK
#3 I like the small DOF
#4 Is there real blacks ? Try to adjust curves and put more contrast.
#5 technically correct
Try to shoot more, find subjects, share on this forum, you're on the wright way.
Thanks everyone for your comments, and specifically Y_vdm with your critics. I'll redo the B&W work on #4. And I agree with you re: #1 background being too present. I got too much presence of the background (as I should have created a thinner DOF) and I think that the only solution will be to do some layer work to isolate more the subjects. And re: the girl being too low, this is what I liked/wanted about this frame which is having them 'far away' and the girl not immediately visible; but this subjective and I understand your comment.
Jeff, Looks like the 85 and 50 are in good hands. The only thing I want to add is on number one and the background is very busy and competes with the shirt and is a bit distracting to me. Perhaps a wider aperture on the 85 would have softened the background a bit. You're starting out great.
Nice start -- it seems like you have a decent grasp on the technical aspects, but you need to start focusing on details of your photos.
Shot 1 is nice, but the background is a little bit distracting and there are power lines. This suggests that the guy might be in his backyard, rather than in the woods where he belongs. I see where you're going with the intergenerational thing, but something about the photo makes this a little bit unclear. The way your composed the photo the girl almost seems like an afterthought -- a lucky inclusion -- even though you probably meant it otherwise.
Shot 2 is OK -- a typical baby shot. It would be nice if the baby was looking in my direction. I feel disconnected.
Shot 3 is OK too, except that if you look at it long enough it seems as if the hand is coming out of nowhere. I don't get the feeling that it is attached to a person. Also the button and the little bow-looking thing next to it is distracting.
Shot 4 is not my favorite ... the top of the head is just not a good look for your wife. Your crop, angle and focal length make it seem like you are stalking her through the trees. In other words it lacks intimacy. You also can't tell if she is smiling, crying, or what. It lacks emotion.
Shot 5 is just a sitting dog, I can't imagine how you could mess it up.
Again thanks for the constructive C&C, it's really helpful and motivating.
And some comments on your comments mdude85:
- #1: I agree that I mess up the shot with the background too present. but few days earlier I miss some shots by having too wide aperture and the subject being too blurry. So, this time I wanted to 'save' my shots and don't go too wide. And also the distance from the subject was a new one from me as my previous shots the last 2 weeks were more at home. And by the way, I was not lucky with the girl as I did a big cropping on that version (in the original I've the full guy and the girl on the bench). but I wanted to show distance between them. Maybe not a such good idea after all (I could post the original photo if one is interested)! Bottom line, I need to practice a lot.
- #4: You're spot on that one too and I totally agree with all your comments about it. and my wife was breastfeeding our new born and didn't want to break the intimacy, but totally agree with the opposite effect, i.e. stalking. I've other shots closer, sidewise with her face and smiling but I'm still not comfortable of posting my family on public internet (I got an approval for #1 before posting it). My poor excuse it that it was one of my first days with the camera (and lenses; big step coming from a P&S) and out of the house and was trying to experiment. Now I don't have anymore this excuse ;-)
And a side note on gear, I bought few weeks ago with the camera 4 primes (24, 35, 50 and 85), and I realized that it was a distraction on my learning curve. So, I just bought a 35L (should receive it today) and will only keep the 85 1.8 (and will sell the 24, 35 2.0 and 50 1.4). My goal here, with only 2 primes, is to focus on my photography and not play with gears that I consider more a distraction now (at least for me).
