So my girlfriend's sister has been bugging me to take pictures of her and her boyfriend for awhile now. They're both in highschool and the puppy love was in the air. Anyways I thought I'd share them with you guys. I know some of the backlit pictures are soft, but in my opinion it works in some of the pictures. That's what happens when you use wizards instead of an ST-E2. C&C welcome.

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.

the fact that you told us they're in high school make these pretty uncomfortable to look at...

especially:

2 where he's at eye level with her crotch
5 which looks like she ran into an unsavory character in a dark alley
and 3 & 8 where they look like they're sneaking off to some seedy motel.

sorry - but that was my gut reaction.

also #1 looks like he's carrying her because she stepped on a land mine and lost her foot.

some of the compositions would work well with an engaged couple.

Love is love: engaged, married, or just entering into a relationship.

#2 and #5 rawk

I don't think the issue is PW vs. ST-E2...your lens probably had a hard time focusing in the dark. You may want to have an assistant shine a flash light somewhere on their face (like an ear or nose), focus on that with AF, and then switch it to manual focus so that the focus is locked in. You'll get much better results that way.

if I have time to spare (i.e. not being rushed at a wedding) and am shooting in dark light with backlit like you have - I typically use a tripod & use liveview to manually focus at 10x zoom - otherwise getting it properly focussed is a real lottery, at least for me.

PatFurey89 wrote:
Love is love: engaged, married, or just entering into a relationship.


and sex is sex. the ones i mentioned don't evoke a sense of love

Little Sister?

ksmahgrts: Actually, reading your post made me a little bit uncomfortable. I'm not going to lie there's a lot of perverted thoughts going on in your mind. Why does everything have to do with sex when you look at these pictures? If I had not told you if they were in highschool then would they still look like they're going off to some seedy hotel? His face is brushing against her leg in #2 what's risque about that? Who goes to seedy hotels in highschool anyways? I guess if they truly evoke a sense of teenage sensuality for you then that's your opinion and I'll respect that.

Cathy Yount: Focus hunting was actually my problem, the ST-E2 should help with that because it'll emit that focus assist beam while also triggering my 580. There will be no need for a flashlight I've actually used my iPhone before to help with the focusing. It works wonders.

PatFurey89: Thank you and thank you

jeremy_clay: That game scared the crap out of me. The new one should be out soon.

lol on the iphone thing... i was in a VERY dark setting, and using off camera lights, and had the subject holp my iphone up near face and walaa.... worked great.

BTW, how old is the guy? looks late 20's or low 30's?

switch to nikon =) problem fixed with focus hunting.

#1: the composition is bugging me. That foot!

#5: excellent lighting and location

#7 nice! love the processing.

ksmahgrts wrote:
the fact that you told us they're in high school make these pretty uncomfortable to look at...

especially:

2 where he's at eye level with her crotch
5 which looks like she ran into an unsavory character in a dark alley
and 3 & 8 where they look like they're sneaking off to some seedy motel.

sorry - but that was my gut reaction.

also #1 looks like he's carrying her because she stepped on a land mine and lost her foot.

some of the compositions would work well with an engaged couple.

Next thing you know those kids will be listening to that devil music and smokin' them reefer cigarettes, it's all gone to hell.

brandonwong wrote:
ksmahgrts: Actually, reading your post made me a little bit uncomfortable. I'm not going to lie there's a lot of perverted thoughts going on in your mind.

haha perverted? seriously? if anything, you could call my reaction chaste - even prudish, but perverted? that's just silly.

brandonwong wrote: Why does everything have to do with sex when you look at these pictures?

not everything has to do with sex when i look at these. i told you specifically the numbers that i find to be overtly physical. the fact that you told us they were high school kids makes me think i would have shot a few where they weren't pressed against each other. forgive me, i spent 10+ years in education and doubt there are a lot of parents who would be completely comfy with the way you've captured these.

brandonwong wrote:If I had not told you if they were in highschool then would they still look like they're going off to some seedy hotel?

yes. the neon sign reminds me of a motel and the stairs leading into a long hall of doors also reminds me of a motel - or apartment complex. but not many apartment complexes have giant neon signs. (yes i can see now that is says something about jazz& fondue (?) - but initial impression = motel)

brandonwong wrote:Who goes to seedy hotels in highschool anyways?

hopefully no one - ok, well just the sleazy kids.

brandonwong wrote:His face is brushing against her leg in #2 what's risque about that?

there is nothing inherently risque about it. again - combined with your other images and the fact that these are high school students, i don't find this to be a particularly appropriate pose. what's her dad think of it?

brandonwong wrote:I guess if they truly evoke a sense of teenage sensuality for you



darkness. contrasty light. 2 people inches away from kissing. what was the "sense" you were going for?

brandonwong wrote:then that's your opinion and I'll respect that.

thanks. you asked for an opinion, i gave one. again, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the images - and i'm certainly no prude or pervert. i just think you could have found poses that better suit their personalities and relationship that were more age appropriate.

ksmahgrts wrote:
brandonwong wrote:
ksmahgrts: Actually, reading your post made me a little bit uncomfortable. I'm not going to lie there's a lot of perverted thoughts going on in your mind.

haha perverted? seriously? if anything, you could call my reaction chaste - even prudish, but perverted? that's just silly.

brandonwong wrote: Why does everything have to do with sex when you look at these pictures?

not everything has to do with sex when i look at these. i told you specifically the numbers that i find to be overtly physical. the fact that you told us they were high school kids makes me think i would have shot a few where they weren't pressed against each other. forgive me, i spent 10+ years in education and doubt there are a lot of parents who would be completely comfy with the way you've captured these.

brandonwong wrote:If I had not told you if they were in highschool then would they still look like they're going off to some seedy hotel?

yes. the neon sign reminds me of a motel and the stairs leading into a long hall of doors also reminds me of a motel - or apartment complex. but not many apartment complexes have giant neon signs. (yes i can see now that is says something about jazz& fondue (?) - but initial impression = motel)

brandonwong wrote:Who goes to seedy hotels in highschool anyways?

hopefully no one - ok, well just the sleazy kids.

brandonwong wrote:His face is brushing against her leg in #2 what's risque about that?

there is nothing inherently risque about it. again - combined with your other images and the fact that these are high school students, i don't find this to be a particularly appropriate pose. what's her dad think of it?

brandonwong wrote:I guess if they truly evoke a sense of teenage sensuality for you



darkness. contrasty light. 2 people inches away from kissing. what was the "sense" you were going for?

brandonwong wrote:then that's your opinion and I'll respect that.

thanks. you asked for an opinion, i gave one. again, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the images - and i'm certainly no prude or pervert. i just think you could have found poses that better suit their personalities and relationship that were more age appropriate.

... this is too funny. Just a few observations:

1. re: perverted vs. chaste or prudish. Chaste or prudish to me is when you see someone kissing and think it's bad. When you see someone leaning their face against a knee ... and you're noticing how there is a line of sight between the dude and the damsel's beaver ... you're being a bit of a perv (where's J Clay when you need a good image?)

2. I totally agree that some/many/most parents would be uncomfortable with some/many of these... that being said while I haven't been in education I have been in High school and you can rest assured that 95% of my and most of my friends' interest in having a girlfriend was unrelated to the pursuits of philosophy, gaining the insights afforded by having a female to bounce our ideas with, etc... it was all about making out and maybe some more making out. Yeah of course we wanted to go beyond making out but that wasn't in the cards with any frequency. Heck I'm surprised none of the photos featured lil sister and her dude frenchkissing... the set was positively chaste and likely a totally idillic representation of their actual relationship.

As the dad of a 3.5 year old amazing little woman I will say that I don't look forward to those years at all ... and that if she and some jacka$$ she has the nerve to parade around as her boyfriend got photos like those I'd get copies so that I can live in the illusion that THAT is all that's going on. Ignorance is bliss and I love bliss

3. It appears that you have a lot of experience identifying motels. Which tells me that you probably ... like to travel a lot. Me too! Traveling rocks

4. This is all in good fun. I have no problem with your initial response or your followup... I thought they were funny ... you surely sexed up the thread

jeremy_clay wrote:
Little Sister?

During my seventh grade I hung out with a bunch of kids who smoked weed in the restroom during break, sold hard drugs, had unprotected sex, and had knife fights after school. I remember hearing about a party where a girl was wasted and started performing sexual favors for multiple men right out in the open. Again, this is in seventh grade. People grow up fast in my area so by the time they hit 16 and 17 (their respective ages I believe) they're already young adults in most people's eyes.

Coming from my neck of the woods I thought these were innocent pictures. They were also exactly what she had asked for. Like lisy78 said, there aren't any pictures of them french kissing or even kissing for that matter.

I'm not a parent and nowhere even close to being one, but I treat her like my own younger sister and am somewhat protective of her. Scandalous pictures are the last thing I wanted to take. I also talk to her parents all the time and shot with the intention that they also would be seeing them. To be honest I would not be embarrassed at all if they were to look at them. In the end, she is very happy with the results and that's all that should matter.

jeremy_clay wrote:
Little Sister?

Bioshock... It's gnarly and not in a good way

ksmahgrts wrote:
PatFurey89 wrote:
Love is love: engaged, married, or just entering into a relationship.


and sex is sex. the ones i mentioned don't evoke a sense of love

Nothing wrong with that at all. The tragic denial of sexuality results in the massive teen pregnancy rate.

The pictures are lovely and they will be thrilled.

I like these pictures. Sure there is always room for improvement, but I think these are creative and I am sure they will love the pics. I am also sure they wouldn't have gotten shots like this with anyone else

Your ST-E2 acts as a focus assist in pitch black, which is part of the reason for the softness, but I suspect you knew that. You could also use a speedlight on cam and turn off the flash, (leaving the unit w/focus assist on) for the same effect.

Bioshock is awesome!

As to the controversial nature of the pictures, #8 was the only one that hinted to me to be of a somewhat questionable nature. But, perhaps I'm just a bit of a prude.

The game is Bioshock.

doode, don't mess with big daddy's they'll f you up man!

RedWhiteandRed wrote:

Nothing wrong with that at all. The tragic denial of sexuality results in the massive teen pregnancy rate.

The pictures are lovely and they will be thrilled.


I'm with you Red.

#7 is just a fantastic composition, if I were in HS again, I'd kill to have a girlfriend who's got a brother like you.

Also, at what stage is the physicality of a budding relationship more poignant and more immediate and incremental than in high school? I wasn't a late bloomer in high school, but neither was I a porn star. The memories I have of the physical aspects of my high school relationships is so tame and restrained compared to what it would be for me now, or even what it would have been for other kids I went to school with.

For me, at the time, pictures like this, with a lot of emotion, a lot of quiet passion, and even a bit of sexual innuendo (however faint) would have made me smile for days.

Good stuff. Now go find that girl a FOOT.