Archive 2017 · Caleb

Oscarsmadness
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Caleb

Well here's my first upload on FM. It took me a while to get to it.

Comments welcome. I am not too sure how I feel about this one, so let's see if the hive can help me out.

Caleb is a dreamy, care free fellow. He has this perpetual aura of zen that seems to transcend planet earth. He, his older brother, and I have been friends since high school.

Nov 08, 2017 at 02:34 PM

friscoron
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Caleb

It's great that you've posted here. Hopefully, this is just a start. Feel free to post at around 1,000 pixels on the long side so we can get a really good look at it.

I think this is a great shot. His eyes really draw you in.

I think in a shot like this in this environment, I would have turned him completely away from the sun so you wouldn't have those blown highlights on the side of his head. It doesn't really bother me that much, but that's the way I shoot. I also think that if I wanted to do a landscape composition, I would have shot just a little bit wider, from down on his waist. Like this, I would have gone with a portrait orientation.

I hope this helps. It's a great looking image as it is.

Nov 08, 2017 at 09:47 PM

Jim Rickards
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Caleb

Nice shot. Keep them coming, the first one is the hardest.

Nov 09, 2017 at 02:03 AM

Oscarsmadness
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Caleb

thanks Ron. I'll keep that in mind. I have some ideas on what I would tweak when we do this again (yes, Caleb and I are planning to do winter portraits).

As for orientation, the idea for this specific photo was doing a portrait that could be cropped to a 1x1 (square) frame. If I was to do this in portrait orientation, how would this work? If I use my outermost focus points on his eyes, I'd have a significant bit of irrrelevant material at the top of the frame that I'd need to crop. Would I just crop it to 4x5 format and chop off the top? That is the only thing I can think of.

Nov 11, 2017 at 03:39 AM

dmacmillan
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Caleb

Thanks for posting! I like the image, especially his intense gaze and the rough informality of his outfit. This wouldn't be out of place in a men's clothing catalog.

Was this image a candid or a more intentional portrait? If it was a candid, learn to see dynamic range challenges. The exposure on the face is good, but the camera couldn't handle the bright sunlight "kicker" on the side of the face so it is blown. If it was a candid, expose for the highlight and lift the shadows in post. Lightroom's shadow slider works pretty well. It's best to work from a RAW file.

If it was a more intentional portrait, you have a lot more time and control. The results are the result of a series of decisions: time of day, light direction and type (full sun, shade, use of reflectors, etc.), background, focal length, f stop and more. The more carefully each decision is made, the more successful the final image will be.

You have to look at every little detail. For instance, when you took this, did you see his little "crown" of foliage? Did you see the bright blob of leaves just under your signature that pulls our eye away from the subject?

I'm glad you and Caleb plan to do more work. Think about time of day, light and background. You don't have to blow out the background as some do. You can integrate it into the photo, such as the way Ron did with his "Tiny Dancer" photo. Be sure to post the results!

Nov 11, 2017 at 08:19 AM


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