I took this picture of a girl, likely of Tibetan ancestry, as she was accompanying her family who worked doing roadside construction in Himachal Pradesh, India. The girl was was very endearing... just a lovely space. 58mm Biotar, wide open at f2 and Sony A7ii.
Charles, a loverly portrait of that girl, for sure. It seems that the focus fell a tad in the front of the eye/eyes... Of course, using the lens at wide open is quite challenging. I am not sure how you focus with your A7 II but it seems that the magnification method is the most accurate, quite a bit more accurate over the focus peaking method.
Regardless, the image ticks a lot of boxes for me.
AGeoJO wrote:
Charles, a loverly portrait of that girl, for sure. It seems that the focus fell a tad in the front of the eye/eyes... Of course, using the lens at wide open is quite challenging. I am not sure how you focus with your A7 II but it seems that the magnification method is the most accurate, quite a bit more accurate over the focus peaking method.
Regardless, the image ticks a lot of boxes for me.
Joshua
Thanks, Joshua. Yes, you are right about the focus. The eyes in the full-sized version look sharper as I used AI to sharpen them. I did use magnification, but the razor thin DOF shooting wide open and the fact that her eyes are so narrow (no racism intended) made it a challenge.
That lens has such a special way of rendering a portrait, and you caught just the right instant to create connection between the subject and the viewers of the portrait. Also yes, the focus may be off a tad, but I don't think that is something that ruins a good photo, and in some rare cases I think it enhances a portrait, such as this one. I like the subtle effect that the slightly missed focus created for this shot. Technical perfection is fine and all, but I think feeling is more important and this evokes feeling that to me is further enhanced by the focus.
DanielScott wrote:
That lens has such a special way of rendering a portrait, and you caught just the right instant to create connection between the subject and the viewers of the portrait. Also yes, the focus may be off a tad, but I don't think that is something that ruins a good photo, and in some rare cases I think it enhances a portrait, such as this one. I like the subtle effect that the slightly missed focus created for this shot. Technical perfection is fine and all, but I think feeling is more important and this evokes feeling that to me is further enhanced by the focus. ...Show more →
Daniel, that is so great to hear because I was going to relegate this photo to my almost excellent pile. I need to be reminded that there is more to a photo than just the sharpness.
charley5 wrote:
Daniel, that is so great to hear because I was going to relegate this photo to my almost excellent pile. I need to be reminded that there is more to a photo than just the sharpness.
Thanks again,
-Charles
There are so many "technically" perfect portraits out there that don't evoke a single emotion or create any connection, and this is certainly not one of those photos (and that's definitely a good thing). It's difficult to overlook a "flaw" such as a slightly missed focus, especially when the technical shooters are so very loud about every photo needing to be perfectly in focus, following the rule of thirds, no blown highlights or crushed shadows, etc etc. I think it's a good thing to stand out from that crowd and to just focus on what we feel and on what we think is beautiful ourselves. A true artist thinks and feels separately from the collective.
DanielScott wrote:
There are so many "technically" perfect portraits out there that don't evoke a single emotion or create any connection, and this is certainly not one of those photos (and that's definitely a good thing). It's difficult to overlook a "flaw" such as a slightly missed focus, especially when the technical shooters are so very loud about every photo needing to be perfectly in focus, following the rule of thirds, no blown highlights or crushed shadows, etc etc. I think it's a good thing to stand out from that crowd and to just focus one what we feel and on what we think is beautiful ourselves. A true artist thinks and feels separately from the collective. ...Show more →
