JayDavis wrote:
Here is a shot I took from HOU to LAX a couple of years ago.
I just love the winglets on these beautiful jets.
Guess which airline I'm on?
Jay, no idea, but they sure keep their planes nice and clean!
Sorry about starting something and then disappearing, I had something unexpected pop up. I see lots of others have already chimed in. As they said, if it's working for you and your customers, great, keep doing what you're doing. In the immortal words of Briscoe Darling, "More power to you". (bonus points for those who get the reference) At any rate, I take learning is a process, not an event, so it won't happen over night, and in fact for me never ends.
Obviously it's a matter of choice and taste, but I don't understand the concept of taking the airframe and putting it onto a background that is such an unconvincing setting. It'd be like taking a photo of a bear or deer and pasting them somewhere other than their natural forest environment. Planes belong on airports, even if it's not at an ideal position. The second 2 photos you reposted I definitely would not have given such radical treatment. The first would indeed have been a challenge, but the content aware tools in Photoshop can at times do wonders and fairly quickly. I may have even taken some photos to emphasize what's there, such as from the side with the red carpet and palm tree at the stairs and crop or remove the extra stuff. It looks like the background from that angle may have been cleaner too. I'll take a stab at what I would have done to those 3 pics, but it may take a couple of days.
I'd be interested to hear how others would have processed those three photos too.
BTW Ray, that is a very nice composite! Beautiful use of digital tools. Back in the day, that image would generate a $10,000 from the agency that produced the composite. Anyone remember emulsion stripping? One of the top emulsion strippers in the world was based in Houston, Raphael , I sent her over a million dollars in retouching over a two year period. She was incredible.
One of the highlights and honors of my stint as a Pro, being Charlie Hillard's photographer and good friend is something that I'll always cherish.......................
Thanks again Mr. Wilson, considering my first photo posted on here, I think my composition skill has improved...among others. I am very thankful for MA2A for all the help and patience ya'll have provided.
Story of this photo:
I was sitting in my office viewing this thread when the C-17 flew over low and slow. I made a comment on the thread and Rodolfo asked "why aren't you taking photos?". So I jumped in my truck and headed to a shooting site near Ellington. (Traffic into Ellington would have taken a long time thanks to the NASA people going home.) While sitting at the traffic stop light, the C-17 flew over and thinking I would miss it, I grabbed the camera and took the shot. Sometimes...you don't want the shot!
And I take those for granted as they fly over my house all the time Can't shoot them from the backyard though, with the trees most times.
Wrei wrote:
Thanks again Mr. Wilson, considering my first photo posted on here, I think my composition skill has improved...among others. I am very thankful for MA2A for all the help and patience ya'll have provided.
Story of this photo:
I was sitting in my office viewing this thread when the C-17 flew over low and slow. I made a comment on the thread and Rodolfo asked "why aren't you taking photos?". So I jumped in my truck and headed to a shooting site near Ellington. (Traffic into Ellington would have taken a long time thanks to the NASA people going home.) While sitting at the traffic stop light, the C-17 flew over and thinking I would miss it, I grabbed the camera and took the shot. Sometimes...you don't want the shot! http://www.rayswindlepix.com/img/s1/v55/p2272186621-5.jpg...Show more →
JWilsonphoto wrote:
Right you are Erich! Big or little, there is always a way to make them beautiful. Just takes some work.
Jim, this is the last comment I'm going to make on this subject within this thread.
Everyone's style is different and our client's taste are different. If your clients like your style of photography and the way you shoot it, and process it, that is wonderful, you are getting paid, which is the best part of it, in my book.
The photos you just posted are what you like, personally, not my style, nor my clients. They would not like the Gulfstream jet in the background of the Phenom at Addison. They also wouldn't like the Dallas skyline in the background of the two BBJ shots you posted and they would have wanted more light on the fuselage of the first BBJ photo.........
I took this shot last year at Love Field for a major brokerage firm. This is their style and I shot it. Personally, it wasn't my style but since they signed the check, I did what they wanted.
As Zane so eloquently put it earlier, most of my photos go in Executive Controller, AvBuyer and Business Air magazines that are at all FBO's. There is a certain "style" that a lot of aircraft brokers "like", such as the "digital art" night shots, with the wheel wells lit up, and a different background in it.
We are all different and so are our styles. I will say that overall, these forums have been very useful to me in learning new techniques and picking up various critiques from time to time and I like that.
Yet no one is the absolute authority about what makes a "great photo", we all have different taste, and that is what makes the world go round.
Wrei wrote:
Thanks again Mr. Wilson, considering my first photo posted on here, I think my composition skill has improved...among others. I am very thankful for MA2A for all the help and patience ya'll have provided.
Story of this photo:
I was sitting in my office viewing this thread when the C-17 flew over low and slow. I made a comment on the thread and Rodolfo asked "why aren't you taking photos?". So I jumped in my truck and headed to a shooting site near Ellington. (Traffic into Ellington would have taken a long time thanks to the NASA people going home.) While sitting at the traffic stop light, the C-17 flew over and thinking I would miss it, I grabbed the camera and took the shot. Sometimes...you don't want the shot! http://www.rayswindlepix.com/img/s1/v55/p2272186621-5.jpg...Show more →
Jay, no one is saying you should try to force your clients to take something they don't want. I assumed the whole purpose of this discussion was to explore other ways of processing those photos that for whatever reasons ended up looking too artificial and contrived. However, now you're got me curious as to what you'd do if the images were for yourself instead of for clients. It sounds like you're saying the way you end up having to process the images is not how your personal tastes run. Am I not understanding something here?
JWilsonphoto wrote:
One of the highlights and honors of my stint as a Pro, being Charlie Hillard's photographer and good friend is something that I'll always cherish.......................
, and here I was, thinking that a parachutist was dragging a really really big flag to start the air show! 
