I'll blog about this course and the photoshoot once I get to it
I'll blog about this course and the photoshoot once I get to it. I'm still editing the images and seeing what I like best. I tackled many projects at the end this year and I need a creative break for at least a week before I can start blogging. It was my goal to have my portfolio up and running before the new year so that's why I'm submitting this lesson homework right now. 3. I retouched one image, the same as last homework, I just keep coming back to it because it's becoming my favorite. I like having a few versions perhaps one more edgy and creative. This one here is the more creative version. I used the warp tool to make parts of the image appear doubled. Thank you Jingna for creating this course and putting in your time and effort so others like myself can benefit from it. I learned a lot and it pushed me in the right direction. I also have no doubt I'll come back to some parts of this course to refresh. You'll continue to be an inspiration to me, I look forward to seeing all your new work in 2018. Thank you again!
And yet there is something incredibly uplifting about all that creative energy gathered from every corner of the world. It reminds me that the photography world is, in a very real sense, a community. And of course, along the way, we see some great pictures. I’ve seen a lot of photographs at this point in my career. But there is nothing like that chill down the back of your neck when you see something special.
This can be quickly corrected though with your camera's Exposure Compensation controls. To begin with, try dialling in up to +1 stop of positive Exposure Compensation to lighten up people's faces. Review your shots, and if you feel you they need to be lightened further, increase this further.
Most often a prime lens will be used, both because the zoom is not necessary for posed shots (and primes are lighter, cheaper, faster, and higher quality), and because zoom lenses can introduce highly unflattering geometric distortion (barrel distortion or pincushion distortion). However, zoom lenses may be used, particularly in candid shots or to encourage creative framing.
Mr. Low Notes 1 year ago Thanks for the reply Jill! That means a lot. Sorry if I came off seeming like a jerk. I'm really not. Chopped heads are my pet peeve. ;-) Anyway, I missed the part about the way that particular photo (busy background) is framed as being an example of what Not To Do. My bad. Like you alluded to, Certain parts of photography are subjective. Just like taste in music. My wife has gotten interested in photography. I showed her this article and told it contains some very good info. So again, good work overall! :-) MLN Reply Quote
LC: In the same essay, you discuss the importance of “pictus interruptus” in Eggleston’s work—the way his sequences build up rich, non-linear possibilities over a series of images. Because portraiture is so intimately tied to single images (going back to its roots in painting), the idea of a portrait “series” can be a bit intimidating. Any thoughts or advice on this matter for portrait-inclined photographers?
Today, the radical act is not to hit the road and travel—but rather to stay put and lay down roots. An English photographer shares 13 years of careful, deliberate meditations on his surrounding landscapes.
I retouched one image, the same as last homework
I retouched one image, the same as last homework, I just keep coming back to it because it's becoming my favorite. I like having a few versions perhaps one more edgy and creative. This one here is the more creative version. I used the warp tool to make parts of the image appear doubled.
Wow, I thought I was pretty good at taking portraits that make the subject pop out, but these are just amazing. I will definitely try to employ these tips in future photography. Thanks, I will order a copy of this E-Book the second I get the money. Thanks again.
If the model's face is slightly side-on to the camera, a wide aperture may blur one of the eyes. This can look a little strange, so consider stopping down to f/5.6 to keep both eyes sharp
In situations where the available lighting makes it impossible to attain a pleasing white balance, converting to black-and-white is a viable option that also imbues a portrait with a sense of classic refinement. “There is something timeless about a black-and-white portrait,” says Smith. “It eliminates the distraction of color and puts all the emphasis on the subject.” Smith prefers to shoot his portraits in raw and convert to black-and-white in post, but notes, “one of the handy features of Sony’s a7 series mirrorless cameras is the ability to apply a Black & White creative style. This allows you to view the black-and-white scene in real-time as you shoot.” He points out that, “while the B&W tonality is baked into the JPEGs shot in this mode, your raw files are not affected, which allows you to convert them to your taste in post.”
People tend to forget that a portrait without a REAL expression does not connect to the viewer. Humankind wants to see genuine emotion and not a posed, cheesy smile. This is more important than location, light and expensive gear. Clients will more often than not choose the blurry images with bad compositions if it means those images are honest portrayals of themselves.
1. Photography Basics Starting with the fundamentals, Jingna will walk you through the equipment required for this class, an introduction to photography and camera basics, as well as the key elements of photography important in image creation. 2. Equipment and Lighting With an understanding of key photography basics, in this lesson, Jingna will walk you through a range of studio essentials, a variety of lighting tools and their effects, as well as the characteristics of light when positioned and used in different environments and settings. 3. Concepts and Casting With equipment and lighting covered, Jingna will now show you her steps in producing a creative photoshoot. Starting from concept-creation, you will learn about shaping your own ideas, searching and casting for models, and prop and styling item sourcing. 4. Team Building and Planning In this lesson, you will learn about team-building and the roles of your team members, what to do when faced with production problems, and understand the photographer’s duties required to finish pre-production. 5. Photoshoot With preparations completed and equipment chosen, in this lesson, Jingna guide you through the whole process of a shoot from beginning to end. Starting with hair and makeup preparations, to lighting setup, directing your model, and finally also tips on mistakes to avoid and important points to remember. 6. Post-Production We enter post-production and begin the final phase of image creation. Jingna will discuss file management in post-production and explain one of the most important steps in her photography process—image selection and color processing. 7. Retouching Almost there! In this lesson, Jingna will show you her approach and process for retouching, from cleaning up the image, to skin work and details that matter. 8. Marketing Your Work Your image is done, what do you do with it after? In this final lesson, Jingna will highlight important points of branding and marketing. You will learn about setting brand goals, marketing channels, portfolio preparations, and tips for continuing photography in the future.
It is scientifically proven that the eye is most attracted to four different points of an image. Sticking with these four points will help frame the subject in the most pleasing manner. Further, when taking photographs, it goes without say that the images produced will be 2-dimensional. To make it look 3-dimensional and to make the subject pop out of the frame, there must be depth in the composition. An image’s foreground, middle ground and background are essential in achieving the necessary depth. This article on bokeh discusses this concept in depth.
phazeless July 30, 2008 01:16 am Good tips, but what you didn't tell them was most of these portraits were taken with extremely good optics and very well processed, a couple I suspected even were HDRs. Regardless, thanks for the tips.
Yes! Well, for Basic and Learn Squared plans, at least. Our Professional plan offers a highly personalized weekly mentorship with limited seats available. Due to the focused nature of this mentorship, sign-ups are only open for a limited time depending on our instructors' availability.
Also called a main light, the key light is usually placed to one side of the subject's face, between 30 and 60 degrees off center and a bit higher than eye level. The purpose of the Key-Light is to give shape (modelling) to a subject, typically a face. This relies on the first principle of lighting, white comes out of a plane and black goes back into a plane. The depth of shadow created by the Main-Light can be controlled with a Fill-Light.
Choosing the proper focal length is very important
Choosing the proper focal length is very important. The focal length has the potential to distort the subject’s head in one way or another. The longer the focal lengths, the more flattering it is for the subject and the shallower the DOF will be. Personally, I find that the 85mm on a full frame camera and the 50mm on a cropped sensor to be the optimal portrait lengths. Both are wide enough to capture the surrounding scenery with the appropriate distance and also with a few steps forward, they can achieve tighter portraits. Fixed prime lenses such as the 50mm or 85mm are fast lenses with wide apertures that will help shoot at wide settings. This is important when you want to melt away distracting backgrounds. My latest article expounds in great length on this point.
Modern senior portraits may include virtually any pose or clothing choice, within the limits of good taste. Students often appear with pets, student athletes of both sexes pose in letterman jackets or their playing uniforms, while many men choose glamour photography. Outdoor "location" photos continue to increase in popularity, as well as locations that are of specific importance to the senior, both replacing studio portraits. Picture proofs are usually available to view online the next day which are lower quality, unedited and often with a watermark of the studio.
Thanks for the emphasis on creating creative photos, D! These days, it's rather difficult to find photographers who are like-minded. Who thinks it is in creating the shots that makes the photos, not necessarily the post-production. Or are we the "endangered species"?
I am equally passionate about historical research
I am equally passionate about historical research. History is full of puzzles, and I love trying to decode the thoughts of people I never met. Discovering what Darwin was thinking even when he never explained, piecing together the process that led Eadweard Muybridge to design his shutters a certain way—it brings those histories alive for me. The biggest challenge is to avoid personalizing things too much, to maintain critical distance, and it’s not always easy. When I found the letters Man Ray wrote to Lee Miller, for example, I cried. He loved her deeply, but she left him. The letters he wrote right afterwards sizzle with emotion. There is so much raw life in them, so much pain, anguish, desperation. I never met him, but reading those letters, it didn’t really matter.
Are you coming in close for a headshot or beauty portrait or does your subject want an environmental portrait that conveys a sense of what they do or where they live? Each of these vantage points requires a different approach. Keep in mind that whatever is closest to the camera will appear largest in an image and that wide-angle lenses will amplify this effect. When shooting a close-up portrait, facial features such as a pronounced nose can be particularly challenging, requiring special attention.
