Week 6: Present
I had a lot of ideas this week. It's a great subject, and to be honest, I've spent more time thinking than shooting! However with a busy weekend coming up, and a training course for most of next week to prep for, time is limited at the moment.
So. "Present". Yep. Has many different meanings, but this weeks photo means all of these things all at once.
This is my wife. We've been through a lot together, and are still going through a lot, but this photo is her doing something just for me. Posing
. I know she's not a fan of sitting for me, she doesn't like much about herself no matter what I say, but I love her very much.
In some ways I feel as though this relationship is a real gift. I often tell her that she's helped me see the world in colour instead of shades of grey. I feel very lucky.
Also, on another note, she has changed a lot physically over the past couple of years. Age catches up with us all I know, and she's rarely happy with the way she looks. I have so many photos over the years, and in each shot she looks different. So for me, this is a recording of the "present". The now. I know in a few months, things will have changed again.
I see
every shot taken with a camera as a recording of the present. This subject could be taken of anything to be honest, and it would still be valid. I'm not sure even a crowbar is needed. The most important thing for me in my "present" though is my wife, and I'm glad I took this shot...
Techy stuff:
Annie on the sofa, arm resting on the arm. Taken @50mm, 1/200sec, f2.8, ISO 100.
Off camera EX430 triggered remotely (eBay radio trigger) and fired back at the (white) wall @ 1/8 power to try and bounce the light.
Processed in CS3.
- Levels selectively applied to brighten the RH side of the face.
- Curves to increase general contrast
- Upped the saturation a bit in preparation for a B&W conversion
- Selective sharpening and whitening of the eyes. (would appreciate comments around whether this is too much. I think it is, but others think not)
- B&W conversion using the channel mixer.
- Resisted the temptation to gaussian blur backgrouond for soft focus effect. Glad I did.
Lessons Learned:
This was one of many shots taken. The first series, I had Annie sat on a chair against a white wall. I think I took over 40 shots and didn't like a single one. It was only when we went into the lounge that I started being happy with the more relaxed shots on the sofa. I'm not confident about a sitting subject and need to read up on that I think.
With the shot itself, there was one other shot I preferred, but I focussed the 50 on her fringe and not the eyes. Missing the focus spoiled the shot and I did kick myself afterwards. Getting spot on focus is by far my biggest problem in portraiture. Focussing in low light was difficult (was OK when the flash went off).
I could have upped the aperture to f8/f10 but I think I'd have still missed the eyes, and would have had to up the ISO to compensate, picking up undesirable noise.
I've also blown the highlights a little on the LH side of the face. Getting the same shot with a different angle to the flash would have helped. Additionally, I could have upped the aperture to f8/f10 to cut the light. This would have helped with focussing too.
I do like this portraiture stuff. However it's a bit of a faff for me, and the patience of my subjects is always in the forefront of my mind. Practice will make perfect though, and I'm not aiming to be a professional, so I'm happy with the results.
Comments and critique always welcome. Off to have a look at some of the other 52's now!
Ian.
Brilliant idea this week Ian.
