The Official Photography Thread - Vol. 3

[mylesp]

basically what people are saying, but heres more technical reason why. great video. i realized i have airy disks. i was calling them halos lol

 

[jordan novice]

No doubt.

I did it again if you don't mind. I don't shoot portraits but I do love editing them. Makes me feel like I need to shoot portraits more. I checked your Flickr and the shot again wasn't totally tack sharp. I wonder if you should do some back button focusing or something. If you had a sharp photo, this edit would even be more clear. I sharpened it a lot in PS but the face area got sort of muddy.

How did you redo this shot in LR?

Care to explain the process?

 

[djyoung08]

only question i have left for the day is how do i properly crop. like do it so it doesnt look so bad. i get lost.....

First, try your absolute hardest to get it right in camera. Put effort into your composition & fill the frame!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really dont even like cropping for print and I wont if i dont have to.

If I crop, I always tell myself I could have composed my image better.

This is especially true when dealing with long lenses as you can get much better background compression when filling frame versus cropping in.

Second, if you have to crop, just keep the original aspect ratio.

When you use the crop tool in Lightroom, the first option is aspect ratio and it will be set to original unless you've already warped the aspect ratio. I just click the lock button next to it so i can crop when i need to without worrying about my aspect ratio.

 

[djyoung08]

basically what people are saying, but heres more technical reason why. great video. i realized i have airy disks. i was calling them halos lol

This is beyond OD

Im all for learning the technical aspects of the mechanics of how cameras work but wow this is impractically complex

there are hundreds of thousands moving images that aren't razor/tack sharp.

There is also a huge difference between a shot that loses sharpness because of diffraction and shooting images that are out of focus.

Missing focus and overall sharpness are two different things.

 

[djyoung08]

So much KNOWLEDGE on these last couple pages​



here's a few of my favs from last week

man when you coming to the bay area

i'll have to line you up some models

 

[mylesp]

There is also a huge difference between a shot that loses sharpness because of diffraction and shooting images that are out of focus.

yup. i do have those airy disks on top of havingout of focus shots and was wondering what they were. now i know. atleast i think thats what it is lol.

 

[Fong$tarr]

How did you redo this shot in LR?

Care to explain the process?

All photoshop but I assume you can do it all in LR as well. It's really just messing with the curves, color balance, saturation, contrast, etc. I did isolate it where her skin wasn't totally getting as orange as the sun. Also did some minor dodging and burning. You just kind of have to mess with it until it gets right. I do think with model photos that white should be really blown out where as landscapes, you want all the details you can get in both the shadows and highlights. At the end of it, I resized the photo for web and did a noise reduction as well as sharpening.

 

[romcadoo]

man when you coming to the bay area

i'll have to line you up some models

I have no clue, we was planning beginning of October but I haven't spoke to her about it.

Might have to plan my own trip

 

[kryptsanies]

Another question I'd like to ask: Where do you guys buy your lenses?

craigslist usually find some dope deals

 

[jordan novice]

All photoshop but I assume you can do it all in LR as well. It's really just messing with the curves, color balance, saturation, contrast, etc. I did isolate it where her skin wasn't totally getting as orange as the sun. Also did some minor dodging and burning. You just kind of have to mess with it until it gets right. I do think with model photos that white should be really blown out where as landscapes, you want all the details you can get in both the shadows and highlights. At the end of it, I resized the photo for web and did a noise reduction as well as sharpening.

Are there a few videos on youtube that run across this?

Although you stated what you did, I guess I have a hard time grasping it.

The two photos from the original to your edit looks greatly improved and that's exactly what I want to learn to do.

 

[jodeva89]

good info as of late. went out this weekend and tried something new on the fly. stepped outside of my comfort zone and asked a couple people if i could take their picture. was really uncomfortable this time around. it would have been helpful to research and read about some tips and things to keep in mind when taking portraits beforehand, rather than after but will fix it for next time. i was shaking my head but having a laugh at one resource that mentioned avoiding backgrounds with something directly behind the subjects head that would make image look weird. and theres a damn t-rex eating an apple or whatever. i thought it was funny but it is what it is. constructive criticism welcomed and appreciated

Now the thing is when you stop down, of course there's a trade off. You either need to compensate with your shutter speed or ISO. However, I'll usually never shoot a portrait under 1/125th of a second, so I'd rather bump up my ISO. Camera shake can mean the difference between a tack sharp photo and just a usable photo.

man this is real. i would just say that recently i'm noticing how much this matters. it sucks going back home and looking at an image on screen and realizing you missed it and the focus is off.

 

[keko jones]

Not sure if I ever posted this 9/11 shot!

 

 

[astronout]

'Merica

 

[mylesp]

good info as of late. went out this weekend and tried something new on the fly. stepped outside of my comfort zone and asked a couple people if i could take their picture. was really uncomfortable this time around. it would have been helpful to research and read about some tips and things to keep in mind when taking portraits beforehand, rather than after but will fix it for next time. i was shaking my head but having a laugh at one resource that mentioned avoiding backgrounds with something directly behind the subjects head that would make image look weird. and theres a damn t-rex eating an apple or whatever. i thought it was funny but it is what it is. constructive criticism welcomed and appreciated
man this is real. i would just say that recently i'm noticing how much this matters. it sucks going back home and looking at an image on screen and realizing you missed it and the focus is off.

is the focus supposed to be off on these or what? i cant tell right away

 

[jodeva89]

is the focus supposed to be off on these or what? i cant tell right away

the first might be off a little. the others might be okay. technically the compositions are flawed, i just wanted some insight since this thread and its members offer some honest photo critiques.

 

[djyoung08]

RANT: If You Think Your Camera / Gear Is Holding You Back, Look In The Mirror



VERY good video regarding gear especially after what was discussed this past week

 

[tokes99]

is the focus supposed to be off on these or what? i cant tell right away

the first might be off a little. the others might be okay. technically the compositions are flawed, i just wanted some insight since this thread and its members offer some honest photo critiques.

not a portrait shooter but i feel these are all pretty good photos on a technical level - even with the slightly distracting background(s), #itbelikethatsometimes...though i think there could be more life/personality to them; i can see why you'd want to photograph those cats, they have an interesting look...the photos look like they standing there just waiting for you to take their picture though; it ain't easy to connect with strangers on the street, so kudos for stepping out of what your comfort zone is

my main camera has been at the repair shop for almost 2 months now, hopefully i get back in full working order...in the meantime i've been using a sony rx1r, haven't spent a full day using it and the battery life is already atrocious but i do like using it

Untitled by a0, on Flickr

Untitled by a0, on Flickr

allegories by a0, on Flickr

sony just announced an update to their more traditional dslr camera...pretty beastly, but i wonder if, even with all the goodies, it can convince people to switch over...it is pretty much everything people wanted the mark iv to be other than being a canon

 

[djyoung08]

LOVE that black and white basketball shot

 

[Fong$tarr]

Damn....so much stuff being announced right now.

Sigmas new lenses with the 85mm 1.4 art lens. If that thing shoots good and is notably cheaper than the Canon one, I think I found my new 85mm lens.

12-24mm f/4 DG HSM Art

500mm f/4 DG OS HSM lens

And the mother of them all, the Fuji medium format camera.

With lenses:

 

[djyoung08]

Sigma should announce a higher level of quality assurance

that 85mm looks good though

 

[djyoung08]

Damn....so much stuff being announced right now.

Sigmas new lenses with the 85mm 1.4 art lens. If that thing shoots good and is notably cheaper than the Canon one, I think I found my new 85mm lens.

If cost is the issue, what don't you like about the canon 85mm 1.8?

I've found that lens to be extremely high value. Got it for like $270 and held me DOWN big time and allowed me to save up for the 70-200.

 

[Fong$tarr]

^^^^^^I guess here is my take on it which might not totally make sense but it is my justification anyways. I no doubt think the 85mm L is a far superior lens than that of the 1.8 but it sure doesn't justify its price. I think that is why the 1.8 is looked at in such high regard cause it's almost on par withe the L and only misses in a few things and even performs better in ways with its autofocus. I do find the L lenses color and contrast are way better than that of the cheaper lenses. I know you can fix that all in post but I guess I do like it out of the camera rather than just "shoot now and fix later" process. I found that to be the case for the nifty fifty and the 50mm L. Of course the 50mm L would be the better lens but I would never disregard a nifty fifty as a good beginner lens.

So if the Sigma 1.4 Art has the good contrast and color as the 85mm L and renders good bokeh as well as focuses fast, I could definitely see myself getting that over the 85mm L and the 1.8.

 

[djyoung08]

^^^^^^I guess here is my take on it which might not totally make sense but it is my justification anyways. I no doubt think the 85mm L is a far superior lens than that of the 1.8 but it sure doesn't justify its price. I think that is why the 1.8 is looked at in such high regard cause it's almost on par withe the L and only misses in a few things and even performs better in ways with its autofocus. I do find the L lenses color and contrast are way better than that of the cheaper lenses. I know you can fix that all in post but I guess I do like it out of the camera rather than just "shoot now and fix later" process. I found that to be the case for the nifty fifty and the 50mm L. Of course the 50mm L would be the better lens but I would never disregard a nifty fifty as a good beginner lens.

So if the Sigma 1.4 Art has the good contrast and color as the 85mm L and renders good bokeh as well as focuses fast, I could definitely see myself getting that over the 85mm L and the 1.8.

That makes sense.

Contrast reproduction in the higher end glass is phenomenal

There's quite a difference even in my RAW files when I shoot with the 85mm 1.8 versus my 24-70L & 70-200L. Crazy to me that I get better performance from a high end zoom than I do with a mid tier prime.

 

[mjbetch]

Now just waiting for Fuji to release the price of the mirrorless system

I NEED that.

 

[Fong$tarr]

^^^^Everyone online is saying $10K for the body. Honestly depending on the camera, I'd definitely get that over a Leica but I can't really afford to get either, so I guess that doesn't matter. Haha.

I do love how every camera company is stepping up and making some crazy gear. Only so many years ago, people would only get a Canon or Nikon and now so many other companies are coming with some great and unique things.