border or no border

[ulidder]

I took this picture in my backyard and decided to add some sort of border around it. I am interested in what others on this website think about framing and border in general. I am using LR. And also all critique would be really valuable.





Photo without border


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/3279345841_f7cdbb2b16.jpg


Photo with frame:


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3224/3280666588_e9b8783685.jpg

[Steve Eisenberg]

Maybe a plain black border at most. Otherwise it distracts from the subject matter (in my opinion).


It's a good picture. What equipment and settings did you use? And could you post it at 600 or 800 pixels?

[Keith B]

Definitely not a fan of those brushed edges. Very 90s.

[ulidder]

thanks for your comments sir.

[ulidder]

Thank you Steve. I tried a plain black border. I think it definitely gives more importance to the main subject. I used 70-200 f4 at 200mm. I am posting a shot at 800.





http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/3279817813_b29bcfd499_o.jpg

[ulidder]

Here is a second closeup of the same cat.





http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3210/3280134934_810b885609_o.jpg

[Oren]

Maybe it's just me, but I think you should have used a higher f-number for greater DOF. Anyhow, I like both pictures (with the black borders).

[ulidder]

Hi Oren, thanks for your comments. The background in the second picture is grass. I guess it's kinda hard to make out with so much blur? but since there is no pattern of texture, I chose a low fstop. Next time the cat comes out I will try a high number to compare :).

[Steve Eisenberg]

Here is a second closeup of the same cat.





http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3210/3280134934_810b885609_o.jpg
<div style="CLEAR: both"]</div>
Thanks for posting larger, and I like the thicker, black border. I think the white on the cat is overexposed. Next time set to bracket 1 stop above and below, and 1/2 stop above and below, and see what you think. Or just set the exposure compensation to -1 and -.5. The camera is giving the darker tones priority and blowing out the details in the white, which cannot be fixed via the brightness settings in post processing. Although it could be worse, black and white cat , instead of black and brown!

[ulidder]

Thanks for your comments Steve. I like the bracketing idea. I haven't played around with it too much. Do you use it often? I am guessing it adds to the time if you are doing real time photography. I will try it out. Thanks for the idea.





I also read somewhere that is usually good to expose to the right of the histogram instead of towards the shadows. That was my instinct. But I agree with you that I have lost details in the white parts of the cat.





Thanks,


Upkar.

[Steve Eisenberg]

I can't say I use bracketing very often. But when faced with a high contrast subject I will. If I wasn't dealing with an animal, I'd get a reading off a grey card, press the "exposure lock" button (the *asterisk* button), recompose and shoot. But with wildlife, you may have limited opportunities, so set up for bracketing (in this case), and throw away the pictures that don't work out (that's why I love digital cameras). It's fun to fool around with bracketing, you might be pleasantly surprised with the results. Sometimes intentional over or underexposure can really make a picture great.


As far as the histogram goes, you're right to prefer a right-leaning histogram. If it was too dark, you would expose noise when making it brighter. But I would bet that your histogram has hit the far right edge, which would tell you that there is pure, featureless white in the photo. What you generally want in a histogram is an even spread of tones with a hump in the middle. But there is no perfect histogram, it's just anther tool in the toolbox.


BTW, grey cards are mighty handy for white balance too!

[ultima16888]

i for one like the picture with border(but maybe not exactly the way it was executed.. i mean c'mon it's a picture of a cat.. i'm a cat owner... and i know they belong with the borders picture.. =)


if i were u i'll let my cat create his own border... he loves punching holes through paper with his tiny teeth. i mean, if a picture can reflect the personality of the photo subject, why not let the photo itself physically reflect the character of your cat... we are not shooting company ceo here. just my two cents.

[ulidder]

haha. your comments are very much appreciated :). I like what you said about reflecting personality in the picture. I am going to keep that in mind. And you are right it is a cat :). I was aiming for a perfect potrait. Like it cares :) I personally also think that each picture tells a story of something or somebody. Well not always, but most of the times.

[ulidder]

Thanks for the very useful info on bracketing Steve. I live in Victoria, BC, Canada and all the photography shops (we have 3) are out of gray cards. Can you believe that? I am taking some intro photography classes and the instructor asked us to get some. I think I will get one online :)


You are right, some of the histogram for this picture was on the right. I am trying to also learn LR. I will play around with the settings.


This forum is awesome. Thank you everybody for sharing your comments and experiences :).

[Steve Eisenberg]

I love my Lastolite Ezybalance grey card (got it through Amazon). Weatherproof and folds up!