Maybe I am a bit cheesy...maybe I like clichés...but I think that is a fun concept and love the shot.
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Maybe I am a bit cheesy...maybe I like clichés...but I think that is a fun concept and love the shot.
Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean Setters
I'm with you. Doing this has changed my view on those types of pics. I guess it's easy to forget that just because a concept has been done several times before doesn't mean that I can't own it and put my spin on it. I'm glad I hated the idea, now. I think it helped me make it better... not really a prerequisite going forward though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kayaker72
Tons of fun.
I think your take on the pinterest image was much better. Fun image.
The light source on the right above, is that a flash or is it a constant light?Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocco
I was approached about doing invitation pics for a young woman's quinceanera. Having never done anything to do with one I enthusiastically started planning the shoot.
The plan was to get some shots of her, dressed up but not in her party dress. More like a senior picture session... no problem. She wanted me to make her look pretty... check. Then she mentioned how much she loved the prom pictures I did and asked if I can do something similar with her party group. (similar to wedding party pics, I guess.) She mentioned that she had a few of her closest friends picked out.
I got to the island that we were shooting at, set up... and was terrified when 15 people came walking down the path. But I was committed and willing to try, but skeptical of my abilities.
This is the best result, and I don't think I'm getting it any better. What do you think? I've been looking at it for so long that I don't know if I could find any faults even if she had an extra hand growing out of her head. She's the one closest to camera.
http://www.vierimagestudios.com/img/...26930119-4.jpg
Used a beauty dish, camera left, and a softbox camera right for fill.
Thanks for looking!
-Rocco
It's a flash. Paul C Buff Einstein with one of their white 22" beauty dishes attached.Quote:
Originally Posted by Photog82
Just had another photo session with the artist Candid Coyote (same musician I did the album photo/design for). This one was needed for a full cover front page in the local paper. SO happy with how this turned out. We took this behind the coffee shop we met at to talk about the shoot... it absolutely represents him to a T. That's his truck he lives out of, and his life-long companion. So much fun.
This shoot was very much run and gun. We got set up with about half an hour of daylight left, and ended up losing the sun before we started... but we still had the sky. I set up my speed light camera left with a full cut of CTO, bare flash otherwise. Camera right was one of my PCB Einsteins firing into a 64" PLM Umbrella. I'm not really sure what my settings were without looking. I think I was at 1/60 sec, ISO 100, f.. 8? Used my 7d and 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, triggering the lights with my pocketwizards using the AC3 zone controller.
Total shoot was less than half an hour with set-up. Overall I'm thrilled, and very happy I was able to piece it together as quickly as I did. I've come a long way in the past year in that regard.
http://www.vierimagestudios.com/img/...83062354-4.jpg
http://www.vierimagestudios.com/img/...72021727-4.jpg
Thanks for looking... please give me your thoughts! I'm begging for criticisms here.
-Rocco
It's a great shot Rocco. Candid Coyote is starting to have a collection from you.
I like the feel of the shot, and conceptually it is a nice shot. A couple of problems that I see is:
- The dog is the highlight, in that he is front and center with his face clear and well lit. Where as, the mans head is down with the area around his left eye obscured by shadows and hair, and his right eye is completely blocked. IMO, this would work better if the shadow under the left eye was not there. The combination of the shadow and hair coming down along his left eye really creates an unfortunate effect that takes away from the the cheery feel of the photo. Although, I must admit, it is less of a problem if I open it up in another window and enlarge it considerably (which suggests you may be able to fix it in post). But at the size you downloaded it is distracting.
- The insulation over the right tail light should be removed or hidden. I assume it is insulation... regardless, it is a bit ugly.
Not trying to tear you down, but you said you were begging for criticism, so I thought I would try to help (and learn a thing of two myself in the process of looking for improvements). However, like I said, I really like the feel of this shot... just a couple of minor problems.
Pat
Thanks! He is, indeed. Lucky for him, I love shooting him. Will do it again in a heartbeat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kayaker72
Pat! Thanks. I do see what you mean, and I agree. There were other shots where he was positioned better, and the dog wasnt, this being the best result all things considered. A composite would have been an easy solution, but we were under a ridiculously tight deadline to get it to the newspaper. (I found out about the shoot an hour before I got there, and had only another hour and a half after that to get the photo to the editor.)Quote:
Originally Posted by conropl
This is the only of your points that I disagree with, but it's biased. I know the guy, and this truck is a character on it's own. It is ugly, yes. But I don't think it has to be pretty in this instance. Distracting a bit, yes. A non-issue for me, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by conropl
I welcome being torn down! I appreciate you taking the time to look and comment.
Speaking of.. I often reach out to some of the more successful photographers in the industry and ask for CC. David DuChemin and Benjamin VonWong have both agreed to give me their thoughts on this photo! I could post them here for everyone to benefit, if you guys would like.
Thanks!
-Richard
Been trying to work out a time with these guys for over a month now. We finally locked down the time and got a perfect window in the middle of a horrible day as far as weather is concerned. Lucky to find a tree that still carries leaves. (Not sure the breed.)
http://www.vierimagestudios.com/img/...96518822-5.jpg
This was pretty straight forward. Had my subjects walk towards the camera. Camera left is a 64" PLM with diffusion, feathered towards camera a bit, camera right was a large softbox for fill, oriented horizontally to avoid filling in shadow on the grass. and of course the sun, behind and camera left. Both modifiers were PCB Einsteins triggered by the PocketWizard Power MC2 and PocketWizard TT5 on camera. Canon 7d, 17-55mm f/2.8 @ ISO 200, 1/250th sec, f/8 - 28mm.
CC Welcomed!
-Richard
Yes pleaseQuote:
Originally Posted by Rocco
Would love to see what critique gets offered on that shot!
Have you tried looking at Renee Robyn for some ideas on where you could take that Candid Coyote van to next? Could get interesting.....
First let me say that I think the shot is great. You did an excellent job capturing this family in a way I think they will print big on their wall. I could see this over the couch or something. My only nit pick would be shadows on the faces. This could be personal preference, but in family photos I like to have the faces bright and out there. Mom's face is good, just wish that her hair was a little further back so you could see some more of her face. The father I think could use a little tweak on the dark side of his face. It looks good, but I think a flatter ratio might make it better. The child is going to be the focus point of this photo and I think her face, and maybe her in general, should be the brightest of them all. Right now it is one of if not the darkest. I think everything else about the photo is awesome! Take my opinion with a grain of salt because I don't come anywhere near the quality of work the others critiquing your work do.
Jayson
I'd have to agree with Jayson about the shadows on the faces. The shadows on mom and dad's faces aren't too bad, as they give definition to their faces. But the kid's face is dark, and she should be the main focus of the image because of her placement in the scene and her importance in tying the family together. I feel like a gridded flash right on her would have been ideal, but probably not feasible given the movement of the subjects.
Quote:
Originally Posted by conropl
Will do! Already got my response from David DuChemin, VonWong said he was very busy, but would get to it when he could. I'll post after I have them both. As far as Renee Robyn goes, I've talked with her a couple times! Super cool photog. She critiqued my "Fugitive Bride" photo for me and one of her pics was the inspiration for the Halloween Selfie I took with flour last year.Quote:
Originally Posted by jrw
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayson
I have to agree with you both. It was a struggle, for sure. Eventually I had them stagger a little bit in an effort to keep the kiddo from being hidden from the lights. Only problem is the angle hid the mother's face from view. Here is what would have been the best shot of them all: I like the body positions better, seems to imply motion more, the lighting is great, Dad's expression is better, and I'm happy with the composition. Just that hair...Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean Setters
http://www.vierimagestudios.com/img/...03204151-5.jpg
I finally threw in the towel and took mom's face from the other shot and composited it onto the one above. Here's the result:
http://www.vierimagestudios.com/img/...49289308-5.jpg
So now this looks to be the result that's more technically sound, but I've been looking at these pics for so long I don't know what to think. Which of the three do you guys prefer? Why?
Thanks so much for the feedback. Appreciated it on this one! I was staring at them for so long I lost perspective.
-Rocco
The last one, without a doubt. Significantly better, in my opinion.
Agreed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean Setters
Thanks guys! Glad I'm not completely losing my mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kayaker72
Well, I heard back from them both. Predictably, David DuChemin didn't offer much advise about the technical aspects of the photo (was hoping he wouldn't)... He is very much concerned with composition and the feel of a photo. Benjamin Von Wong ripped it apart. VERY appreciated. He noticed things about the color pallet I never would have. I took their comments and made adjustments. First, here's the photo as it was when they critiqued:Quote:
Originally Posted by jrw
http://www.vierimagestudios.com/img/...83062354-5.jpg
And now the critiques (Copied and pasted from Facebook Messenger):
Quote:
Originally Posted by David DuChemin
Lots of flattery here, a compliment from David DuChemin! But more importantly, his comment about the relationship between the two totally carries weight.
Good points. The differences in color pallets and confusion with the shadows are two things that didn't occur to me. And of course he's right, the light camera right is too harsh. Too heavy handed. And then there's the same comment about the dog. Point taken.Quote:
Originally Posted by Benjamin Von Wong
Taking both of their comments into consideration I reworked the image and this is what I came up with:
http://www.vierimagestudios.com/img/...22215344-5.jpg
I did a lot of cloning and frequency separation to eliminate or minimize shadows, put a different head on the dog, and reworked the toning by desaturating -30 as he suggested, and used a spit tone combined with white balance adjustments.
Overall I think it looks much better! I appreciate the help that all of you have continuously given me, and I love how humble all of these pro photogs are in their responses to me. All things considered, I'm a better photographer because of it.
Thanks!
-Rocco
After the comments I totally see the colour issues with the lighting not matching and the lighting not being diffused enough to match the daylight with the cloudy skies. Thank you very much for sharing this. It hopefully will help others of us too!
Thanks for sharing. It was interesting to read their comments. I can see what they are saying, but I am not sure I agree. I guess it gets down to what your vision was. They seem to be guiding you to a more natural/cohesive look. But, it seems to me that you were going for something that was maybe on the edge of surreal. A snapshot of a specific moment which are never perfectly cohesive. With that in mind, a lot of the "flaws" they pointed out, worked for me.
The original did look over saturated, but not completely out of line if this is your vision.
The lighting makes it a bit surreal but isn't that the point?
I do not agree wit the comments about the eye lines in the photo.
The original draws my eye in to the camper, it has the feel this guy just dropped the tailgate and the dog came forward to take a look out. It is natural but not special.
I am not sure what pose the dog could have been in that would have improved it, maybe kicked back and laying down. I have never had a dog that would have an interest at all in a banjo.
i prefer the first over the second, as a dog owner it just feels right.
It's interesting to read everyone's comments. Candid Coyote preferred the first version as well. A part of me wonders if it's simply due to the warmer color temperature. Totally reflects the emotion of the pic.
I do, however, prefer the second version. I got prints of both and it was illuminating. The color issues are somehow enhanced on paper. (For those interested, I used a downloaded ICC Color profile of the print lab I used, so it wasn't the cause of the issue. It was a fundamental pallet clash that Von Wong pointed to.) I currently have the revised version framed and I'm thrilled with it.
That being said, it was honestly a toss up between the two for me. I DO like how the reduced/eliminated shadows/highlights look on the second version better. Makes me wonder how the first would look if I used the same process without touching the tones or the dog. And I love both versions of the dog. Two completely different feelings about each. Both are true to the situation because both were captured within a few frames of each other. Personally, I'm in the "prefer them interacting with each other" camp.
I'm keeping a copy of both saved.
Thanks for the comments guys! It's fun to really dive into a photo like that.
-Rocco
Hey guys!
Have one I wanted to share, pretty proud of it. I actually had time to do a family photo... for me! Feels great to work on a personal project like that.
My girlfriend's son absolutely hates having his picture taken (something we both share), and especially hates the classic, pleasant, smiling portrait. He had asked if we could do something like a scene from an action movie instead. I of course enthusiastically agreed. The idea of us casually walking away from an explosion eventually turned into this:
http://www.vierimagestudios.com/img/...05927665-5.jpg
Loved the idea of a movie poster and there was no turning away once the germ of that idea took hold. In fact, we're ordering a few 24"x40" prints on poster paper to make it as authentic as possible. We came up with the name from a hilarious action movie name generator we found online. We're currently planning our sequel "Fists of Inferno 2: Instant Justice". Kills me.
The lighting setup was a pretty simple cross-light setup using both of my Einsteins, a 64" PLM and a large softbox. The lights were triggered with the PocketWizard Flex tt5 and an AC3 Zone Controller and the Einsteins had a PW Power MC2 on each. Shot with the Canon 7d and the 100mm 2.8L Macro IS. Here's a simple diagram:
http://www.vierimagestudios.com/img/...18721999-4.jpg
The umbrella was slightly forward of each of us and angled slightly towards our faces. Worth noting is that the photo of me was flipped horizontally in the interest of symmetry. (the stud with the beard and glasses)
The actual photo shoot took maybe 45 minutes with setup and tear-down. The hard part on this one was the editing. Took just about 11 hours in all. The ground we're on is a section of concrete from a sidewalk, the clouds come from a file folder I have been slowly adding to anytime I see dramatic or different clouds, for future use. The two city skylines, Panama City and Big Ben, were just found in a Google image search.
Thoughts and comments are appreciated!
Thanks for looking,
-Rocco
I love it. I love the idea, and the execution. The little girl with the big bazooka is an entertaining touch. You just know, if this were an actual family action movie, that she'd be a source of endless trouble (but eventually save the day).
Here was a fun one. My girlfriend got a new tattoo, a memorial that also incorporated a semicolon (http://mashable.com/2015/07/07/proje.../#r6qlHczwjiq6) and wanted a photo that encapsulates what the tattoo is all about, and how she feels like she's imploding despite her calm demeanor. The mirror was also necessary to show the whole tattoo in one frame.
Lighting was super simple on this one. Einstein firing through a softbox camera right, and my 430ex11 in a lumiquest soft box camera left, forward of the subject. Canon 7d and ef-s 17-55mm f/2.8 IS. Flashes triggered with PW TT5 and AC3 zone controller.
http://www.vierimagestudios.com/img/...44276524-4.jpg
Thanks for looking!
-Rocco