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Well, my Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 arrived today. You know I had to try it out...
[EXIF of original portrait image added] f/5.0, 0.8 sec, 12mm, ISO 200
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strobist: 1 Vivitar 285HV, camera right, full power, with a CTO gel, shot through a SaxonPC 15 degree grid in foam housing. Triggered via Cybersyncs.
Wow, gorgeous! Really well done! Thoughtful composition, nice use of flash, impeccable aesthetics with a very evocative mood.
But....
I can see the glare of the flash unit off the right-side window. That's the only thing I would try to change. [:S]
That might be a street light too I think.
When I hear "Tokina 11-16" I actually think on landscape pictures more than portraits, but anyway, I like your dramatic night shots Sean.
Cheers
Sean ol mate, love it, it has that 50's look, well done. I really admire your work, you take the time and effort to set the scene to tell a story and it works. Maybe one day I could be as good as you,.......I wish.
Scott[:)]
Could you give some extra EXIFdetails please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wickerprints
Yeah, I actually considered taking the glare of the flash out. However, I finally think I figured out a decent way to do it. An edited one should in the original post. It's not perfect, but at least it's not as glaring as the one where you can see the strobe so clearly in the glass.
Great job Sean! Love the composition!! Did you look at it in B&W at all? I wonder how well it would translate. The warm brick on the left and the muted tones in the right side of the frame really create a cool effect. I guess I'd hate to lose that awesome "Cream City" sign to B&W...maybe color is the best [:D]
This is a great shot. i love the mood and composition, and that 50's feel to it. Nice!
I also wondered about B&W as this is my favorite form, but I also like "warm" pictures and this one fits the bill. Did you shoot RAW, did you post-process ?
Another masterpiece from Mr. Setters. You never cease to amaze me. Great stuff!
Sean,
Very Cool!
I saw something I thought I'd suggest. If you could do this again would it be possible to add snoot 10ft above you full power. 1/2 power your grid as a fill for a noire street light look. The composition might have to change but to methat scene cries out for the "street light" cone of light.
You're photos are definitely inspiring!
Chuck
Great picture Sean! absolutely love the atmosphere in the shot. Very nicely done.
joel
Very cool shot!
~ Ken
Sean, great shot!
I know you've recommended I look into getting the Toki 11-16mm as my wide-angle instead of the Canon 10-22, and this shot is a huge endorsement. Looks impressive. I'd love to see more shots with this lens!
To be honest, when I started testing this lens yesterday I was horrified by what I saw. I would load the pictures into DPP, they'd render, and then nothing was sharp. I did test shot after test shot, loaded them into DPP, viewed at 100%, and still fuzzy images. It wasn't until I left one of the images on my screen for a while as I went to get a glass of soda that I found out what was going on.
There was so much detail in the images that my computer was rendering it in 2 passes, and the second pass was taking much longer than the first. Most of the images I do have substantial bokeh in them, and those images are usually rendered very quickly. These images weren't completely rendered for about a minute after I pulled them up for viewing. After I realized that, I started seeing much better results.
So far I've been reasonably impressed. Still have some testing to do, though.
I had a similar experience using DPP for the first time, though not to the extent that you mention. I'm using a 2.4GHz MacBook Pro, loading images taken with a 5DmkII and 85/1.8. I'd been told this was a very sharp lens, so when I zoomed in to 100%, for a few seconds I too was horrified...I distinctly remember thinking, WTF? And then the image suddenly "fixed" itself and I was...blown away. [:O]
So I don't know if you're using a Mac or not, but if you are, it's a good idea to run Activity Monitor in your dock. It shows your CPU load graphs in real-time as the dock icon. If you're on Windows, I think there's a way to do something similar as well, but I don't know the details off the top of my head. So I noticed that my machine would start working hard for about 4-5 seconds whenever I zoomed into the image @ 100%.
Would *love* to have a faster computer, with a real monitor. But quad-core Macs are just a bit too expensive for me....[co][}][N][:(]
Quote:
Originally Posted by wickerprints
The icons made me laugh...
Well, I'm not sure that I'm blown away as of yet. I've never had an UWA lens before, so I'm not sure what to expect. But we'll see...
way sweet.
You Smoove!
Awesome! you're my hero [<:o)]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jarhead5811
hehe...thanks Jarhead
You know, I've been a bit down lately. There's a woman who's daughter is entering her senior year. I told her months ago she needed to get me to do her daughter's senior portraits. However, there's a studio (about 70 miles away) that's contracted to do the headshots for the high school's yearbook. While they were down there, they did some casual shots outside. The thing is, I know how this photographer works. He positions people under the shade of a tree (for flat, but predictable lighting) and shoots. He has no concept of dynamic outdoor lighting. Well, the mother is satisfied with those shots were taken. However, if she buys prints from him, she'll end up spending well over $300. In fact, the girl's grandmother wants an 11x14, and it alone will cost $250. That's at least $550!!
Here's the thing that gets under my skin--I offered to senior portraits of her daughter for FREE. If the family likes the pictures, I'll burn them all full-resolution on a DVD and they could have the pictures for $125 (and can get them printed anywhere at retail printing cost). The lady can't lose anything by taking the deal--if she doesn't like them, she doesn't owe me a penny. Apparently, that offer isn't even good enough for her to take the time to check out my flickr photostream.
I'm offering a better product for a fraction of the cost, but she's not even interested enough to look at my work. She told her daughter about the deal that I was offering, but because her daughter isn't the one actually paying for the pictures in the first place, she wasn't really interested in doing another shoot.
I honestly don't understand people. Why is it that if I don't charge someone an arm and a leg, they don't take me seriously?
I'm thinking you should have a portfollio handy to show some of the older generation. They probably assume you're too eager and therefore no good. It's almost like you need to charge more for them to take you seriously.
I will say I've never seen a local photographer or studio that could touch your work I've seen.
I do appreciate the compliment. Right now I'm trying to work on ways to market myself. I have about (25) 8.5x11 posters printed up ready for posting, but I haven't found too many good locations that are willing to let me put them up. I give out my card when I can, but I get very little business. What I need is that one senior who shoots early, loves the shots, and gives my name out to every friend she has. It just hasn't happened yet.
I'm trying to position myself to give clients something they can't get from a normal studio--that is, I'm geared to make well-lit outdoor portraits in places that in many cases mean something to the subject.
Check out the latest shoot I did last weekend. Maternity set. They turned out relatively good.
I used to be a freelance home tutor for high school and college mathematics. Typically this line of work involves a lot of travel, dealing with uncooperative kids, and some very unpredictable parents. I would set an hourly rate or sometimes a rate per session. And the problem I found was that I wasn't getting a lot of business because I was not charging enough. I was looking too desperate, basically. I would hear from some parents that the typical going rate was something like $50-75/hour for services I was providing for half that cost.
I stopped doing it because I realized that even at the higher rate there were too many peripheral costs that made the whole endeavor questionable.
From that experience, I also came to the conclusion that I would never do fine art or photography on a freelance or self-employed basis. In other words, I vowed I would never pin my financial stability on something that I felt passionate about. It sounds unfortunate and rather pessimistic, sure. But why would I ever take something I truly love to do, and make my livelihood depend on it? To me, that's a surefire way to suck all the inspiration and freedom to create out of it.
My friends and relatives tell me ALL THE TIME that I need to do this for a living. They see how exhausted and drained I am from working a desk job. But they don't understand that I can't feed myself with my passion for art. The ability to decide when and how to engage in the creative process is a necessity. If I don't feel like taking a photo, I don't take it. Otherwise, it looks like crap. On the other hand, if I don't feel like sitting at a desk staring at Excel spreadsheets, I can get up, take a break, come back, slog through it, and at the end of the day, I'm still paid.
Now I'm not saying you gotta give up doing photography as a career. That's just my own personal experience. But if you are making a career out of your art, you have to understand that your success has far more to do with your business acumen than your artistic talent or uniqueness. The sad truth is that in this world, the exceptionally gifted are rarely discovered, and when they are, are even more rarely commensurately recognized and rewarded for what they bring forth. In this world, it is the conventional and the plain that sells because people are naturally risk-averse and don't want "different"--they want "predictable."
What does this mean for you? Well, I can tell right away that your style of photography is of a rarefied caliber. You are definitely not Sears portrait studio and your clients are NOT going to Wal-Mart to make their prints. Sadly that eliminates about 90% of the people out there. The 10% who do look for what you offer are those who are willing to pay for it. My tutoring clients were nearly all extremely affluent families with property values in the millions. To them, the difference between $75/hour and $35/hour is not $40/hour, but instead is the difference between "This guy knows what he's doing" versus "Why is he charging so low unless he's untrustworthy?" It has nothing to do with how good you are, and everything to do with how convincingly you sell yourself. A gallery curator could probably take some of your images, do a limited print run, hang them on a wall, and sell them each for at least a grand. I've seen some downright crappy photos that, had I taken them myself, I would've deleted them right off the card...and there they are hanging in some snooty hipster gallery with triple- or quadruple-digit price tags.
Value is extremely subjective. And that is another reason why I don't try to earn my living off my art, because in the end, the only valuation I really care about is my own. When I let others care it leads to complications, insecurity, and disappointment. But again, I'm not telling you to put up with staring at Excel spreadsheets. Just to realize that if you want to make your art your business, the operative word there is business.
Good luck! [:D]
I've been told I should be doing this for a living, but I flat out refuse to do so. I do it as a second job, which means I can take the jobs I want and refuse what I don't want. I've got a day job that pays the bills. It's steady, and relatively secure. I don't want my livelihood to depend on photography--1) because it's not steady work and 2) because then I would feel like I had to be doing it, rather than simply wanting to. I think if I was doing it as a career, and my meals were dependent upon it, then photography would seem like work (which it doesn't now).
Basically, I just use the money I make doing photography jobs for pocket money or else to buy more gear. That said, right now I'd like more pocket money and gear. ;-)
I get your point, though, wickerprints. Right now, I need to work on being a better businessman than a better photographer. I've got what it takes to decently supplement my income, I'm just not realizing that cash flow--largely due to the fact that I want to give everyone a fantastic deal. If I start charging what the pictures are worth, I'd probably get some decent clients (and more often).
By the way, my desk job's not so bad. I actually created some Visual Basic programs to do parts of my job for me. I took about 3-4 hours of work in one process and compressed it down to about 35 minutes (20 minutes of that I don't even have to be at my desk). I took another 40 minute process and automated it so that I press a button, go get coffee, come back and it's finishing up. I built macros in Excel to take care of alot of the prep work for reports that was done manually before I took it over. I'm amazingly productive for as little as I actually do!
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"]Sean
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"]The general public is a fickle thing as you know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] My work does not compare to yours by a long shot, you have a gift ol mate, but as you know the majority don’t see it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] You will do your head in if you try and figure them out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] I’m not sure how big your home town is where you are but here a majority of people (adults) aren’t interested in looking at a computer to view my web site. I can offer all the deals under the sun and they just give a polite smile and “yeah we’ll get back to you”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] I did a letter drop and got two clients out of it.
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"]I’m trying a different approach now which has gained some interest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] Market, look at who you need to sell to and dumb it down a bit, the KISS principle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] In my case it’s women (mothers, mothers to be, babies, young women etc etc) you will never sell to a bloke, most men don’t care about looking good and posing for a photo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] I am starting to approach beauty salons and advertise with them, get a package deal going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] Women love to look good so I offer a glamour package, hair and make up done by the professionals, me to take the photos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] I’ve just got a gig taking the school photos for our local school, not rocket science stuff in regards to creativity, but that is all they want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] My aim is to get them happy with the basic photos them steer them towards my creative side with the formal photos, outside of the school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] If I get it right they will talk, and word of mouth is the key.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] I am also going to go to the local markets, promote my goods and put them on the spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] “If you like my work why don’t come in for a session”, “I’ll book a date for you NOW”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] “Have you seen our hair and makeup deal, you would love even more beautiful then you do now”, blah blah blah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] “Normally I charge $50 an hour but today I’ll cut that in half for you”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] Women love to be pretty, men love a deal.
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"]Well I’ve rambled on long enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] Sean you will have those days as you know, and you are a professional, your work is out standing, I only wish I was as half as good as you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"] Meet and greet, face to face with the villagers and word of mouth will spread.
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"]<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"]All the best mate.
Thank you for the encouraging words and advice. Always appreciated. And beauty salons--that's an incredibly good idea!
"Check out the latest shoot I did last weekend. Maternity set. They turned out relatively good."
Sean, these shots are beautiful. i love B&W and the last one is something I am pining to achieve. this is so well done.[Y]
Quote:
Originally Posted by BES
By "last one," do you mean the one where she's leaning up against the wall?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean Setters
Yes, that is the one, it is a great shot. I do not know, but if someone took a picture of me in that state and it came out like that, I would be VERY happy. You are soooo GOOD.....getting green with envy now, I am going to go and cry for a little and trash all my pictures on my computer[:'(]
Generally speaking, everything I do has its inspirational roots in someone else's photo I came across. Being able to recognize the aspects of the images that draw your eye will enable you to re-create those traits in your own images. When that happens, you'll become so enamored with your own work that you'll proudly showcase it for others to learn from and enjoy.
...and possibly your head will get so big that it'll scarcely fit through narrow doors (not that I would know). ;-)
As far as that particular image is concerned, it was quite simply lit with 1 flash and the 28" Westcott Apollo softbox. The softbox allowed me to keep some of the light from spilling onto everything in the image. However, the background was still illuminated too much for my taste, so I did some fairly heavy burning and added some vignetting to draw (and keep) the viewer's attention to the subject.
Sean, I hit post before I had a chance to say why i like it...
You managed to get her skin tones so even in this B&W conversion, shadows on her arm shows such a nice definition and the light just hits in such a way that it brightens her hair, so it makes her look very pretty. I am sure she will be looking at these pictures smiling. Great job.
I wish I knew your secret to B& W conversion, my PS skills suck, I am just starting... [:'(]
Let's see...for the black & white conversion on this series I believe I went to LAYER-->NEW ADJUSTMENT LAYER-->CHANNEL MIXER, Clicked OK, then checked "MONOCHROME." You can adjust the REDS, BLUES, and GREENS separately, but I find the default of REDS at 100% to be very good for creating flattering skin tones while producing pleasing contrast in the image.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean Setters
OOOOOH, that was easy and cool, thanks for sharing. I just made my bulldog in B&W and it looks better than my previous attempts. Cannot vouch for skin tones as she has a fur, but it still looks good. I am going to dig up some two leggers and give it a try. Thanks!
Now....can I send you all my photos to fix them, LOL [:D] ?
Honestly, I prefer to do as little photoshop as possible. However, if I really like a photo, I'll do whatever it takes to make it look the best that it can. Most of the time, I do "transparent" editing--that is, the viewer typically isn't able to tell anything's been done. Every now and then I do some editing that's a bit more obvious, like the vignetting in that picture you liked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean Setters
Yup, this is my goal, I do not like over-PS-ed images, but that is just my taste. I do not PS at all because I barely know how to. But I do like B&W and PS comes handy in this case. Unfortunately I am not good at it yet, lack of time is the main reason, too many hours at work...
I will get better, I know, this forum is really teaching me a lot and I am devouring books on DP whenever I get a chance. Hope to get as good as you are.
Sean, you do amazing work. Get a blog if you don't have one. Not that I'm a pro or even advanced amateur, but I find that alot of my "business" came through word of mouth or people seeing my blog and then the Flickr page after that. You'll get the gigs soon enough!
I took a PS class at school last year and loved it. Enough to get Scott Kelby's book on CS1 (rockin the old school software here at home!). I thought I loved all the editing I could do.
Now I find that unless I'm doing a "paid" gig, I only use DPP. (paid meaning a $50 flat fee for some senior portraits that some adventurous classmates are trusting me with [:O]) Anyways, now I'm learning the value of shooting something right on camera so I don't have to piss around in post for hours on end. Just my 2 cents.
Sean, I really like this image. Excellent usage of lighting, I like its lighting and colors, the composition works very well. How could I miss this thread all these time.
BES - Photoshop certainly takes some time before you feel competent in what you're doing. It's certainly worth some effort, though. The most important things to get comfortable with (in my opinion) is how to use layer masks effectively, the clone & stamp tools, and dodging & burning. With that knowledge, you can just about "fix" any annoying issues you have with an image.
Rodger - If it's a paid gig, I'll probably edit 5 images. Outside of that, I do simple color balance/exposure adjustments in DPP and burn the images onto a disc.
Sinh Nhut Nguyen - Welcome to the party! (thanks you)