Reflections & Punctuation

[Kayaker72]

Maybe I am a bit cheesy...maybe I like clichés...but I think that is a fun concept and love the shot.

[Rocco]

Very nicely done - well executed. I like the composite. :-)

Thanks!

Maybe I am a bit cheesy...maybe I like clichés...but I think that is a fun concept and love the shot.

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.

Tons of fun.

[Kombi]

I think your take on the pinterest image was much better. Fun image.

[Photog82]

Thought I'd steal Sean's idea and have my own thread on here for my pics.. like his, go to the last page to see the latest shoot. I am posting this in the "Image Critique" section because that's what I crave the most. Scroll to my latest post: Blowing up the Cliche. Post #39 on page 4.




Kenna Turns Six
Recently I went to the Antelope Island State park to take pictures of Kena for her sixth birthday.This was my first time taking my new Einsteins outdoors for a shoot and was struggling a bit shooting against the sunset.

The light source on the right above, is that a flash or is it a constant light?

[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.



Used a beauty dish, camera left, and a softbox camera right for fill.

Thanks for looking!

-Rocco

[Rocco]

The light source on the right above, is that a flash or is it a constant light?

It's a flash. Paul C Buff Einstein with one of their white 22" beauty dishes attached.

[Rocco]

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.





Thanks for looking... please give me your thoughts! I'm begging for criticisms here.

-Rocco

[Kayaker72]

It's a great shot Rocco. Candid Coyote is starting to have a collection from you.

[conropl]

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

[Rocco]

It's a great shot Rocco. Candid Coyote is starting to have a collection from you.

Thanks! He is, indeed. Lucky for him, I love shooting him. Will do it again in a heartbeat.

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.

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.)

• 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

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.

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