2010 - Week 8, Movement

February 28, 2010 9:33 am
Upstairs Playroom - Photography Class Aperture Study
Nikon D90, 35mm 1.8 - shot in RAW
Tripod Mount, Manual, No Flash, ISO 250, SS 1/250, f/1.8

There is nothing particularly beautiful about this picture. It was one of a series of shots that I took for a homework assignment for my photography class. Of course, I misread the directions and shot in manual when we were supposed to be using aperture priority, but the end result isn't different, it just took a few seconds more to switch the settings.

But, I do like this picture because of what it does capture, intense effort from both girls (look at their necks), the pinwheel still in motion, and a soft, out-of-focus background.



Our assignment was to shoot at the highest, lowest & middle aperture for our lens. I would have liked to be outdoors, but had to go where my subjects were willing.

Wide Open @ f/1.8

After the first shot I opened the windows more, so that I had to double the shutter speed for proper exposure, which caused the motion to freeze as compared to my favorite shot above. I could have raised the ISO, and gotten a similar result - so many little things can change the mood even with the same exposure result.

Stoppedd Half-way @ f/6.3

I thought this would be my favorite setting because the motion would still be seen, but the background is still slightly blurred.
Just goes to show what a little difference in lighting can make - shooting in a slightly darker setting got a similar result wide open, but with a more OOF background, something I prefer when I'm indoors in a cluttered house.

Stopped all the way down @ f/22

here the movement made by Iva blowing is picked up by the longer exposure, but the background is very clear, even the reflection in the windows.

2010 - Week 7, Sunflare

February 18, 2010 4:53, 4:56 pm
Feeding the Ducks - Summerwood
Nikon D90, 50mm 1.8 - shot in RAW
Manual, No Flash, ISO 160, f/3.2, SS 1/1250, SS 1/2000, center weighted metering

After reading the I ♥ Faces blog post from Rita over at Coffeeshop and having been wanting to try to get some sunflare photos, I thought our planned trip to feed the ducks would set me up for a good opportunity.





post-processing
adjusted WB & exposure in camera raw. In CS3, selectively editing the girls to lighten them a bit from their shadows and then followed Rita's steps to add lens flare and photo filter. It does give the photos a slightly dreamy look and I actually like the pink tint in the sky.

I have to admit that shooting lifestyle photography outdoors in full manual is difficult for me. Between subjects that will not hold still for two seconds to even let me check my exposure setting before they are moving again, causing me to move to keep them in the frame which changes the exposure. I switching to center-weighted metering because I wanted them to be better exposed but I wonder if pattern metering wouldn't have been better after all.

Still a little frustrated with focus. I am using back button focus and I am moving my focus point around and always have it on the face - using the eyes. I don't know why Alena's boots look more in focus than her face. Maybe I'll switch back to the regular shutter button and see if things improve. Even though I'm in AF-C mode I think the fact that they move SO much that even if I focus and keep the AF point on them which continually focuses I may still be clicking the shutter before it is really focused. Maybe I should turn the beep back on - I usually just based it on whether I can hear the lens moving or not.

2010 - Week 6, Outdoors

February 10, 2010 10:03 am
Pk4 Field Trip - Schott Park
Nikon D90, 35mm 1.8 - shot in RAW
Aperture Priority, No Flash, ISO 250, f/2.5 (SS 1/3200)

I decided to try aperture priority on the field trip thinking it would be easier due to ever changing lighting conditions and very fast moving children. In the end I had a lot of issues with focus, not movement OOF, so I don't think shutter priority would have helped, but the focus didn't fall where I know I had the camera set to focus.

Usually I don't like the subject looking out of the frame, but I think it works on these ok because she is looking at the direction of the action.



post processing
Exposure and white balance tweaked in ACR, selective edits done in PS to brighten clothing and lighten shadows.

2010 - Week 5, Adding Texture

January 2, 2010 5:32 pm
Foyer - $2 pink plastic tablecloth draped over dining room chairs for backdrop
Nikon D90, 35mm 1.8 - shot in RAW
Iva - Manual, Flash with diffuser, ISO 800, SS 1/125, f/3.5, Bias +0.7, pattern metering
Alena - Manual, Flash with diffuser, ISO 400, SS 1/125, f/2.5, Bias +1.7, pattern metering

This week I feel like I captured a bit of their uniqueness. They don't look so much alike and their funny, beautiful personalities come through in these photos.





post processing
WB & exposure adjusted in ACR, texture added to background to make simple pink tablecloth appear like a painted wall.

2010 - Week 4, Golden Hour

January 25, 2010 5:34 pm
Outdoors - Golden Evening Hour
Nikon D90, 35mm 1.8 - shot in RAW
Manual, No Flash, ISO 200, SS 1/160, f/3.5, spot metering

It felt like a tough photography week. I want to try something new each week and I just couldn't pull it together. I'm starting to feel more confident in getting my exposure correct for skin, but not for the overall setting.



post processing
adjusted RAW file first for WB, then made a 2nd copy correcting exposure to bring back the blown skies a bit. Blended the two exposures together in PS using a grayscale mask and a curves adjustment.