Andy - test

[draymorton]

A test shot from yesterday while scouting a location (and a subject). There are tons of technical problems with this shot, but I like the pose and expression to the extent that I hope that he can replicate them when the time comes. Just thought I would post it for laughs.

[Shebang]

For the sake of those of us less experienced -- what technical infractions do you speak of? I don't see it. Great expression, btw.

[writer45]

The only real problem I see with this is a slight green cast onmy monitor.

John

[draymorton]

Hey Paula,

I don't know about the less-experienced part, bit.... the whole cat area is a mess. I didn't have a tripod, so I had to shoot handheld in low light. And you do lose a lot of quality at ISO 800 on a 5D Mark II. I had to shoot at f/3.5, as well, which sucked for this situation, as I wanted both the dude and the cat in focus.

writer - hmm. Maybe I'll shift it over to magenta a little and see what happens.

[Frog]

I do like the expression and pose and I think the "technical problems" are very minor.
I prefer these type of shots over the really formal ones with everything perfect. They are much more interesting.
Cat isn't that much out of focus and I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't said so.
I like the shadows with only hints of detail in them

[Overbeyond]

The pose of Andy and that of cat are wonderful. The technical problems are in the shadow areas I would think. I think also a crop from both sides, especially left, would improve.
fantastic effort in the conditions though.

[BlueRob]

I think is excelent!
love the composition and color tones....the only thing I would change is add a whisker more of light (exposure)

[pdxf]

The lighting, expression, and color is great. Hopefully you can maintain those elements with your next round of photos. Nicely done.

[readingr]

I like this as is - it has that gritty feel to it and your not sure what he's going to do to the cat. His expression reminds me of someone threatening someone else with what he's about to do to the cat, unless they capitulate.

Lovely shot and the technical issues are what make it that much better.

Roger R.

[Shebang]

Hey Paula,

I don't know about the less-experienced part...

You're sweet...

bit.... the whole cat area is a mess...

and a perfectionist, I see. It's a good shot, IMO. Your self-critique was helpful to me, though. Thanks.

[gahspidy]

A fine portrait, Dray. I think the technical matters you mention are not too significant to harm the overall image. I too would hope to get at least 400 iso for a portrait like this but the 800 on the mk ll is no slouch at all. Quality is there, for sure.
I don't mind the cat being slightly softer focus. The important thing was the mans eyes and the texture on that green wall definetely adds to this.
I do see a greenish tint on this but i was not sure if the green wall was playing tricks on the eyes. I think a slight shift over to magenta would be worth a look see.
His expression was great, but having the cat look at him might be more interesting the next go.
This is really very good, Dray.

[BlueRob]

I prefer these type of shots over the really formal ones with everything perfect. They are much more interesting.

:thumbsup: +1

[Mark Woodworth]

I actually prefer the green cast. Has a good feel to it.

[dana m.]

I like it just the way it is....I'm captivated by the glint of the man's eye. That one eye just sucks you into the picture. Sure Gary..I'm pretty sure it will be easy to get the cat to look right at the man. Being a cat owner, you know better then this.

[Overbeyond]

Congrats Dray and so well deserved.
Having the cat in the obvious position of facing the man would do this shot no favours at all.
At the moment the cat feels that he deserves to be in the shot too and for that reason he has turned to face the camera to ensure that Dray gets this right.
No changes please.

[draymorton]

Wow! Thanks for the feedback, everyone. And for the Sticky. Totally unexpected.

Gary - There were others wherein the cat was looking at him, but unfortunately he was also looking at the cat. lol

Sharpness- and exposure-wise, the cat wasn't good in any of them. I still look at this photo and wish the cat were tack-sharp and that the whites had detail in them, because I like the moment so much that I might have put this in the old portfolio. So, to me, it's still a miss. Frustrating.

I'm glad that some found something they liked here, though. Hoping, fingers crossed, to avoid the pitfalls of the "platinum demo factor" and be able to equal or outdo this one when we do the actual shoot. I was originally thinking that I would use a studio strobe to his left to kind of even out the apparent light source for a smooth "Erwin Olaf" effect, but I kind of like the look that the natural lighting produced here. The challenge will be to replicate this look with a more powerful lightsource so as to be able to use a lower ISO and a higher shutter speed.

Thanks again!

[jetrim]

Dray, congrats on the sticky - well deserved (and sorry I missed this thread earlier)

The way I see it, you could either "pump up" the natural light by clamping a white/silver reflector disk to a light stand camera left and bouncing additional natural light in OR if you choose to go with studio light, have an assortment of gobos flags an fingers ready (cardboard painted flat black works great for these) to block out the areas you want to keep dark and mysterious. Either way, this is VERY doable with stronger lighting while still maintaining the overall effect.

[MarcusK]

Wow.. there's nothing left to add really... this was a beautiful moment.. very nicely captured too..

In terms of photographer's nit-picking... I am yet to find a single photo where nothing could be picked... so don't worry much about them... it is great the way it is....

But... and forgive my saying this.. but it seems something was done in post, and the brush hit the back of his head... I see a section on his hair.... no illusion, because there is a straight line going through there.. unless I need my "normal" pills again ;)

Great image, and great post in my opinion... well deserving of the sticky!

[draymorton]

Thanks guys.

Jet - these ideas sound good. Could you elaborate? (Sorry, lighting and all of its obstacles and technicalities are still very new to me - I still wish I could shoot everything with natural light. lol)

I'm trying to picture placing the reflector at cam left, but that would block the natural light coming in from the window, no?

If you used a strobe to replicate the direction of the window light (from left), where would you put the flags/gobos?

Marcus - glad you mentioned it. These things are most often nothing but helpful. If I'm not mistaken, you're referring to bit of lighting done to his hair at about 11 o'clock? Yeah, that's just PP sloppiness on my part. I needed to blend out the lighter color a little more carefully, I think. Really appreciate your saying something; this kind of nitpick is crucial to me, as the details tend to disappear from sight after you've been looking at and working on one of your own images for too long...

[MarcusK]

I know exactly what you mean about the losing sight... glad I could be of service.

[Tuna]

A curiously addictive image.

Congratulations on the sticky - well deserved.

Tuna

[draymorton]

Thanks a lot, Tuna. Very kind of you to say.

[BlueRob]

A curiously addictive image.

Tuna

It´s funny that you put it that way Tuna, now I realize that you hit the nail. I keep coming back to this thread to take a peek, certainty addictive!, and each time I see the pic I notice new details. And I think is what makes a picture a winner...the ability to capture attention no matter how many times you see it.:thumbsup:

[draymorton]

Glad to hear that, Rob! Thanks.

[shootme]

Technical problems? OK fine, wish I took this shot, I'd be over the moon. S