Grandfather

[echoback]

I know this has been done a lot before, and is a bit cliched, but I've always wanted to do a B&W of my gramps, especially now that i've got my new camera up and running lol. He dosen't speak a whole lot of English, and didn't really want to pose, but I caught him in a couple interesting moments. Which do you like better? And how can I improve?

[yogestee]

G'day echoback,,,good character studies of your grandfather...The problem you have here is the tonality is flat...There are no whites in these images...The bottom image is also a tad too dark..You have the basis for two good images which can be easily fixed via Photoshop etc..
Try cropping the second one a bit tighter for more impact..

Jurgen
Australia

[Liz]

Are you shooting with digital? Great subject - beautiful face. I would keep trying. IMO you need more contrast....especially with b&w.

Liz

I know this has been done a lot before, and is a bit cliched, but I've always wanted to do a B&W of my gramps, especially now that i've got my new camera up and running lol. He dosen't speak a whole lot of English, and didn't really want to pose, but I caught him in a couple interesting moments. Which do you like better? And how can I improve?

[echoback]

thanks for the comments!

Jurgen-I tried lightening it up with the brightness/contrast tool, I didn't see a lot of change. What else would you suggest?

Liz-yes, I shot this with a Nikon 5700.

[CLKunst]

I would definitely adjust the contrast to these. Also if you get another opportunity to take more pictures of him try turning off the flash and shooting with available light. This will give Grandfather's face more character of age and up the dramatic impact of your images. Poignancy is often read in the shadows and lines on a older person's face.
Also, since he isn't much on posing it is much easier to sneak up on someone for study without them being aware of the camera if you have the flash off. I could be just over reading this but he seems to be flinching away from the camera. A bright flash will make folks do that, especially seniors and babies.
This is an extremely worth while project which I think everyone should do with their elders. One which you should definitely pursue and hone. I have some of my Grand-pop eating supper with my daughter at the table in his home three months before he died and they are some of my very favorites of him.

Regards,

[echoback]

Hi CLKunst-thanks for the comments! I attached below an updated version of the picture I like better. I'm still playing around with how much contrast I like. But I agree, it definitely was too dark. He may have been flinching away from the camera, he dosen't like his picture taken too much. Aww, I bet you really cherish those pictures you got of your grandfather, I'm going to keep trying with these shots.