Bridge Portrait

[Pumpkin]

Hi There. This is my first post. I truly enjoy this website and all the comments I have read. Each of you do really great work. I have recently taken some pictures for a friend of mine. I would truly like your opioion on these pics. I have just started using my camera and am trying to get used to it. I used a flash in the picture, but I am wondering if the white bridge absorbed the flash b/c the subject looks dark. Also, should I have come in closer? Or farther out? I am more of a fan of close ups, but obviously the bridge in an element of this picture. This was later in the evening, with some overcast. Thank you so much for looking!

[MishaIQ183]

Greetings

Nice shot. I like how it feels natural and candid.

You are right. You needed to be closer to the subject if you want to use your flash. That way the flash can focus on the subject and be more effective.

Also I would've prefered it if the subject was not too centered and you would've used a horizontal framing instead of vetical so you could have had the bridge in it and create a dept of field while have a more dynamic composition. (for example she was on the 1/3 of the frame on the left side and her head was almost 1/3 from the top of frame so you could've kept some water and some bridge in the vertical direction as well as a well dept of field in the horizontal direction)

A wider angle lenz would've helped you too (depends on your camera) to be able to get closer yet show off the bridge and water.

Thank you for sharing.

[Pumpkin]

Thank you so much for your comments. I truly appreciate them!

[gahspidy]

Not a bad shot, has a nice mood. I agree with the points Misha has made. Also, I don't know what your shooting with but whenever you shoot a scene that has alot of white or light colors in it. . . like a snow scene, or white sand at the beach or this white bridge filling most of the frame, The camera exposure meter will read it as being very bright and will underexpose the shot thinking that the correct exposure is set. You can either spot meter directly on the subject (little girl) or you can manually set your camera to over expose a half to a a full stop. This will help correctly expose the subject and get the bridge to be as white as it really was. It is a nice image

[Chunk]

Hi There. This is my first post. I truly enjoy this website and all the comments I have read. Each of you do really great work. I have recently taken some pictures for a friend of mine. I would truly like your opioion on these pics. I have just started using my camera and am trying to get used to it. I used a flash in the picture, but I am wondering if the white bridge absorbed the flash b/c the subject looks dark. Also, should I have come in closer? Or farther out? I am more of a fan of close ups, but obviously the bridge in an element of this picture. This was later in the evening, with some overcast. Thank you so much for looking!

Very nice shot. I like that we can wonder about what she is watching.

I agree with the others that the subject needs to be less centered but disagree with the suggested horizontal shot. I think that would make the picture more about the bridge (and then shoreline) and less about the little girl. I prefer a crop like this.

Light is not absorbed by some objects so that others do not recieve it unless the one is between the lightsource and the other. Everything at the same distance from a light source will recieve the same intensity of light from it. Take a look in your camera's owner's manual to see what distances are covered by the flash. Those distances can be extended by using exposure compensation if available. What camera are you using?

[evatgirl73]

Hi Pumpkin!
First of all, very cute!! Second, I do agree w Misha's points. I also like the crop Chunk did, to me it's more pleasing than the original. The idea for the shot is great, and you caught a wonderful moment and expression on the little girl's face. Much more creative than the "average" child portrait, and a photo I'm sure her parents will treasure!
Take care,
Eva

[Pumpkin]

Thank you guys for your constructive comments. I have learned a lot on just this photo itself! I agree with the crop! I have seen this on several threads. I know how to crop, but my question is this....When you crop a photo, how does it affect how it is printed? I recently bought the Minolta Dimage A2. Its way more camera than I am used to and I am still trying to get used to it. In this picture, I was too far away I think for the flash to work properly. I would like to purchase a flash to go on the hotshoe, I am assuming that would help in circumstances like this where I could not get much closer to subject without having to zoom in.

Also, I have seen these comments in other posts and threads as well, about having the subject not perfectly centered, but more of a 1/3. Its hard for me sometimes to not perfectly center, any suggestions? Should I use the grid option?

Also, I have always had people tell me they like the pictures I take, but I know I can do a lot better with proper knowledge. Any suggestion on that as well? We have a local university in our area, but I don't think they offer classes on digital photography.

Thank you guys so much for your comments, I really do appreciate them!

Pumpkin

[Chunk]

Thank you guys for your constructive comments. I have learned a lot on just this photo itself! I agree with the crop! I have seen this on several threads. I know how to crop, but my question is this....When you crop a photo, how does it affect how it is printed? I recently bought the Minolta Dimage A2. Its way more camera than I am used to and I am still trying to get used to it. In this picture, I was too far away I think for the flash to work properly. I would like to purchase a flash to go on the hotshoe, I am assuming that would help in circumstances like this where I could not get much closer to subject without having to zoom in.

Also, I have seen these comments in other posts and threads as well, about having the subject not perfectly centered, but more of a 1/3. Its hard for me sometimes to not perfectly center, any suggestions? Should I use the grid option?

Also, I have always had people tell me they like the pictures I take, but I know I can do a lot better with proper knowledge. Any suggestion on that as well? We have a local university in our area, but I don't think they offer classes on digital photography.

Thank you guys so much for your comments, I really do appreciate them!

Pumpkin

Any photography course will help you be a better photographer (well a lot of them will). It doesn't need to be a digital course. The important basics in photography like composition and light and perhaps most importantly, seeing, transend media and equipment for the most part. Once you understand the basics you can explore the limits and capabilities of whatever you use. Some really good courses used to use toy cameras with limited capabilities just so all the confusing gewgaws don't interfere with learning what makes a good shot.
If you want to learn more about composition a google search of Composition Photography will provide a bunch of good sites. Be aware that the guidelines of composition are just that, guidelines and not universal truths, even if they do happen to be called things like the rule of thirds.

[opus]

Pumpkin, I've had classes waaaaaaaaaay in the past (1982) so I'm in sortof the same boat as you when it comes to gaining more knowledge. I've learned a LOT from hanging on these boards for just the past two weeks!

I've also got a couple books that I need to get into. One of them is a large, reference-type book that is almost a "photography bible" that I picked up at Borders or B&N on clearance. It's a good starting point.

I'm also learning from, of all things, the lens catalog that I got at the camera store for free. Combine all these sources WITH taking your own shots and experimenting, and I think your learning curve will be sharp.

As far as cropping photos, if it's digital, your crop *will* affect print quality, but only if you try to enlarge the print.

Think of it this way. Suppose an image is 6 inches by 6 inches, and the image resolution is 180 dpi (dots per inch). You crop it down to 3 inches by 3 inches. The image is still 180 dpi, proportionally, but remember, you've taken away half of the image, and therefore, half of the pixels. SO...

If you try to enlarge the cropped image back to 6 inches by 6 inches, then what you're doing is trying to fit those limited number of pixels into a bigger space. There are no new pixels in the image, so the computer has to "stretch" the existing pixels to fit the new space. Your new "effective resolution" will only be approximately 90 dpi. Since the pixels are now bigger, you will be able to see them better. This is a bad thing.

You *can* get away with enlarging digital images without seeing the pixels, but only to a point. You're not going to want to print a picture that's much less than 150 dpi effective resolution.

BUT, remember, the reverse works too. If your image is 72 dpi to start with, you can scale (NOT CROP) the image down 50 percent, and it will be approximately 150 dpi. That's going to be *OK* to print, (although not great, unless the image is fairly small).

["Effective Resolution" = DPI x percent of scaling]

Hope I haven't confused you. Feel free to ask me to clarify...

[natatbeach]

I really think this could benefit from a tighter crop or a wider view...but as it stands it seems to be stuck somewhere in the middle...I think the concept and what works for me is how natural a pose and mood this pic sets.I think it looks a bit soft to me I think a crisper sharper image would bring out all the wonderful textures present...the fading worn woodwork of the bridge the flowing and puddled gathers of her dress...the puckering of the smock and embroidery work.... I took the liberty of adjusting some things and I think when I first looked at it this is how i envision it looking...I really would love to see any others you may have floating from this cutie and the bridge...really a lovely moment and your on the right track...

[Elysian]

Good shot Pumpkin, I like it, a beautiful moment you caught. ;)