Salt Lake Marathon (Portraits)

[Sebastien B]

Hello,

Three shots taken at the Salt Lake Marathon.

What do you think?

Seb

[mtbbrian]

These are just too close up to understand or appreciate what they are Seb.
They don't show enough action or any kind of information so that you can get a good feel for what the photographs and the people in them are doing.
Brian

[EmbeddedMatt]

I disagree -- especially with the first two. I really like the first one. It's nice and sharp and the hair is beautifuly lit. Only thing you should have done differently is get someone to run in front of her with a reflector to get some light in her eyes. ;)

[Sebastien B]

Thank you for your comments. I do like the first one a lot too, but I understand what brian means. You may prefer these two ones.

Seb

[terryger]

pictures do not have to tell the entire story. for the purposes of my photos they are generally explained by text and the venue. my shots are the the details of the venue.

your photos have amply captured the details of your particular venue.

[OldSchool]

Hey SB,

I like all the expressions. How far down the course were you? My guess is that you were somewhere between mile 18 and 22. Those runners seem to be focusing on pushing through the wall.

I really like the portrait shot and would have liked to see the top three in a similar format.

Also, just curious, what was your shutter speed and ISO?
Nice submission,
Tim

[Liz]

Sebastien,

These images are sharp - both in this post and the first. I think if you captured what you were after, that's the key. As far as the images go, you did a great job of getting a sharp image with a moving subject.

BTW, what camera/lens are you using?

Liz

Thank you for your comments. I do like the first one a lot too, but I understand what brian means. You may prefer these two ones.

Seb

[SunnySideUp]

I think that your first three stand on their own in their own right... I think there are far too many photographers that think they need to get the whole person... Or at least they get stuck in the habit... It is an easy one to do when you are doing event photography... by backing off a big, you can loose some of the intensity in the face unless the photo is enlarged enough... Also some times too much is TOO much... most likely the photo with the woman torso all torque isn't going to like it because it isn't too flattering.

[jar_e]

I like these. I disagree about how the tight crop takes away from them, I enjoy the facial expression and the crispness. Very well shot.

Jared

[Lava Lamp]

Hello,

Three shots taken at the Salt Lake Marathon.

What do you think?

Seb

I'm gonna vote with the "I Like the crop better" camp. You don't need anything else on the first shot and it is significantly better than the full frame comparison below. I'm not sure I'm craxy abou the woman looking at her watch - you kinda need more of the watch showing, but the expression and muscles are really interesting. The third one doesn't really hold my interest like the others. All technically very good.

[Sebastien B]

Thank for your inputs. To answer Liz and Tim's question I used a 10D @ iso 800 with a 70-200 f/4 and a 400 f/5.6, both lenses wide open so the shutter speed was around 1/1500s and 1/3000s. I stood close to the finish line. Since (most of) you prefer close-up, you may like this one. I like this one, maybe because she seems very focused and only one eye can be seen.

thx again.

Seb