Taking the Leap

[GB1]

The model's idea, and a fun one (being thin has its advantages I see - easier to jump high). The last one reminds me of a Kung Fu movie.

Comments and suggestions highly appreciated. I've shown a few people the first image: there's mixed feelings on the amount of illumination and contrast - some like it, some don't :incazzato:

Nikon D200 and SB-800 flash

[frleal70]

Man, she can jump!
I like the contrast between the amount of flash on the subject and retaining the details of ambient light in the background. I think it's very creative and well done here.

Another technique with this sort of shot that I have seen (not done) and liked is shooting off camera at an angle to the subject, and lowering the power of the flash a bit to introduce a small amount of shadow on the subject.

Great job. :thumbsup:

[Lori11]

She sure can jump! I really like the 1st one and the last one. Everything seems to work in those for me. The colors of her against the sky is awesome. Nice work!

[SmartWombat]

I only get any sensation of the jump where I can see her reflection.
Otherwise there is nothing to show her relation to the ground.

[skinnymachink]

she looks super imposed on the background to me.

[GB1]

Thks frleal, I agree - it does seem artistic or something. Sort of freaked me out when I first saw how them came out.

I've been meaning to try this technique - properly exposed (or a little over-exposed) model against an interesting area where you set the exposure for the background. Like I mentioned in the other threads, it's a little easier than I expected. Digital allows for immediate adjustments, and there it is.

The SB-800 and D200 allow wireless communication, so I could have tried the off-camera flash trick. Not sure how it would have worked in this scene, plus we were too busy racing the setting sun, but I have seen it do wonders in studio shots...

Thks Lori, I like the 1st and last ones myself.

I don't know what to make of that last one btw. It looks unreal - like she just graduated from the Michael Jordan Academy of Flying ???? Maybe she was a long jumper in school? (I'll ask her!)

Paul, Skinny, I can assure you these are legit -- no superimposations here. One could immediately think that though, especially on shots 1 and 5. To me the effect looks good, so what the hey.

g

[Grandpaw]

she looks super imposed on the background to me.

I agree, and if she is not I would like to know how you took number three and five without any splash or ripple in the water. Curious minds want to know, Jeff

[CLKunst]

OK GB ~

I know you said you're having some freakish weather there or were when you took these shots, but I have to think that the background is just too under exposed for your subject which is lending to the unreal feeling associated with these. A sweeter balance between the subject and the background and using the SB for "fill and freeze" would have softened the look as a whole and made these feel much less stark. Yes, she is in perfect focus and frozen in space, you've detailed her intricately but she is so much so that the feeling of realism has been lost even to the point where she looks pasted in. I would have loved these if you had given her just the tiniest hint of motion blur and a brighter background. Suggestion for next shoot, do six frames of "technically right" and six frames of "technically wrong" and see which you prefer.

Best~
CLK

[GB1]

I agree, and if she is not I would like to know how you took number three and five without any splash or ripple in the water. Curious minds want to know, Jeff

Conspiracists Unite!

Looks like on # 3 she is jumping into the frame launching from the right; hence you won't see the ripple.

As for # 5 -- no idea. Maybe she's a superhero? Mentor for Michael Jordan? Bruce Lee disciple? :idea: She said she's a gym nut.. I can ask her and see if she has an explanation :thumbsup:

[GB1]

OK GB ~

I know you said you're having some freakish weather there or were when you took these shots, but I have to think that the background is just too under exposed for your subject which is lending to the unreal feeling associated with these. A sweeter balance between the subject and the background and using the SB for "fill and freeze" would have softened the look as a whole and made these feel much less stark. Yes, she is in perfect focus and frozen in space, you've detailed her intricately but she is so much so that the feeling of realism has been lost even to the point where she looks pasted in. I would have loved these if you had given her just the tiniest hint of motion blur and a brighter background. Suggestion for next shoot, do six frames of "technically right" and six frames of "technically wrong" and see which you prefer.

Best~
CLK

Ok, Cindy Smartypants !

Technically right? Come on now.. it was after sunset and she was leaping, so there was really no way I was going to get away w/ a slower SS. I believe I shot this at 1/250 and f 6.7 at ISO 200 (or higher), required for the situation (I've been burned before using a very wide open aperture and gotten the far part of the model out of focus - no mas). So this exposure will pretty much create the background we see here. Technically right it is!

So there!

But for her stark look, yes, I did PP it a bit to amplify that. The image posted here is the completely unprocessed image (shrunken to 800 pixels)... no sharpening, nada. The processed one I rotated a degree or so to correct the perceived tilt. It looks somewhat blah to me, but you be the judge.

Also, you can see some motion blur on a couple of the others here. That's a viewer preference too, but I personally don't think it looks very good in these shots - sometimes it works, but I feared the worst.

Thanks for taking a look,

GB

[CLKunst]

I like the real thing much better!!!!:thumbsup: That's exactly what I was looking for. There's a much more natural appearance to the scene overall now. The model looks like she belongs there now.
BTW GB, how did you know I wear nothing but smarty pants? They're my favorite brand!

[mattbikeboy]

I think I like the "fixed" ones better. The originals are a tad flat. Maybe if they fixed one weren't fixed quite as much (but only just a little less). :thumbsup:

mbb

[nirvana84]

im sorry to say, im not to sure about any of the pictures ive seen on this shoot, i think its the dark skies and the light on the model there is too much contrast in colour and in mood, she is all smiles and the background is full of gloom, and the surf board as a prop is a bit of a cliche, maybe having the shot at sunset rather than just after would have put some life into the shoot?

[GB1]

Matt - I'm with you. But everyone's viewpoint's a little different, as I have seen here. I have friends who love a more documentary style. I think these shots lean towards the dramatic side. I think I've got my summer bikini shots fix for Summer 08, so I'm happy.

Nirvana - I can see your angle. It's all about different tastes. You are right, it is contrasty - she's happy and all smiles, and the background is gloomy (dark cloudy skies, kelp all over the place, etc). Welcome to the West Coast, esp in the summertime. Hawaii it is not. I think the shots may be saying that the surroundings are what they are and that she's happy anyway (?) Actually, these sort of remind me of that old Toyota commercial where the owners are jumping up and down in their driveways ...

G

[afma142]

WOW that second pic looks amazing. The background with the girl really mix.

[Coastal Flyer]

Greg,

These are fun shots. The exposier/lighting is such that the model doesn't look real. Great shots, nicely done. I can see you really enjoyed yourself on this shoot. We there other photographers besides you?

Nicely done!

CF

[GB1]

Thks guys. No I was the only photographer on this one. Seems like everyone was busy doing this or that.

Thanks again for commenting.