Scraping the bottom of...

Printable View

  • 08-09-2004, 01:27 PM
    Gerry Widen
    Scraping the bottom of...
    the negative strip. If I get one or two keepers from a roll I am happy. These two are probably three or four category and I feel I'm reaching a little.
  • 08-09-2004, 01:30 PM
    Gerry Widen
    1 Attachment(s)
    Ha That Way
    I see a little humor in this shot but it is not clear they want to go to the commedy club so it doesn't work quite so well. Also the design elements are lacking somewhat to make the shot interesting graphically.
  • 08-09-2004, 01:34 PM
    Gerry Widen
    1 Attachment(s)
    P R O U D
    This guy seemed really proud. He couldn't pose more if he tried. I also remember how shiny his shoes were. Again not over joyed with this photo but probably like it better than the Ha photo above. Just not a strong enough image.
  • 08-09-2004, 02:11 PM
    opus
    1 Attachment(s)
    Gerry, I don't know how much you like to use Photoshop on your pictures, but if you just aren't happy with the shot as is, it might be fun to experiment in ps with some different effects to highlight the message you'd like your picture to show.

    For the first one, I think selecting the background and adding a bit of Gaussian Blur to it makes it more powerful. What it does, at least to me, is makes the sign just a little more elusive, suggesting that the couple just isn't "getting it", and actually ties the sign to the couple more, in my opinion.

    I did a VERY quick, down and dirty example of it on your pic just to see if I thought it would work. It's hard to select with your thumb and forefinger on a trackpad! But what do you think of it? My blur was very small, 1.6, I think. You might want to go up a notch.

    The second one might benefit from the same type of treatment, or special lighting effects or whatnot. Might be fun just to play with.

    Let me know what you think, please. Im' always willing to experiment but I'm not sure I've learned where the point is when I've gone too far. :)
  • 08-09-2004, 02:25 PM
    Gerry Widen
    Kelly, I think it works. Creates more of a feeling of depth and focuses the viewers eye on the "lost" couple. Unfortunately I'm more of a traditional guy and it would have to work in the darkroom for me. I guess there are ways to duplicate this look there like dodging with Vaseline on a clear surface for part of the exposure.