People Walk in the Garden

SlickYamaha · 04-24-2011, 04:02 PM

Here are three photos I took of my wife yesterday. There was nothing about this that would make me call it a "photoshoot" we were at my parents house for dinner, and just happened to grab some pictures while we were outside. I had the k20d with a Sigma 530super on-board.
Now I know that the lighting is not ideal (it was about 3 or 4pm) and that using a mounted flash is not the best (ideally i would rather have it on a tripod, but as i said, just taking shots in the garden)

How can I make these photos not so "flat". They just dont seem to talk to me, sure they are bright, but to me its just another picture. What can i do to add that spark?

Attached Images

jimH · 04-24-2011, 04:46 PM

I don't think the lighting is too flat, especially the last one. The grey scale conversion looks very nice, and is quite flattering to your wife. It emphasizes her pretty face and I like it very much.

K-9 · 04-24-2011, 07:09 PM

The top two were taken from too low of an angle. Try getting up higher when taking the shot, like the last one looks.

**Ash** · 04-24-2011, 08:31 PM

Slick, you have a pretty model there.
I can also suggest that the first image could have been better taken at a higher perspective in order for your fair lady to have a more head-up pose to accentuate her beauty. It's also overexposed.
The hard sunlight makes it difficult to balance the lighting of the portrait, but a diffuser (like a big white umbrella) plus an off-camera flash filling out the opposite side would get the best of both worlds in lighting the subject.

#2 was even harder to balance the light - looks like you only tried the popup flash to balance the lighting - it wasn't powerful enough. The frame in a frame is a good idea but it appears to be more of a distraction for me taking emphasis away from the attractive subject of the image.

#3 doesn't seem to be in focus at her eyes/face - looks like the leaves behind her are rather sharper. Also think about how the background works with the subject. Does it conflict or distract, or does it complement the subject?

SlickYamaha · 04-25-2011, 03:10 PM

Yeah, i knew it was a low angle, It was on a hill, she is actually sitting on a retaining wall, so unless i had a "little giant" ladder, there was no way of getting higher...

K-9 · 04-26-2011, 03:25 AM

You could have got up on that wall with her!

Deiberson · 04-26-2011, 11:23 AM

One of my favorite techniques in that position (strictly talking about the camera/pose) would be to lower the ambient light by about 2 stops, this would underexpose the background and the model. After you reduce the ambient, take your 530 off the camera, place it in front of her dial down the power or FEC and then illuminate the subject only. This would get her to pop out of the photo......a la David Hobby.
Here's a quick shot that I used the same technique with at my parents house on Easter Sunday. My grandfather was leaving and I had him stand on the porch with my father. Since I didn't have my flash hooked up to the camera, I just laid it on the ground in front of them and took the shoot. I metered to zero off the background, then stopped down a bunch until the background was darker. I knew the flash would brighten them back up. Its not great but for a 10 second picture, it adds a bit of dimension to the traditional snapshot.

04-24-2011, 04:02 PM	#1
SlickYamaha Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bel Air MD Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 840	Walk in the Garden Lens: 18-135 WR Camera: K20d ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/180s Aperture: F4.5 Here are three photos I took of my wife yesterday. There was nothing about this that would make me call it a "photoshoot" we were at my parents house for dinner, and just happened to grab some pictures while we were outside. I had the k20d with a Sigma 530super on-board. Now I know that the lighting is not ideal (it was about 3 or 4pm) and that using a mounted flash is not the best (ideally i would rather have it on a tripod, but as i said, just taking shots in the garden) How can I make these photos not so "flat". They just dont seem to talk to me, sure they are bright, but to me its just another picture. What can i do to add that spark? Attached Images

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04-24-2011, 04:46 PM	#2
jimH Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Central Nebraska - USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,771	I don't think the lighting is too flat, especially the last one. The grey scale conversion looks very nice, and is quite flattering to your wife. It emphasizes her pretty face and I like it very much.

04-24-2011, 07:09 PM	#3
K-9 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: USA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,971	The top two were taken from too low of an angle. Try getting up higher when taking the shot, like the last one looks.

04-24-2011, 08:31 PM	#4
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	Slick, you have a pretty model there. I can also suggest that the first image could have been better taken at a higher perspective in order for your fair lady to have a more head-up pose to accentuate her beauty. It's also overexposed. The hard sunlight makes it difficult to balance the lighting of the portrait, but a diffuser (like a big white umbrella) plus an off-camera flash filling out the opposite side would get the best of both worlds in lighting the subject. #2 was even harder to balance the light - looks like you only tried the popup flash to balance the lighting - it wasn't powerful enough. The frame in a frame is a good idea but it appears to be more of a distraction for me taking emphasis away from the attractive subject of the image. #3 doesn't seem to be in focus at her eyes/face - looks like the leaves behind her are rather sharper. Also think about how the background works with the subject. Does it conflict or distract, or does it complement the subject?

04-25-2011, 03:10 PM	#5
SlickYamaha Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bel Air MD Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 840 Original Poster	Yeah, i knew it was a low angle, It was on a hill, she is actually sitting on a retaining wall, so unless i had a "little giant" ladder, there was no way of getting higher...

04-26-2011, 03:25 AM	#6
K-9 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: USA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,971	You could have got up on that wall with her!

04-26-2011, 11:23 AM	#7
Deiberson Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Photos: Albums Posts: 734	One of my favorite techniques in that position (strictly talking about the camera/pose) would be to lower the ambient light by about 2 stops, this would underexpose the background and the model. After you reduce the ambient, take your 530 off the camera, place it in front of her dial down the power or FEC and then illuminate the subject only. This would get her to pop out of the photo......a la David Hobby. Here's a quick shot that I used the same technique with at my parents house on Easter Sunday. My grandfather was leaving and I had him stand on the porch with my father. Since I didn't have my flash hooked up to the camera, I just laid it on the ground in front of them and took the shoot. I metered to zero off the background, then stopped down a bunch until the background was darker. I knew the flash would brighten them back up. Its not great but for a 10 second picture, it adds a bit of dimension to the traditional snapshot.