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04-06-2014, 10:39 AM   #1
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portrait in a bar
Lens: 50mm 1.8 Camera: pentax k5 

Here's a shot I took of a friend of mine I took the other night. Then I did some post work in Pixelmator on my mac. What do think? Any advice?

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04-06-2014, 01:03 PM   #2
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I feel like this photo might be better suited in black and white. The colors are muted and sort of distract from the photo overall.

Up the saturation in general, up the contrast, and increase the brightness/exposure a bit. Perhaps add some sharpening - as it is, the eye that's more in focus is slightly blurred.

I attached a 3-min version below with some straightening in it too.
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04-06-2014, 01:16 PM   #3
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Focus appears to be on ear. Generally, you would like focus to be on eyes.
04-06-2014, 02:01 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by mdave13 Quote
Focus appears to be on ear. Generally, you would like focus to be on eyes.
Agreed. Even the fingers.

04-06-2014, 02:27 PM   #5
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Yeah, your focus is way off. Specifically with a portrait, the focus should be the dominant (in this case his right) eye or something else of important (fingers was a good suggestion.) The pose is good and your model is comfortable with your presence. Those are two difficult hurdles. The lighting is also good. Color is a much better version, IMO.

So when you focused the camera, was the image in the viewfinder focused on the ear or the eyes? If the image appeared properly focused in your viewfinder, then you need to try a few things starting with verifying your diopter adjustment is correct. If it is, then you may want to check that your sensor doesn't have any movement corrections (the K-5 allows you to adjust your sensors position along the SR axes). If the diopter and sensor are both okay, then you'd want to verify your lens and adjust the manner in which the camera interprets data from it. I forget how to do that because I haven't had to on any of my lenses (not bragging, just dumb luck.)

Alternately, if you used AF, then your AF may have done you no favors If the AF switched at the last second, then that could explain the lost focus. One thing for portraits that I've found works well, I keep the meter set to either spot or C-W and if I use AF I use only the central AF point. Then I (this is a bad habit) center the subject's face and crop if needed. That makes sure that the image is focused on the subject's face (or other focal interest point) and also that the meter sees the subject as neutral tone. That works for most situations.
04-06-2014, 02:30 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by K David Quote
Yeah, your focus is way off. Specifically with a portrait, the focus should be the dominant (in this case his right) eye or something else of important (fingers was a good suggestion.) The pose is good and your model is comfortable with your presence. Those are two difficult hurdles. The lighting is also good. Color is a much better version, IMO.

So when you focused the camera, was the image in the viewfinder focused on the ear or the eyes? If the image appeared properly focused in your viewfinder, then you need to try a few things starting with verifying your diopter adjustment is correct. If it is, then you may want to check that your sensor doesn't have any movement corrections (the K-5 allows you to adjust your sensors position along the SR axes). If the diopter and sensor are both okay, then you'd want to verify your lens and adjust the manner in which the camera interprets data from it. I forget how to do that because I haven't had to on any of my lenses (not bragging, just dumb luck.)

Alternately, if you used AF, then your AF may have done you no favors If the AF switched at the last second, then that could explain the lost focus. One thing for portraits that I've found works well, I keep the meter set to either spot or C-W and if I use AF I use only the central AF point. Then I (this is a bad habit) center the subject's face and crop if needed. That makes sure that the image is focused on the subject's face (or other focal interest point) and also that the meter sees the subject as neutral tone. That works for most situations.
I appreciate everyones comments. I see what you're all saying about the focus. I took this shot rather quickly so my focus point wasn't really set. Next time I'll focus on the eyes. Thanks everyone.
04-06-2014, 02:35 PM   #7
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Here's is the other one I took. I don't like the pose as much but the focusing seems to be better. What do you think?

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04-06-2014, 02:53 PM   #8
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Significantly better focus, much less fond of the pose. The first pose is very contemplative, and makes me wonder what he's thinking -- did he just have an argument with his girlfriend? Was he fired? Is his favorite his favorite football team losing? The first is also much closer, and there's less of the 'what's behind him' distraction. The second pose conveys a sense of itchy nose.

So both shots have something good going in them and you seem to be good with available low-light work, and that's no easy type of photography.
04-07-2014, 05:19 PM - 1 Like   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by K David Quote
Significantly better focus, much less fond of the pose. The first pose is very contemplative, and makes me wonder what he's thinking -- did he just have an argument with his girlfriend? Was he fired? Is his favorite his favorite football team losing? The first is also much closer, and there's less of the 'what's behind him' distraction. The second pose conveys a sense of itchy nose.

So both shots have something good going in them and you seem to be good with available low-light work, and that's no easy type of photography.
His wife said the same thing about the second one, "itchy nose". lol. Thanks for your help.
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