[Portrait] hafiz & gitzo - tell me what u think

[noruazumi]

here's another photo that i took during the wedding kenduri at Kamunting, Perak.
this is my friend, Hafiz. in his hand is my Gizto duster. *great place to clean your lens, huh!*

here's the exif.

Camera model: NIKON D50
Resolution: 660 x 460
Flash used: No
Focal length: 18.0mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
Exposure time: 0.013 s (1/80)
Aperture: f/4.0
Whitebalance: Auto
Metering Mode: spot
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Auto bracketing

lens is Nikon 18-70/3.5-4.5. no flash fired.
PP is as previous post. minor PP, batch PP, boost contrast & saturation, no sharpening, resize.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b391/noruazumi/PP03_landscape_097.jpg

my thought of this photo:
as a candid freak, i love the facial expression.
he was actually a bit disturbed coz his gf currently in Australia doing master degree. LOVEBIRDS! :heart:
anyway, i like the compostion.
i think the bokeh is ok.
background is not as disturbing as my previous post... i think! :?
exposure, ok. coz there's no obvious overexposure.
sharpness, quite good compared to my other photos.
*is it because of f/value? nearing hyperfocal?*


ok, now it's your turn to say something about this photo.
dun hesitate to give your honest opinion coz i really appreciate it.
i need to know at which level my observations on photos.
thanks guys for your time. :rasta:

[ShaolinTiger]

I agree with your technical assessment, and his expression is nice.

It's fairly sharp, but again I don't believe you paid any attention to the background, it's distracting and it looks like the roof of the tent is growing out of his head.

Also the guy in the background is looking across the camera which draws your attention there and the brush seems to point towards the other guys face.

The saturation on red channel is a little high aswell giving too much attention to the table cloth.

I took the liberty of a quick PP job, I'd like to see it something like this.

159

[noruazumi]

wow! again i can't thank u enough ST!
u r rite about i didn't pay any attention on the background coz when i shoot, i only concentrate on the subject.
that's a bad habit!!!!! *shame on u, noru!*
and the PP job is a quickie one & i didn't spent much time on them. *shame on u again, noru!*

so, let me try to think what i should do in the future.
1) before shooting, take time to compose, consider extra details
2) close objects should use shallow DOF
3) if unavoidable, use software to erase distracting elements in the photos

#1 & #2 is something that i can do, but #3 is more to technical stuff. any recommendation to a good online tutorial related to photography post-processing? :?

[noruazumi]

*BUMP*
c'moooon guys! is that all u got?!! i can take more "punches"!!!
:boxer::boxer::boxer::boxer::boxer::boxer::boxer:

[Kingsley]

I learnt something about colour saturation and fixing it today. Before this it was just from the books. Tks, ST.

[eismeal]

Im not trying to be rude or something yeah but ... that is one ugly PPed man. Although you said it quick PP but .. c'mon man .. i think you can do better then that .. or .. you're not good in photoshop hehehehe. Hey .. dont bash me man.. but you already spoiled the picture. My personal thoughts is that .. there is nothing wrong with the background.. aspecially when it comes to candid shot. The only distracting part is the tissue beside his left hand.. other then that dude.. i dont see no problem with your picture.. or try B&W effect.

[noruazumi]

Im not trying to be rude or something yeah but ... that is one ugly PPed man. Although you said it quick PP but .. c'mon man .. i think you can do better then that .. or .. you're not good in photoshop hehehehe. Hey .. dont bash me man.. but you already spoiled the picture. My personal thoughts is that .. there is nothing wrong with the background.. aspecially when it comes to candid shot. The only distracting part is the tissue beside his left hand.. other then that dude.. i dont see no problem with your picture.. or try B&W effect.

thanks eismeal for your point of view. i greatly appreciate that. i'll try to improve my shots next time and of course my photoshop technique. :D

[galvin]

I like candids too. The only problem with candid shot is that you won't have a second chance.

A more experienced photographer will try to find the best spot and angle to capture this photo. Getting rid of the people in the background is a good idea. Then again, like you mentioned earlier, this is a candid shot so you can't really do much within that split second.

But there's nothing Photoshop can't do. Whenever I have such candid shots especially during an event shoot. I will try to get more focus on the subject and blur off the unwanted background. Else I will give it a B/W feel, you can instantly see that your subject matter has become more interesting.

Check out the comparison below:

http://www.voguehost.com/ims/u/galvin/shutterasia/compare.jpg

[noruazumi]

thanks galvin for taking so much efforts.
i prefer #3. why? coz #2 looks too fake, right?
i agree with u about making unwanted background blur.
now i know which f/value should i use next time for candid shot.
we can share with each other la since u also love candid shots!! :D

[galvin]

noruazumi, you're most welcome.

Candids are ART... Always the Right Timing.

Sure, we can always share more interesting candids :partyon:

[eismeal]

NOw galvin .. thats more like it ...

[max]

1. Technical
There is a fair amount of overexposure on the background. The use of wide angle lens distorts the subject.

2. Composition
The composition is a bit loose. It gives the idea of a grab shot instead of a well composed shot.

3. Comments
Should benefit from just observing the environment before bringing the camera up to the eye. The overexposed background is distracting, it gets worse when converted to B&W.

[noruazumi]

1. Technical
There is a fair amount of overexposure on the background. The use of wide angle lens distorts the subject.

2. Composition
The composition is a bit loose. It gives the idea of a grab shot instead of a well composed shot.

3. Comments
Should benefit from just observing the environment before bringing the camera up to the eye. The overexposed background is distracting, it gets worse when converted to B&W.

thanks max! and yes, u r right.
this shot was taken by not considering all the elements that u've mentioned.
i would like to call it point&shoot shot! *shame on me!*
i've learned that to avoid overexposed background, i need to meter the background (not the subject) and use fill flash for the subject.

my question is, when we shoot candid, how can we control all the activities in the background since in candid, we do not ask ppl to pose for us. my guess, move to a diff angle where less activites in the background to reduce distraction. am i right? :?
but what if i still want it in the same angle? do i just ignore the background activities or ask ppl in the background to move (this will spoil the candid mood)?

[eismeal]

Hey man.. let me take this and enlighten you to the beauty of candid shot. SInce people are bombarding you with composition and overexposed this and that. Well you give the question that they just cannot answer i guess. Candid is all about moment.. not the quality of picture or technicality. Really there is no rules for candid shots... but the main rules remain the same... "the rules of third" is guideline to lure your viewers to see what you want them to see.

I do not see any problem with your candid shot seriously. Unless your topic stated portrait of my friend.. then you will start hearing me talking technicality hehehee. As for composition dude, well seriously there is a lot of candid picture that are worst then your picture (im not saying your picture is bad) but won competition and even get remarks from the pro them self. I personaly like candid shot and most of my portrait shots are candid.

So enjoy.. observe your character more rather then the background or the lighting.. thats the secret of candid.. because your subject is the people .. not the background. YES IT IS TRUE if you get good background and lighting its a bonus to you. Remember.. not even a pro can direct candid shot... its your luck as well hehehe. CHeers.

[eismeal]

Hey man this is an example of a candid shot that i took. I totaly emphasize on the characteristic of my subject. On technicality .. this shot wil have comment but ... its candid shots so .. enjoy the characteristic. By the way .. can you tell me what do you think of their character?? :wink_smile:


http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7352/550jf1.jpg

[ShaolinTiger]

I wouldn't call that candid as both children appear to be aware that their picture is being taken and the the one kissing has her eyes drifting towards the camera, the other girl pulling a face also indicates this is staged and not natural.

It's a nice shot, but not candid :)

"candid: relating to or being photography of subjects acting naturally or spontaneously without being posed"

Source (http://www.webster.com/dictionary/candid)

[galvin]

I wouldn't call that candid as both children appear to be aware that their picture is being taken and the the one kissing has her eyes drifting towards the camera, the other girl pulling a face also indicates this is staged and not natural.

It's a nice shot, but not candid :)

"candid: relating to or being photography of subjects acting naturally or spontaneously without being posed"

Source (http://www.webster.com/dictionary/candid)


How do we define candid? Honestly, the answer can be quite vague.

ST, you are not wrong but you're not entirely right too.

It's true that a candid shot is a photo taken when the subject is taken naturally or spontaneously without being posed.

It could be also a photo taken when the subject is aware of their photo being taken but caught offguard before he/she can be ready for the shot.

Usually such photo is priceless when you see the shocked expression on their face :)

[ShaolinTiger]

Well different people have different perspective of what is candid and what is not.

It's a fairly subjective term, for most people however it's shots that are not posed, taking shots of people who aren't aware that a photograph is being taken at that moment.

For me though, any shots with people that are aware of the picture being taken are not candid.

[noruazumi]

Hey man this is an example of a candid shot that i took. I totaly emphasize on the characteristic of my subject. On technicality .. this shot wil have comment but ... its candid shots so .. enjoy the characteristic. By the way .. can you tell me what do you think of their character?? :wink_smile:


http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7352/550jf1.jpg

eismael, thanks for this example. i think the facial expression on the kids are hillarious! i like it.




photo interpretation is very subjective. sometimes we can't define which is which. sometimes it has very clear line and sometimes it is not. however, the basic of photography techniques must be in a correct form. if not, the photos does not serve the purpose of photography.

as for me, i like to capture moments which is i think is very tough. if u miss it, u'll be regret for sure. but when successfully captured them, the satisfaction is so great that u want to share it with others.

anyway, thanks to everybody for giving me a lot of pointers. now i got better view on how to shoot candid! :D

[max]

thanks max! and yes, u r right.
this shot was taken by not considering all the elements that u've mentioned.
i would like to call it point&shoot shot! *shame on me!*
i've learned that to avoid overexposed background, i need to meter the background (not the subject) and use fill flash for the subject.

my question is, when we shoot candid, how can we control all the activities in the background since in candid, we do not ask ppl to pose for us. my guess, move to a diff angle where less activites in the background to reduce distraction. am i right? :?
but what if i still want it in the same angle? do i just ignore the background activities or ask ppl in the background to move (this will spoil the candid mood)?

Use your legs and anticipate the moment

[max]

I wouldn't call that candid as both children appear to be aware that their picture is being taken and the the one kissing has her eyes drifting towards the camera, the other girl pulling a face also indicates this is staged and not natural.

It's a nice shot, but not candid :)

"candid: relating to or being photography of subjects acting naturally or spontaneously without being posed"

Source (http://www.webster.com/dictionary/candid)

It must have taken more than 1 sec to press the shutter. The subjects are aware of the camera being focus on them for sometime.

Pre-focusing or hyperfocusing helps in candid photos or as HCB puts it "The decisive moment"

I

[eismeal]

I wouldn't call that candid as both children appear to be aware that their picture is being taken and the the one kissing has her eyes drifting towards the camera, the other girl pulling a face also indicates this is staged and not natural.

It's a nice shot, but not candid :)

"candid: relating to or being photography of subjects acting naturally or spontaneously without being posed"

Source (http://www.webster.com/dictionary/candid)

Well... i always believe that picture can tell so much stories. I really respect your statement and believe but the picture was indeed spot on picture before and were not posed at all .. but anyways.. galvin explained what i wanted to explain anywas.. regarding the offguard spot on pictures.

How do we define candid? Honestly, the answer can be quite vague.

ST, you are not wrong but you're not entirely right too.

It's true that a candid shot is a photo taken when the subject is taken naturally or spontaneously without being posed.

It could be also a photo taken when the subject is aware of their photo being taken but caught offguard before he/she can be ready for the shot.

Usually such photo is priceless when you see the shocked expression on their face :)

Agree with you galvin.. this is what i learn about candid shot in photography school.