Salamanca Market pt 1

[johnd]

Some people from Salamanca Market in Hobart. Taken last Saturday with 28-70 2.8 on D200.




More here.
Cheers
John

[gstark]

John,

The first two of these are excellent people pix.

The second one, in particular, a trader I presume, polishing his wares, is IMHO a particularly nice capture.

[johnd]

Thanks for the feedback Gary. Yep, this guy was selling some polished pots. What I am trying to do is to practice taking people photos, initially for a wedding I'm doing in October, but also to learn more about photographing people in general. I want to be able to take both posed and candid shots, depending on the need. The other part of this exercise was to gain confidence in walking up to strangers and asking them if I could take their photo and dealing with the why and who are you etc. I'm also trying to work out the ideal lighting for these type of shots. I used the SB800 in TTL-BL mode. Next week, I might try just TTL mode with a smaller aperture to try to provide the main lighting from the flash and so not get as much of the blown highlights.

Cheers
John

[sirhc55]

I agree with Gary - the first two shots are well captured John

[Rainey]

The second one is good John. Well framed.

[gstark]

John,

Just keep on doing what you're doing.

The lighting in the second one is about as good as it gets. Try to remember every detail of that photo, and learn from that situation.

[johnd]

Thanks Gary, Chris and Rainey. I too like #2. But I'm not entirely sure why. I like it's framing, the red of the shirt and the story it tells. By the lighting Gary, are you referring to the backlighting of the guy's hair? In #1, the girl, what would have made this a better shot? More contrast in her face? Eye contact?

Thanks again for the help guys.
Cheers
John

[gstark]

John,

There two elements of the lighting in #2 that nail this image. The backlighting on the hair is great, and it's a big help.

But the primary lighting, and the exposure, is just perfect.

IMHO, of course.

Where are the offensive shadows? They're not there!

The lighting is totally neutral here, but well shaped. You have, from what I'm seeing, the gentleman totally within his own shadow. I think that he was basically in open sun, and while he may have been under an awning, umbrella, or something, I don't think so.

That is frequently an ideal situation, and your exposure is based upon him being within his own shadow, rather than the sunlight/backlight, which is exactly what you want to see.

I think a minor curves adjust might help ...

The lady ... I think the lack of eye contact helps this one along. She is obviously engaged in something other than having her photo taken, and is happily so engaged. There's the charm of this image.

Technically, I'd like to see the exposure pulled back about 2/3 of a stop. There's a bit too much light on her face. Maybe a bit of a play in curves again, and perhaps a bit of a fiddle with the contrast to add a little more punch.

[johnd]

Gary, once more thanks for the feedback.
I've taken your suggestions on board and I think the result with the girl is better.
Original on the left, with some more PPing on the right.



What do you think?

Cheers
John

[gstark]

John,

Magic!

The difference is, I suspect, quite minor in terms of what you actually did, but the differences in the two versions are really striking.

Look at the colours in the girl's vest. and how much richer the black of her top is.

The extra depth in the colour of her hair ...

And again, the added richness in her hat.

Now - and here's the bit that tells me that this image is technically very good in terms of exposure etc ... look at her left shoulder - the blown highlights. Even they look better in the second version. They've gine from being a blown highlight to an area of the image that sparkles.


But what do you think?

Out of curiosity, what wb setting were you using for this? I'm suspecting that this is auto, given the conditions under which I believe you were shooting, and is so, I'm going to say I am impressed.

Or did you fiddle that beforehand?

[johnd]

Hi Gary, thanks again for the comments. I am very pleased with the result. Dropping the exposure back a tad with curves made most of the improvement. I also darkened around her eye a little, added a bit of red to her lips and desaturated that vehicle behind her. It has certainly taken that washed out look away from it and added richness to the tones. Thanks once more for your advice. This is a lot of fun learning and IMHO this is what it's all about.
Cheers
John

[wisie]

Great shots John! You have captured the mood of the market well! How did you find going up to people and asking them if you can take a shot? Did anyone decline? I'm keen to do that myself but lack the balls! So well done on that mate!

[johnd]

Thanks Wisie. It was a bit of a stress going up to people and asking them. But most of the people I shot were stall holders, buskers etc, so they're kind of on display anyway and they didn't seem to mind. I got a few declines, in which case I just walked on. A few asked why and I explained that I'm practising photographing people in different lighting conditions. I got talking with a few and that was good to get them to relax (and me too). One thing that I'm definately going to do is to get my act together and print some business cards, with my photo web site etc on them. That way people can go look at the results. Who knows, they might even want to buy some shots. If the weather's OK, I'll go back for another go tomorrow. Give it a go.
Cheers
John