Friday, January 23, 2009

Ann 12/100 - Ruby and Jayden

Ruby and her 18 month old son, Jayden, were having a day in town and relaxing in Hyde Park when I very nearly fell over Jayden. I really liked the expressions on this one, it was a candid shot taken while Ruby was trying to get Jayden to smile. Unfortunately he had a lamp post growing out of the side of his head so I had to crop his ear slightly. I like the shot below as well but opted to use the candid shot. The sun was a problem again.

8 comments:

bitingmidge said...

The candid shot is a ripper Ann!

To me, that's what photographing people is about, you an see so much in that one. I'm going to run out of silver stars before thisproject is over!

The flash didn't fire again!

Julie said...

Yes, yes ... the candid one is delightful ... warm and real.

What I am learning from Peter, is that it does not really matter what you crop off - it is what you crop in that is important. What do you want the photo to say?

When I started this project, I did not like post-processing - it was cheating. In my holier than thou stance, I thought that a photo had to be just what came into the lens. I did not even think that cropping was legitimate. Umm ... I think I might be altering that stance just a smidge ...

Ann said...

I think that as well but in doing the CDP blog and scanning some of my travel photos for the other blogs I've started playing with minor editing (fill light, bringing up the colours in old scanned photos etc). I far prefer the photo to stand alone but I'll sometimes do it. I do like playingwith b&w. I won't do heavy post processing. If a shot needs a total rework, its a bad shot in the first place and I'd rather not use it. I'm trying to learn to take a good photo, not how to edit. I also can't be bothered phaffing around on the computer for hours or spending money on Photoshop.

The trouble with asking permission is you rarely get the candid shot that you want. This was a fluke.

bitingmidge said...

I tend to think like most things, the more we practice the more flukes we'll get!

As for processing - I felt like you two for a time as well, but then spent a quite a bit of time analysing the crop of every shot I took. That helped me to find a different view in the camera somehow, so now I crop very little.

And yes, i do leave a lot out. I often tell friends who are interested, to frame the shot they want, then take six steps forward before taking the shot. That works for portraits as well!

I now view processing as part of the game, it's not terribly time consuming if the pictures are close to where you want them to be.

Ignoring processing is a bit like getting all your photos developed by Rabbit photo. Most will be fine but the really good ones will lose a bit because they've been bulk colour balanced.

Electronic cameras are recording basic information and processing them anyway. Every brand has a different outcome, so you could have a quiver of cameras to suit the circumstance, or use a few tweaks afterwards!

bitingmidge said...

One more point regarding processing:

My computer didn't produce the gnarly bits on babooshka's face, Julie's camera did.

All the information was there on the "negative", it just took a little effort to find it and put it in its rightful spot!

The lens captures everything to the best of its ability, then relies on the electronics to reproduce what it has seen. Does that make sense?

Julie said...

So post processing is like putting a role of film into a lab to be printed - except they job lot!

This conversation has been mind-bending for me: I think this is where I am at right now. Trying to put all this into practice. In my head, I have so much new technique: I need it to start coming out my fingers. My five days in Melbourne will hopefully get me further along this track. I must get my hostess to bring her camera along to the vineyards and the Dandenongs. Can't wait!

freefalling said...

The candid shot is a beaut.

Joan Elizabeth said...

I love the candid shot.

I'm amazed that you guys have been shy to crop! Doing a good job of composition in the first place is the first step but I find that judicious cropping after that often brings out the subject better. I think that would be especially in situations like these portraits where you might not have time to compose particularly well.

As Peter says, your camera is already doing some form of post-processing on your behalf. So why not do some of your own?

Ansel Adam's wonderful prints didn't come out of the camera that way. He toiled away in the darkroom, we are lucky enough to have a digital darkroom.