Le Boom

[ThomasOwenM]

Here are my photos of a local Denver band, Le Boom. I'm labeling them so they're easily referred to. Image editing is OK.

I have a question about the photo I've labeled Maylyn #2. Should I have done noise reduction on it? I didn't do noise reduction on any of these. On this shot there is some noise, but it seems minimal, and it's only apparent in the bokehed-out background. Reducing that noise didn't seem necessary to me. However, I've got Noise Ninja and it would be no big deal to reduce that noise if that would improve the shot.

Also, in Dave #2, I didn't use the aperture I had intended to. As a result, the original shot didn't have the bokeh that you see here. I photoshopped it in after the fact. Does it look natural?

Maylyn #1
http://www.renamestar.com/leboom/stapleton/leboomstapleton_56.jpg

Tyler
http://www.renamestar.com/leboom/stapleton/rockoncolorado/leboomatstapleton_04.jpg

Kyle #1
http://www.renamestar.com/leboom/stapleton/rockoncolorado/leboomatstapleton_02.jpg

Dave #1
http://www.renamestar.com/leboom/stapleton/leboomstapleton_66.jpg

Maylyn #2
http://www.renamestar.com/leboom/stapleton/rockoncolorado/leboomatstapleton_07.jpg

Maylyn #3
http://www.renamestar.com/leboom/stapleton/rockoncolorado/leboomatstapleton_08.jpg

Kyle #2
http://www.renamestar.com/leboom/stapleton/rockoncolorado/leboomatstapleton_06.jpg

Dave #2
http://www.renamestar.com/leboom/stapleton/leboomstapleton_26.jpg

Entire photo shoot can be seen here:
http://www.renamestar.com/leboom/stapleton/index.html

Band web page:
http://www.myspace.com/leboomrocks

[Suicidenote]

nice series. really like Kyle #1 & Kyle #2.

I think the added bokeh in Dave #2 looks natural.

[Nick_C]

He will have someones eye out with the end of those guitar strings :-p

Nick ;-)

[René Damkot]

Should I have done noise reduction on it?

No.

I think the added bokeh in Dave #2 looks natural.

It's visible, but you have to look for it. Not a big fan of these kinds of processing (on 'ethical' grounds), but done reasonably well. Except at his right shoulder. You also forgot the bit between guitar strap and his back. Maybe on the other side as well. Hard to see on this low res. If you fix that, it's okay.
Better visible on the high res: You'll probabely have to add some noise after blurring, to get it to look natural. After adding noise you might have to blur the noise (very slightly) to get that to look natural again ;)

Now, the images:

Quite a nice set.

Allthough I'm no fan of 'squarish' aspect ratios, I don't mind it too much here (which says something).
Only Tyler and Kyle #2 need a bit tighter crop: First to remove a window (top right), logo on the speaker and microphone, second to loose some unwanted (IMO) space on the left.

Did you crop off the lower hand in Kyle #1 on purpose?

[skifurthur]

Nice set. I particularly like Maylyn #1. Seems to catch some good attitude. Kyle # 2 is next in line.

Where in Denver where these taken? It's been a few years since I lived there and can't figure out if it's around 16th St or Cherry Creek.

[DwightMcCann]

It would be nice to have the venue as well as band in the title. The images are most easily numbered 1 thru N which has become a pretty standard practice here. You need to go to the UserCP and turn the Image Editing OK flag on ... this is a forum requirement and isn't up to us ... I've watched a couple of huge arguments develop which evolved to this rule. You might want to glance at the FAQ. I have no idea why I think I am the Mother of the Performing Arts Forum here but you are welcome to simply ignore my good advice.

As said by my predecessors this is a nice set but lacks "the band" feel with only a single individual in each image.

[ThomasOwenM]

The name of the venue is The Shops at Northfield Stapleton. If you haven't been to Denver for a while, you won't recognize this. It's a brand-new mall where the airport used to be.

René's advice on photoshopping the bokeh is extremely helpful. Thanks. Of course, given how much work it is to photoshop bokeh in, my first choice by far is to get the aperture right so that the bokeh happens when the shot is taken.

I really didn't get any full band shots that I was happy with. When I backed up far enough to easily get everyone in, the canopy behind the band no longer blocked the sun, and so I had sunlight shining directly toward my lens. I need to invest in a filter to deal with this. I'm new to photography. What type of filter would best deal with this? I did have a hood, which worked for getting the drummer shot from the side. Otherwise I would have had sun glare problems with that shot also.

The only kind of decent full band shot I got was this one:

http://www.renamestar.com/leboom/stapleton/leboomstapleton_10.jpg

However, I'm not happy with it because the drummer's elbow is cut off and the bass player is partially obscured.

Ya know, I kind of like labeling the shots with the individual performer's name. It feels more personable to me, and it's still easy to refer to a specific shot. If it's not specifically against the rules, I'd like to continue doing it that way.

A wide angle lens is definitely on my shopping list -- one could have helped with getting full band shots. Right now the "nifty fifty" 50mm lens is the only one I've got. I've only had this EOS 20D camera for a couple weeks. This was only my second shoot with a DSLR. So hopefully this is a decent start and I'll keep learning.

[DwightMcCann]

Well, you can certainly label the images as you prefer or not at all. :-) I think you're doing great with the camera.