Feather Band Hat

[mjmcgarry]

I was taking some pictures [snapshots really] at a wedding reception Saturday. The bride is a long time friend of my wife.

Anyway, one of the pictures I took seemed [to me at least] to be more than just a snapshot.

While I use WebShots to share pictures with family and friends, I have created an account with PBASE to host pictures I find to have some quality. Here is the link to the picture: http://www.pbase.com/image/4594637/medium

Please let me know what you think. Is it just a snapshot or did I capture something more?

- Michael

[eland]

Hi Michael
Your candid photograph of the gentleman is very pleasing.
A few things detract from it being a really good portrait though. The main drawback is not the image of the man, but the
rather busy backgroung. The radio (?) near the brim of his hat. The enclosing partition, dark and distracting on his left,
and the bright bands one above his hat brim and the other just above his shoulder.
The can is a bit of a distraction too, I feel.

I tell my students to think of S L R when they compose a picture.
S = Subject . Placement, expression etc
L = Light. Its nature, diffused or contrasty, direction eg side-light, frontal , backlight,
and its Color temperature etc.
R = Remainder or Rubbish.
ie. What is in the picture that should not be there ?
or is detracting from the composition. eg lamp-posts, motor cars, garbage cans, stuff that
the photographer might not even have noticed.

This little formula will hopefully help you to evaluate a
situation, both for your own pictures and also
when judging what others are doing.
Extraneous objects in the frame (R) can often spoil an otherwise excellent photograph.

Hope you show us some more shots soon.

Regards
eland

[slejhamer]

Michael,
A very nice shot. I must agree with Hal's comments, especially regarding the can - it was the first thing I noticed in the photo. Skin tone is very natural, lighting looks good (except as Hal noted) and the hat and tie give a definite sense of character. Good work.

[mjmcgarry]

Thanks for the input. I too agree it is a bit busy. The radio is the first thing I noticed as a distraction.

Q: How do you get the S L R elements without disturbing the S?

I will try to keep these things in mind when taking snapshots and maybe more of them will have some quality. At present most of my pictures are to simply record memories.


- Michael

[eland]

Hi Michael

You ask what to do about L and R without disturbing S.

Well really, once you become aware of potential faults
in the intended image and you cannot correct them, then
you either say to yourself "Well I want a photo record of this person, and I know that that's all it will be."
Or else Michael don't take the shot.

If it's a person ask that person to come and pose for you
where you can control Light AND R.

To put it in a word, to obtain good photographs you must
be very aware of SLR and learn to PRE-VISUALISE the
end result before pressing the shutter release.
That way, you'll immediately start getting good results
rather than snapshots.

Hope this helps

hal

[Leighow]

MICHAEL

Learning how to play the piano takes years of practice. I suggest that learning how to be a photographer does too, although (happily in some ways), even the bad notes sound good to untrained ears! The fact that you are listening tells me that you have the ear.

For my part, I do not shoot people much these days. As you continue, Eland's SLR should underpin your dreams and execution.

Take a look at this post by Don Ellis. Here the S and R have been mastered . Even so, the master worries about the "L".

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1903#7583

HOWIE

[mjmcgarry]

Thanks for all the feedback.

Based on what I have heard I would then rate this picture a 2 on a scale from 1 to 5 where a 1 is a snapshot and a 5 is the photo by Don Ellis.

My father has tried to get me interested in photography for years [most of my life to be a bit more honest]. But until I bought the G2, I have not taken much oppertunity to shoot more than snapshots.

Now that I have two precious daughters, the number of snapshots has increased immensley.

Now that I have the G2 [can't say "my G2" otherwise I might get in trouble with the wife] I can take more oppertunities to take quality photographs.

Here is another picture for review, if you will. It has already been posted in the "Share Photos" discussion group at a different URL.
http://www.pbase.com/image/4594749

I gave my father a framed 8x10 of this picture of my daughters for his birthday and he told me it was the best picture I had ever taken. He is a serious photographer and has been for over 40 years [+/- a couple].

I have also submitted it to be included in the "World of Cannon Digital Photography" exibit.

- Michael

[eland]

Michael

Take a 5 out of 5 for that one.

Nice and close. An excellent shot.

Regards
eland

[Leighow]

MICHAEL

I wanted to talk a bit more about portraits. I am not trying to talk you out of the Feather Hat shot, but I did want to review it in the context of 3 other portrait shots. One last time !

1: ALEXANDRE’s Gallery
********************
Now Alexandre has posted portraits at http://www.pbase.com/acoutu/local_faces
For me the shot of Quinton on the right is priceless. Quinton has Eland’s SLR nailed.
I did not fret over my appraisal. Her photograph simply has the word wonderful written all over it, What a splendid outdoors shot.

2: Don Ellis’s earlier portrait
************************
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1903#7583
I love this shot. Don’s friend comes out looking distinguished, grounded, and wise. An indoor, impromptu shot, polished and refined.

3: ELAND’s Crop of Don’s Shot.
*************************
Michael, besides being one of this site’s resident and generous professors of photography, Eland is well versed in the magic of post processing. Now I do not want to force my opinion of Don’s on you, and there is more than one way to look at any image. So Eland and Don gave me permission to post this crop by Eland of Don’s shot. Why bother? Well, it will give you another slant on that image and it demonstrates varied solutions to the problem. Here is that crop. I think that it too is quite wonderful.
http://members.rogers.com/hleigh/Portrait.jpg

SO Here’s a FEATHER in YOUR Cap
********************************************
So what do these alternatives seem to say about the Feather Band Hat ? Well, as I see them, the most telling difference is in the lighting and framing. There is probably too much content in your shot, and it lacks dramatic lighting. Even so, it is a heck of a lot better than any of mine.

See Yah

HOWIE

PS:
****
1: Thanks to Eland and Don Ellis for giving the OK this post Eland’s crop.
2: Thanks to Eland for his care and handling of Don’s great shot.
3: Thanks to Alexandre for Quinton!
4: Thanks of course to Michael for the Feather Band Hat!