Aimee & Rob - My 1st E-Session!

[npompei]

Well, here goes nothing! My first time shooting completely in Raw. Lots of fun, but man thats a ton of work converting, saving, etc. Shot with my Rebel XT, 50mm 1.4, 18-55IS, Sigma 70-300mm and 28-135IS. Mainly used the 28-125IS as it "fit" the best.

On to the shoot. Love Park in Philly, then to Pen Ryn mansion. Please let me know how you think I did. I want to get some feedback here before I put the rest up on my website. Thanks

1.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa320/njpompei/Aimee%20Rob/AimeeRob2009Lovepark71.jpg

2.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa320/njpompei/Aimee%20Rob/AimeeRob2009Lovepark21.jpg

3.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa320/njpompei/Aimee%20Rob/AimeeRob2009Lovepark91.jpg

4.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa320/njpompei/Aimee%20Rob/AimeeRob2009PenRynMansion32.jpg

5.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa320/njpompei/Aimee%20Rob/AimeeRob2009PenRynMansion39.jpg

6.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa320/njpompei/Aimee%20Rob/AimeeRob2009PenRynMansion50.jpg

[gholman12]

1 - good
2 - not sharp
3 - whites are overexposed, they look yellow
4 - her arm is awkward at her side and it's too white
5 - not sharp
6 - cashmoney

On the whole, great job for your first shoot.

[Kaigler]

I like the contrast in three and disagree with the above poster about the whites being blown out.

[Philco]

Some nice captures of a relaxed looking couple. Nice. I think you'd be well served by leaning on your 50mm a bit more so you can open up your aperture and get more separation between your couples and the BG.

[npompei]

Great! Thanks for all of the comments. I appreciate it. I really like my 50mm. Its a great lens. I was just afraid of missing some good moments without being able to zoom and running back and forth like an idiot!

And thanks again for the comments. Getting sharp images is very hard. I felt like all day I could not focus on their eyes. Should I go manual focus? I just kept re-focusing over and over and could not get it where I wanted.

[SS308]

I personally like manual focus for shots like these, espeically if the movement is limited.
Nice series, beautiful couple.

Thanks for sharing!

[Nyobie]

Did you use AI Servo for to try and focus quickly. You might want to practice on moving objects like little kids. You might also want to read about how to set your Custom Function on your camera so you can adjust the area or zone where the camera focuses and use your thumb and finger controls to shift the focal point. I use this technique all the time with motorcycles so I rarely have an oof image. If I miss the focus on an image, it's because I was either caught off guard by a moment that I wasn't ready for or I wasn't paying enough attention to camera shake with a slow shutter speed.

I agree that the whites aren't really blown out - the attraction is the people and not necessarily the detail in the water. Exposure of the people is spot on IMHO.

Enjoy!

[Fred Eric Norris]

agree with previous poster that you need to shoot more wide open.. this will allow you to increase your shutter speed as well which will help with your focus.. several of these look a bit soft.. the last one is my fav as well..

work on your composition a bit more.. notice on some that you aren't "square" to the couple and the background items.. (i.e. pic #3) work on this.. also work on your framing.. for example the image #2 i see that it says "love" on the statue but you don't notice it unless you think about it.. and its going right out of their heads.. how about a bit more space between you and them.. frame them with tree behind their heads and have the sculpture to the right of them.. also everything is pretty much centered in the frame.. practice the rule of thirds.. it will make your photo's stand out from average snap shots..

[npompei]

Thanks Nyobie. I believe I shot in AI Servo. I dont have the camera with so im not sure but I think. Now I know how to move the focul point of focus with the camera, but with my XT, it takes a while. And always changing compositional type shots, that can be a massive pain.
But my question is, can I change the settings or zones of the focal point with my XT? And how? I dont see anything in my manual about that.

And Fred Norris (love that), I tried raising up the shutter speed but I was always under exposed. And I didnt want to raise up the ISO but I honestly think that might have helped.

here is the rest of my pics from that day...
http://npompei.zenfolio.com/f1044698403

[sctbiggs]

First is good... i don't like that sign/sculpture behind them. (What is that anyway? I recognize it, it is right on the tip of my tounge what it is/says but I just don't know)

The water shot... It looks like you have some motion blur with them, the water as someone said looks blown out but it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is the extra people in the background.

[npompei]

Its Love Park in Philadelphia. If you look at the rest of my album, you can see some that are composed a lot better. I just chose 4 that I semi-liked but thought could use some criticism.

http://npompei.zenfolio.com/f1044698403

[sctbiggs]

Don't know the park... but thought the sign said "LOVE." Would have loved to see the whole sign in the background off to the side out of focus but readable. Or something like that.

[sctbiggs]

Saw the rest... Number 4 is great. Could use some horizon line adjustment.

It looks like it would have been hard to get the shot i was imagining in my head with the surroundings there.

[npompei]

Yeah it was hard with all the people there. But thanks for the comments!

[Fred Eric Norris]

Thanks Nyobie. I believe I shot in AI Servo. I dont have the camera with so im not sure but I think. Now I know how to move the focul point of focus with the camera, but with my XT, it takes a while. And always changing compositional type shots, that can be a massive pain.
But my question is, can I change the settings or zones of the focal point with my XT? And how? I dont see anything in my manual about that.

And Fred Norris (love that), I tried raising up the shutter speed but I was always under exposed. And I didnt want to raise up the ISO but I honestly think that might have helped.

here is the rest of my pics from that day...
http://npompei.zenfolio.com/f1044698403

Stern Fan?

anyways.. ok I see you said you mainly used your 28-135IS which has a max aperture of f/3.5 which is a bit slow to be increasing your shutter speed, hence the underexposure you were getting.. perhaps your 50mm would have been better.. you can stop down to like 2.2 or 2.8 on your aperture thus giving you the ability to increase your shutter speed and increase the isolation of your subjects from the background.. an all around winning situation

:)

[VaultBoxPictures]

the last one is by far my favorite. Nice shooting you did.

[npompei]

Thanks again for all the nice compliments.

And thanks Fred (huge stern fan). I love mt 50 but it seems "limited" in terms of the city shots. I should have used it more at the mansion. But in the city it is just hard to move around with that prime.

[Fred Eric Norris]

Thanks again for all the nice compliments.

And thanks Fred (huge stern fan). I love mt 50 but it seems "limited" in terms of the city shots. I should have used it more at the mansion. But in the city it is just hard to move around with that prime.


Someone told me once that the more you shoot with a prime the better photographer you become.. I think its true.. you gotta move a lot, be quick on your toes and you gotta get your framing right..

[Mossman6]

#2 would have been excellent if it was in focus and not so tight. It looks like they had a great time as well. I would have also like to have seen a few shots of them actually looking at the camera.

[freemanfan]

nice session, it not always easy to capture tall guys naturally but they kept a good energy and it shows, two suggestions maybe bring a small step ladder for you or for her and try to scope out the location for the best backgrounds. cheers

[npompei]

I agree on all accounts from you guys above. Thanks again for all the great suggestions!