Football Managers

[pete crawford]

Couple of pics I shot today. Any comments welcomed, I learn every time I shoot.

Thanks,

Pete

[MJPhotos24]

...exposure is off for the setting, not very interesting poses, and second one is bad photoshop.

Expose for the background, then adjust light for the people...

[pete crawford]

On the photoshop issue, did I mess up taking the shadows out??

As far a s exposure, I'm lost! Ha Ha

[TeeJay]

Pardon me, but what's the link with "Football Managers"? :-)

TJ

[pete crawford]

They manage the footballs on Friday nights, LOL!!

[MJPhotos24]

They look like they're floating on the grass since it's so unnatural not to have shadows in harsh light...

As for exposure, find your background, expose for it (i.e. grass is green, not yellow), then put the person where you want them and adjust your light to fit. Right now your background is extremely hot...usually what I'll try to do is go to AV or TV mode and play around trying to find the starting point, go back to M and under exposure the background a little bit (-1/3 or so), then you put the person where you want them and adjust the light.

With something like this should go easy, when doing 30 people in a row exposure can change on you in a heart beat so have to re-adjust or live with the background being off a bit. Last night went from bright sun to black storm clouds so in a few photos the exposure is off, it's going to happen, but something like this (small group) should be able to adjust.

Note when NOT using lights/flash then you have to over exposure the background when shooting into the sun like that. It's what drives me nuts when I see people not use a fill and just over expose on head shots/portraits, makes no sense if you have a flash to use.

...and yes, those footballs need managing, you give one an inch and it'll take a mile.

[pete crawford]

MJ, you give great instruction. I'll definately need to play with this. I understand the concept of the exposure on the background, I just need to try and grasp it!

Thanks

Oh, I did think when I photoshopped the photo that it looked as if they were drug into the scene! I'll re edit!

[MJPhotos24]

...and here's an EXTREME example...exposed for the grass (which is over making it yellow-ish, but getting there), turned on the lights and had my assistant stand there. Took this shot and realized the lights were on full blast when they needed to be turned all the way down. Just shows you have to play around until getting it right...Casper the friendly ghost...
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs108.ash2/38759_411664306329_731751329_5109838_7857206_n.jpg

Once getting them right...perfect no...but "right"...actually on day two...most of day one was slightly off in some way or another with the non-stop changing lighting.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs028.ash2/34754_411758491329_731751329_5112266_4422967_n.jpg

[pete crawford]

Hey Mike, Thanks! It was a little fight but I got my wife in the sun today. I did a quick practice. I didn't set up an umbrella, I just used an on camera flash!

The 1st pic is iso 100, f6.3, and 1/320, no flash.

The second is all the same except 1/2 power on the flash.

[Fstop-Ian]

Your second images looks like 2 images, one in studio and one of a field and then cut and pasted... and not done very well. Is this just one image? the main problem area is the feet.

First looks fine but could use a little less ambient as mentioned.

[pete crawford]

LOL, It is one picture but I photoshopped the shadows out! I kept the original and got rid of the phot above. It really does look like they were placed on a background!

[pete crawford]

This is the original. I shadowed the edges to cut down on some of the background lite.

[asysin2leads]

The photo w/ the shadows gives the image depth, which the first one that was PS'd lacked.

[pete crawford]

I learnedthat the hard way!