They wont lose interest if you explain to your clients why you are doing what you are doing..If it takes an extra minute to get the result, im sure they will live..Does not have to be a studio to get studio results..
Family Gathering Snapshot "Portrait"
- Thread starter Mike D90
- Start date
They wont lose interest if you explain to your clients why you are doing what you are doing..If it takes an extra minute to get the result, im sure they will live..Does not have to be a studio to get studio results..
Background clutter...if you have PSE 10-12 or the full version of Photoshop, you should be able to outline them with the Quick Selection Tool then select inverse which will create the running ants around the background. One of the filters is for Blur, and one of the options from there is Gaussian Blur. Select it then play around with the amount of blur you want to create. It will allow the background to appear as a much more shallow depth of field than it is right now. 
And if you want to take it one step further, add a vignette and narrow the center. That should help hide his arm from appearing to be a little to close to the camera.
And if you want to take it one step further, add a vignette and narrow the center. That should help hide his arm from appearing to be a little to close to the camera.
Shootraw and Mike d90, you both have good points. Not sure what other photographers would do. I guess it depends on the situation. If walking around taking quick shots of people at a gathering is all you're interested in than
you have to expect the noise in the background. If explaining to people you're interested in taking more of a formal profesional approach than I agree they would be more inclined to be more patient. A number of years ago my family got together for Christmas. Everyone assumed it might be my fathers last. So people coming to the get together were informed and agreed to do some family shots so it went well. Looking at the shot that Mike d90 took. Most people would look at the photo and awe over it. But because we here are in the position we're in look beyond what most people can see and things like backgrounds stand out to us. So I guess when a photo is posted on any photography forum it's under more scrutiny, which to me is fine. I think it's to be expected.
you have to expect the noise in the background. If explaining to people you're interested in taking more of a formal profesional approach than I agree they would be more inclined to be more patient. A number of years ago my family got together for Christmas. Everyone assumed it might be my fathers last. So people coming to the get together were informed and agreed to do some family shots so it went well. Looking at the shot that Mike d90 took. Most people would look at the photo and awe over it. But because we here are in the position we're in look beyond what most people can see and things like backgrounds stand out to us. So I guess when a photo is posted on any photography forum it's under more scrutiny, which to me is fine. I think it's to be expected.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
The question you need to ask yourself is, "Why am I taking this picture?"
If the answer is something along the lines of, "I want to provide these people with some quality photos (and by "quality" here I mean better than what a cell-phone or P&S would provide), I've got decent equipment and these people are my friends" then by all means take snapshots of candid moments, quickie "portraits", have fun and don't over-think it.
If the answer is more along the lines of, "I want to provide these people photos that represent the very best of my ability as a photographer" then you need to take creative control.
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Very good point and thank you. Maybe the issue with this particular photo, along with all of these from that night, are that none of these were photos that were asked for, planned or even really wanted by the guests. Photos were not even planned and never are at these events. No one ever brings a camera. I simply took the opportunity to use my camera and see what I could turn out under the circumstances.
In any other situation my answer to the two questions I should ask myself would be the latter; "I want to provide these people photos that represent the very best of my ability as a photographer".
I might, with my limited ability, try to sell this photo once I get the post production processes better worked out. Otherwise, as it was shot, I would not keep it or at least not send it out.
This is a great learning exercise though and I will definitely be better prepared the next time this kind of thing occurs.
Here is my final attempt on this one. Just too much work to make the shot useable.
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wud
Senior Member
I think Photoshop blur are to visible. Doesn't look right. And me personally, would NOT change a whole lot, from the first image. That image was the best, looking at these other edits, and I dont think it was a bad image.
My point was not to make you edit a lot in this picture, but to give an idea about what to look for NEXT time. Where to take the picture. For me, it says family pic with the framed pictures behind them, I wouldnt wanna shoot a studio-like image, for this occasion... Try thinking about the surroundings indoors, as you do with outdoors. Outdoors you dont crop of the tree or something else, instead you makes it part of the composition, the best way possible. Its the same inside, the furnitures and framed images can improve an image, telling a story about where this image was taken.
The people looks good in the composition, imo, and right part of the image looks good for background. Imo.
My point was not to make you edit a lot in this picture, but to give an idea about what to look for NEXT time. Where to take the picture. For me, it says family pic with the framed pictures behind them, I wouldnt wanna shoot a studio-like image, for this occasion... Try thinking about the surroundings indoors, as you do with outdoors. Outdoors you dont crop of the tree or something else, instead you makes it part of the composition, the best way possible. Its the same inside, the furnitures and framed images can improve an image, telling a story about where this image was taken.
The people looks good in the composition, imo, and right part of the image looks good for background. Imo.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
Okay... That makes perfect sense. When I find myself in situations like this I find the "trick" is being able to think quickly and act accordingly. You don't ask the couple to move outdoors but you look through your viewfinder and you move about until the composition "pops". I can't really explain it any better than that... but it *will* happen most of the time, you just have to find the right angle until everything sort of falls into place.
The exercise here is how you interact with your viewfinder. Keep your eye GLUED to your viewfinder and don't just look at your subject, look at the WHOLE frame and move yourself, or your subject if you have to, until the composition pops. Don't over think it... Move and watch... Move and watch... When the moment is right you'll feel it, and that's when you release the shutter.
I also like wud's comments about making the surroundings part of the photo you're taking. Sometimes you eliminate, sometimes you integrate. Move and watch... Wait for everything to feel right and grab the shot. Stop thinking about it so much and just feel the shot. If you can do that, the power of those feelings will come through your photography and people will respond to it.
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Considering that explanation I think you did a great job. I really like the desaturated version and I bet the couple would like it too.
If there's room, next time I'd ask the couple to step away from the wall/background; that would help a little.
The only other suggestion I have is to scan the room and do your "prep" before you ask the couple to 'Stand right here.'
I'll try to avoid things that have already been said here...
I would add that their faces are a little too harsh and it's not very flattering. I shoot in raw and use Lightroom for the bulk of my post processing, and I would have taken the adjustment brush and knocked the clarity on their faces down a little bit. It gives it that gaussian-blur overlay look -- maintaining the fine details while giving it an overall softer appearance. Of course it also knocks down the contrast and depth too, so be careful not to overdo it. Unless someone is just extremely smooth-skinned and beautiful, I think a little dip in clarity makes most people a lot more pleased with the way they look. I know it does for me.
I'd also bump up the luminosity of the reds a bit too, which will help with the skin tone and reduce some of that over-saturated look. Maybe even desaturate the reds a touch. They kinda look like they just got sunburnt.
Regarding the gaussian blur of the background, IF you're going to do that in order to rescue a shot like this, I'd be really careful to select ONLY the background. Even then, getting the edges around their bodies (especially her hair) is going to be hard considering the low contrast between them and the background. When you do get a selection you're happy with, blurring it too much might create a nasty blur/clear border around them that looks really fake. Bringing the blur around to the front of their shirts while leaving their faces clear gives it that cheap instragram-filter look that IMO looks very amateur.
An alternative to just blurring the background selection is creating a duplicate layer, blurring the whole thing, and selectively erasing the blurred layer with a soft-edged brush. I think this will give you a little more control over the boundary between blurred and crisp.
Hope you find something useful in my comments. This is my first post here - feel free to rip into one of my images when I post it soon!
I would add that their faces are a little too harsh and it's not very flattering. I shoot in raw and use Lightroom for the bulk of my post processing, and I would have taken the adjustment brush and knocked the clarity on their faces down a little bit. It gives it that gaussian-blur overlay look -- maintaining the fine details while giving it an overall softer appearance. Of course it also knocks down the contrast and depth too, so be careful not to overdo it. Unless someone is just extremely smooth-skinned and beautiful, I think a little dip in clarity makes most people a lot more pleased with the way they look. I know it does for me.
I'd also bump up the luminosity of the reds a bit too, which will help with the skin tone and reduce some of that over-saturated look. Maybe even desaturate the reds a touch. They kinda look like they just got sunburnt.
Regarding the gaussian blur of the background, IF you're going to do that in order to rescue a shot like this, I'd be really careful to select ONLY the background. Even then, getting the edges around their bodies (especially her hair) is going to be hard considering the low contrast between them and the background. When you do get a selection you're happy with, blurring it too much might create a nasty blur/clear border around them that looks really fake. Bringing the blur around to the front of their shirts while leaving their faces clear gives it that cheap instragram-filter look that IMO looks very amateur.
An alternative to just blurring the background selection is creating a duplicate layer, blurring the whole thing, and selectively erasing the blurred layer with a soft-edged brush. I think this will give you a little more control over the boundary between blurred and crisp.
Hope you find something useful in my comments. This is my first post here - feel free to rip into one of my images when I post it soon!