Thanks snark. I just got my extension tubes. I've been trying to shoot with them. It's tough hand-held. I had to shoot that with the tripod (also, 8s exposure).
Snark - One of my favorite bike shots is straight down the chainline. I really like the color of the frame and the contrast of it against the rest of the picture. Also, that's a VERY clean bike. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to take away from the photo, though.
Looking at it again, I probably should have increased the depth of field a little bit... This is my subject for today, except I shot it from below and a lot closer:
Shwaip, it'll take some getting used to with the tubes. And again, as with all macros, throw the aperture WIDE open, bump the ISO, and try to flood it with light, or go with the ridiculously slow shutter speeds if you have a static subject and the time to do so.
GH, I like it. I can see it now, very nice shot.
On mine, the gear assembly is the only thing in focus, so it was supposed to draw focus. Like I said, I'm not very happy with it, though. Tomorrow's a new day!
Snark: Not sure. It's a good photo, but it doesn't excite me.
Shwaip: It's TOO focused. Some bokeh would have served this otherwise good photo well.
GH: I know you color balanced your photo but it's still too warm. I like the composition, though. Your skills are improving, for sure.
Marushka: You have the creativity part NAILED. How to make something as boring as an engine more interesting? Why, of course! It's obvious! Throw carnations on it! (Obvious to you, but not us; and that's what makes you such a creative photographer).
Some better light would have served your photo well; dramatic shadows inside the flowers, something to make them even more at odds with the obviously bizarre backdrop would have sealed the deal. Great shot, though!
I know there's something wrong with my monitor. Every time I work with the colors so that it looks accurate on this monitor, someone says it's too warm... and most photos I take look desaturated and too cool on this screen.
Color-correct monitors are important for photography work, for sure. My monitors at work, for instance, are way dark. I have to get a color correction tool for working at home.
It's one of the challenges of working in digital imagery. Your picture may be PERFECT on your monitor, but it can look wildly different (and horribly wrong) on another person's monitor. The best thing you can do is make it look accurate and hope that everybody else is close to that.
Prime, great feedback. I feel really limited with light. How can I control the lighting better? When I am in my house here, the lighting is horrible and yellow, mostly coming from eye-level lamps, so I avoid taking photos inside unless its bright day. Are there things I can do with post processing, or do you have any tips on how I can set up a shot with better light? Times in the day that are good or bad for taking photos outside? What should the role of light be in a shot?
Prime: Very impressive. I love the deep yellow and green. I like that you can see how the moment came up, and your connection with it. It wasnt something you could set up or control totally, you were a photographer that had a great idea, the moment came up, and you went for it.
Ghoosdum: I really like the color and all the angles in your shot. I like that I dont quite have a feel for scale or for the purpose of the gears. It almost makes it look like an antique.
shwaip: I told you this already, too, but I really like this. You have such great lines and angles, and I love that you can see some grit on the chain.
snarkasm: I like how the lines of blue from the bike really stand out. I also think it makes it really interesting that the focus point is on the gears from the front. Its really interesting to focus on a part you aren't facing. I find it engaging, like as the viewer the next thing I would do is move over to the side to see how its laid out.
Marushka, the best way to improve lighting is just to flood it with more light. Even if the light is yellow, you can correct color in post; if you don't have enough properly-positioned light, you can't get the shot. Even if all you have are lamps, put them all close together or pointing at the relevant subject and give it a go.
Lighting is by far one of the most varied and interesting parts of photography, and it can make all the difference in how a picture is constructed or how its mood is perceived. It's all about experimentation.
If your lighting is yellow, that's just a matter of pulling it into post-processing and adjusting the white balance or color temperature down to a more neutral level. Some things look fantastic warm; others just look like they need to be toned down. It's all a function of how you want the overall feel of the picture to be and how the colors work best for your vision.
As for the role of light, it can go anywhere from just supporting the shot (background, color, etc) to directing focus where you want it to go (spot lighting, shadow creation) to isolating the subject (whiting or blacking out the background) to just providing illumination. The thing about all the pictures you've ever loved is that the lighting to create them was beautiful. Whether that was done on purpose or not is irrelevant; you needed light to take a picture, and it's by far the most important component. Good light can make a photo pop more than anything else.
Comments
Oh, right. Exactly like over half of my current shots.
GH - what is it? Good shot, I just can't figure out what it's of.
Thanks snark. I just got my extension tubes. I've been trying to shoot with them. It's tough hand-held. I had to shoot that with the tripod (also, 8s exposure).
Snark - One of my favorite bike shots is straight down the chainline. I really like the color of the frame and the contrast of it against the rest of the picture. Also, that's a VERY clean bike. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to take away from the photo, though.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghoosdum/3740393247/" title="Today's subject by ghoosdum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3522/3740393247_6f0b705405.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Today's subject" /></a>
I think I like this better with more post.
Original:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/25290649@N05/3740123261/" title="Mechanical by electronic_van, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2642/3740123261_3c39c7391d.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Mechanical" /></a>
a)
b)
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/25290649@N05/3740492119/" title="even more post. by electronic_van, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2613/3740492119_9dc112761a.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="even more post." /></a>
GH, I like it. I can see it now, very nice shot.
On mine, the gear assembly is the only thing in focus, so it was supposed to draw focus. Like I said, I'm not very happy with it, though. Tomorrow's a new day!
Snark: Not sure. It's a good photo, but it doesn't excite me.
Shwaip: It's TOO focused. Some bokeh would have served this otherwise good photo well.
GH: I know you color balanced your photo but it's still too warm. I like the composition, though. Your skills are improving, for sure.
Marushka: You have the creativity part NAILED. How to make something as boring as an engine more interesting? Why, of course! It's obvious! Throw carnations on it! (Obvious to you, but not us; and that's what makes you such a creative photographer).
Some better light would have served your photo well; dramatic shadows inside the flowers, something to make them even more at odds with the obviously bizarre backdrop would have sealed the deal. Great shot, though!
Not to sound combative, but I'd really like an expansion on this - what would have been better out of focus.
This was my first adventure with macro, so any feedback is awesome.
It's one of the challenges of working in digital imagery. Your picture may be PERFECT on your monitor, but it can look wildly different (and horribly wrong) on another person's monitor. The best thing you can do is make it look accurate and hope that everybody else is close to that.
Ghoosdum: I really like the color and all the angles in your shot. I like that I dont quite have a feel for scale or for the purpose of the gears. It almost makes it look like an antique.
shwaip: I told you this already, too, but I really like this. You have such great lines and angles, and I love that you can see some grit on the chain.
snarkasm: I like how the lines of blue from the bike really stand out. I also think it makes it really interesting that the focus point is on the gears from the front. Its really interesting to focus on a part you aren't facing. I find it engaging, like as the viewer the next thing I would do is move over to the side to see how its laid out.
Lighting is by far one of the most varied and interesting parts of photography, and it can make all the difference in how a picture is constructed or how its mood is perceived. It's all about experimentation.
If your lighting is yellow, that's just a matter of pulling it into post-processing and adjusting the white balance or color temperature down to a more neutral level. Some things look fantastic warm; others just look like they need to be toned down. It's all a function of how you want the overall feel of the picture to be and how the colors work best for your vision.
As for the role of light, it can go anywhere from just supporting the shot (background, color, etc) to directing focus where you want it to go (spot lighting, shadow creation) to isolating the subject (whiting or blacking out the background) to just providing illumination. The thing about all the pictures you've ever loved is that the lighting to create them was beautiful. Whether that was done on purpose or not is irrelevant; you needed light to take a picture, and it's by far the most important component. Good light can make a photo pop more than anything else.