Grab Portraits Challenge: Fast Grab- Portaits: No lights, no reflectors.

[Clayton Lofgren]

A nice portrait. Is this cropped? Doesn´t look like it from the focus, but seems like very nice perspective for 32mm.

 

[Asher Kelman]

I was in Mali, W. Africa in Dec/Jan. We took a pirogue across the Niger river to an island (actually part of the inland delta) where these women were making dinner on a stove made out of MUD. The sun had already receded below the horizon and this Bozo woman INSISTED (through our translator) that I take her picture.

Nikon D300, 24-70 2.8 | 1/25 sec at f/2.8, ISO 800, 32mm​

Ed,​

It would be great to have a little more on the left. Still, the casual positioning and her eagerness work well together.

Asher

 

[Rachel Foster]

I was going through old files and found these. Oh, if only they were shaper!

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Taken 6-1-08, ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/1600. I would drop the ISO and shutter speed if I did the shot today.

A second one I found, same child...

ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/200.

 

[Edward Bussa]

I cropped it to 8 x 10 for a print and thought it worked at that aspect. Here is the orginal no-crop version:

While working with this image I tended to like a very tight close-up as well:

Rachel, after viewing the Karsh gallery, I know that one of his pictures (man with a cowboy hat on) certainly wasn't one of his sharpest, yet was sure to draw praise from those in the gallery. It is apparent to me that sharpness isn't everything. I liked both photos but the one with the railing in it especially.

 

[Rachel Foster]

Thank you, Edward. Your portraits have always been favorites of mine, so that's especially nice to hear.

 

[Rachel Foster]

The second portrait above with a tighter crop...

This was taken last year. The child is almost eight and was sitting on the steps of a church on the national register of historic places.

 

[Asher Kelman]

I was going through old files and found these. Oh, if only they were shaper!.

A second one I found, same child...

ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/200.

I have revisited this picture and prefer this original version. I like it more. I wonder what it would be like in B&W.

Asher

 

[Jim Galli]

Sharpness is over-rated......

The second portrait above with a tighter crop...

This was taken last year. The child is almost eight and was sitting on the steps of a church on the national register of historic places.

Sharpness is over-rated. Especially in portraiture. fwiw, I prefer the crop, the less of that hand rail, the better. She is a lovely girl.

Here she is in b/w;

 

[Asher Kelman]

Sharpness is over-rated. Especially in portraiture. fwiw, I prefer the crop, the less of that hand rail, the better. She is a lovely girl.

Jim,

I so much agree with you about sharpness being over-rated. The peripheral image is another thing. Too many folks obsess about corner sharpness and worse, insist on no light fall off! How boring!!!

I myself asked for the crop!!! Now I re-visited I have reverted to the one with more distracting context.

Asher

 

[Rachel Foster]

I'm not sure about the B&W but I prefer the wider version myself.

 

[Edward Bussa]

Okay, I see how the hand rail is somewhat of a distraction, but I still like the photo. Is there room for improvement? Yup.

I've been looking for ways to simplify my compositions, so here's a thought – I love that red door and it would make a really wonderful background just by itself, so what if the child was moved a few steps so the top step came to the lower part of her back? I think you'd have a two tone background with the red door dominating in the background. You could pose the girl angled away from the camera for some dynamic but I worry about shooting from too low to make the composition work... comments?

 

[Rachel Foster]

I've been wanting to do a reshoot with her at that location. I'll give that a shot.

 

[Asher Kelman]

I have revisited this picture and prefer this original version. I like it more. I wonder what it would be like in B&W.

Rchel foster "Child"
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Hi Ed, Jim and Rachel,

This is a very interesting subject. It's easy to say, get a perfect composition and the suggestions so far are classic and correct. Simplification and exclusion are straight paths to some of the best works.

Still, there's alternate ways of seeing. The juxtaposition of a young girl against complexity of what's real is worth exploring. For that motif, why not go much further and insert more of what one might exclude but use Jim's avidity to soft focus for the b.g and then one has the girl in focus and the complexity too. What do you think of this approach?

Anyway, having merely just a little bit of a distraction, like the metal rail, seems to be threatening your composition for viewers. For me, it's preferred but I'd like more.

Asher

 

[Edward Bussa]

So, you are suggesting a photoshop type alteration? My photoshop skills are not such that I can whip something like that up... but I imagine something that plays off her aloof expression?

 

[Rachel Foster]

I don't think this was what anyone meant, but this is the shot in soft focus.

 

[Jack_Flesher]

Here is one from Italy a bit ago.

I would have loved to have an assistant with a reflector though ;-):

 

[Sean DeMerchant]

I don't think this was what anyone meant, but this is the shot in soft focus.

It still misses the most critical distraction I see here when considering a portrait. The subject of a portrait should be obvious and the lines of the subject should stand out from the background rather than blending into them.

Here the lines of the X shape on the door create strong lines leading away from the subjects eyes making her somewhat camouflaged. Using the Find Edges filter in your favorite tool should help you see the graphic design and 3-D isolation of your compositions like this:

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The young lady's eyes point up, the background pulls the eyes down, and I at least loose focus and interest in exploring the image more at an impulsive level and this gut reaction is what gets people to take a deeper look at images.

The usage of a portrait lense and the resulting shallow DoF could fix this problem by strongly blurring the door, but doing this in post processing is a painstaking labor of love if done precisely.

enjoy your day,

Sean

 

[Rachel Foster]

Thanks, Sean, that's helpful.

 

[J.W. van den Bos]

coco and merel

Jan

 

[Jim Galli]

Asher has a soft spot...

...for old cars.

packard driver, waiting​

I set this up with the 5X7 Top Handle Speed Graphic and then hollered at the guy to turn around. That's a grab portrait isn't it? Definitely natural light!

 

[Asher Kelman]

Jim,

Of course I love it. Without the car, he'd be just another guy without a car!

Asher

 

[Mike Shimwell]

Here's one of the girls reading together on the landing floor. I was in the office and turned round with the 5D and time for one quick frame. Natural dark so iso 3200.

Mike

 

[Asher Kelman]

What treasures! I am so impressed that you got this shot. One notices you and the other one acts as if she doesn't know you're there!

Mike, you're blessed!

Asher

 

[Prateek Dubey]

Hi, here's our challenge this week!

Pictures where you have found the subject, ask or not and get the image fast, just enough to choose your position, maybe even there's, but not more than 20 secs or so!

I'll start. I visited an antique store and the Armenian gentleman was fascinating and friendly. I asked for his picture and turned him towards the light.

Asher Kelman: Antique Dealer in Los Angeles​

f= 1.2, 1/400 sec, ISO 500 AV -1 EV 50 1.2L 5D

The idea is to do the capture on impulse and process so what is in your heart shows the image.

Now show me yours using any format camera, from digicam, to polaroid, or MF!

Asher

This is beautiful...

 

[Prateek Dubey]

With my Grandmother

Prateek Dubey ; With my Grandmother ​

 

[James Newman]

Yellow Submarine

That is the song this fellow was playing, and singing, when I stopped to take his picture. We saw a number of interesting people at the 4th Avenue Winter Street Fair yesterday in downtown Tucson.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Another winner in natural light!

James,

This photograph depends on the synergy between title and certain graphic elements that have social meaning. It's not clear, so far, that construction based strongly on composition were significant determinants for this fun picture to work.

James Newman : Yellow Submarine​

This is a clearly thought out and simple composition with the distinguished gentleman boasting his superbly groomed handlebar moustache and a bright yellow submarine sweater. The moustache makes us think of mariners and he yellow, the famous Beatles' song, "We all Live in a Yellow Submarine!"

Asher

 

[Asher Kelman]

PLEASE CENTER PICTURES and have a a line of text before and after it so that there is white space all around your image.

This allows images to be seen away from a cramped corner and elevates the picture to a place on a gallery wall, where it can breathe have respect and be enjoyed.

Asher

 

[John Angulat]

Hi James,

What a character!
AND...who doesn't love a kazoo? (I'll admit to owning more than a few!)
There's something about the tilt of his head and the direction of his gaze that really makes this image (moustache included!).
Well done!

 

[Ruben Alfu]

Hi James,

There's something about the tilt of his head and the direction of his gaze that really makes this image (moustache included!).
Well done!

Yes, I can feel the swing as he plays the song! Very nice one.


Asher, "Antique Dealer in Los Angeles" is just superb.