portraits

[ivy'sgrandkid]

okay don't seriously tell me i have to make new threads!!!

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/DSC_1712.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/DSC_1758.jpg

[purplerose]

Cool portraits. :) Maybe a bit more work on the focus?

[Gonk]

I really really like the first picture!
The second one is either to soft or a little out of focus, but I like it too none the less!

[ivy'sgrandkid]

i found the reply button yay! thanks purple, well I'm not used to this 85 focusing is a bitch but I like soft pictures infact i love anything out of focus hehe sharp doesn't always do it for me

[ivy'sgrandkid]

thanks a ton gonk!

[ivy'sgrandkid]

maybe i need to get my eyes tested just to be on the safe side hehe

[ivy'sgrandkid]

I'm really loving the soft focus look and such , I can push it some more for sure hmm next I'm going to try and do some with the entire face properly exposed and focused or maybe not focused hehe, one major problem with this it was done in low light so initially i wanted it to be focused though it was but grr @ lcd!
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/DSC_1659.jpg

[Morbid]

I like the last one a lot! Its got life. I think you nailed the focus pretty good at her far eye, but the long exposure time made it blurry. Maybe you should try the shutter speed priority mode with a speed below 1/100 or so.

[ivy'sgrandkid]

yay here is a focus and sharp picture and for once i took a pic in color then converted it for people channel rocks not too sure about it with building stuff though i like to see what i got on spot
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/ray1copy.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/ray2copy.jpg

[Rhynome]

I have to say I prefer the colour to the greyscale, it's entirely my opinion and preference, of course, so it won't hurt my delicate feelings if you say, "No, you're wrong.". Though the reason for this is as the greyscale photo has both the face and the collar in the same tonal range, and then they both curl off in different directions, and it seems that the collar calls for more attention, even though I feel I should look at the man's face, especially the eyes, which are somewhat out of the way. In the colour version the face is much more vibrant and draws much more attention, especially as the colours of the jacket are rather subdued.
I also feel as though maybe the face is pushed a little too far off the side of the picture and there ought to be a tiny bit cropped off the right hand side?

Hm, that all sounds a bit harsh, didn't mean to make it sound quite so vicious. So, to sound less evil, the one you posted earlier is brilliant, the one of the girl, especially with the focus where it is. I like how soft edged it is, though... maybe a bit too soft, going into the realms of blurry; as Morbid said.

[ivy'sgrandkid]

see that's the reason why im now trying to shoot in color then convert later instead of doing everything in cam, for me shooting in cam b&w
I know what tonal range and values I'll get on spot and I can correct them there and then, as opposed to color I'm still not a big fan of the idea of convertion is best from color to b&w ( even though it's the right way). And for christ sakes you people need to get over soft focus! I wonder what you would call the Infinity series by Bill Armstrong? Sharp focus and such has its place and I def make much use of it in my architectural photography but I want to try something else and see how far it will go :) so heck next time I may just throw some infinity at you people haha!
oh and thanks ! :D

[Rhynome]

Oh, well then... good luck with that! I suppose eventually you'll get used to how Colour converts to Greyscale. You'll start considering red and brown to be more similar than they already are, for example.

Well, good luck!

[ivy'sgrandkid]

yeah you're right I have to admit it's damn hard, people always say you need to start seeing color in b&w ...easier said than done :(

[Grumbledook]

I agree I prefer the colour one too

keep up the B+W though and post anything you learn, I'm a big fan of great mono shots and something I'd like to work on myself

[Gonk]

yeah you're right I have to admit it's damn hard, people always say you need to start seeing color in b&w ...easier said than done :(

They say you need about 10 shades of gray to make a good b/w picture. So try to keep that in mind also!

[ivy'sgrandkid]

MY digital teacher would always gasp at my photos of buildings when I showed them to her then when I told her I shot b&w in camera instead of converting after uploading I got bitch slapped !

[purplerose]

Those last 2 are both nice, but the color one has a tad more personality.

To echo the advice on B/W. Try to look at things in shades of light to dark instead of color contrast.

[Mr. Mu]

On the discussion about how to see things:
I don't quite agree. Colour contrast can be transformed into any kind of value contrast in conversion.
This was true for analog usage with a set of filters (preferrably more than just the usual three), but even more so with the channel mixer which allows for a simulation of about any filter you need.

check out the example photos on the bottom of this page (it's in german, but you can see the differences... bottom row is with a red and a blue filter)
http://www.schneiderkreuznach.com/tipps/sw_fotografie.htm


Apart from that: Ivy'sGK,
I must say that your eye for people and as a result your photos in general have taken off in a wonderful direction quality-wise. Your playing around (or rule-breaking) with focus seems to me like the last bit of pathfinding before you're pulling it all together. I am really looking forward to that!

[ivy'sgrandkid]

light to dark got it purple! I'll try to reflect that in the coming pictures!

[ivy'sgrandkid]

I see what you mean mr mui! and thank you soo much! I really hope I can start pulling it all together sometime soon , the last past year has been a year of experimentation an I do see where I've gained some strengths and also where I need to improve. I'm looking forward to the results of all this pathfinding too! hehe

[ivy'sgrandkid]

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/_DSC1763.jpg

what its a portrait!

[ivy'sgrandkid]

Redid some of Rachel's pictures these are the final ones im handing to her, I like how focus and color can create a sureal look to pictures reminds me of what we're doing in photo history now

1
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/rachel9.jpg
2
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/rachel8.jpg
3
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/rachel6.jpg
4
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/rachel5.jpg
5
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/rachel3.jpg
6
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/rachel2.jpg
7
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/rachel.jpg

[purplerose]

Cute kitty. :)

[ivy'sgrandkid]

okay trying a new out of focus method today in the city
1 woman walking
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/ladywalkingfromwork.jpg
2woman walking from work
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/womancomingformwork.jpg
3people walking
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/peoplewalking.jpg
4
cocacola man
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/cocacolatruckman.jpg
5
everyone is going home
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/peoplecominghomefromwork.jpg

[ivy'sgrandkid]

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/leviskiss.jpg

[ukanfoff]

the first one works, im not to sure on the others cause of no main interest. maybe try it in low key portraits...

[nightlightleon]

i really like the soft focus on these.

i think, if these were used in an advert, with strong type, they would draw many an eye.

leon x

[ivy'sgrandkid]

i really like the soft focus on these.

i think, if these were used in an advert, with strong type, they would draw many an eye.

leon x

thanks alot leon :)

[zemotion]

Ahhh from the redone thread I like the first bw one of rachel. Very clear, very beautiful.

[ivy'sgrandkid]

thanks allot Zemo!!!

[ivy'sgrandkid]

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/ivysgrandkid/homelesscountessnapsunderatree-1.jpg

[Valadilene]

I think the soft focus works on the portraits if done in moderation. In the first few I can see that you're doing it on purpose, but there was one of those portraits that just looked like an accidental out of focus shot.

As for the street scenes, I second the notion of not enough central interest for several of the way out of focus ones.

I like your experimentation, its how you find things that work for you.

[Valadilene]

Like the latest one, could be improved by moving the tree off centered maybe.. but since its not your main focus, might put the person too centered.. Id have to see it.. nice work.

[ivy'sgrandkid]

tree stays where it is!:) you're right experimentation does yield fruitful results

[ukanfoff]

was that from todays venturing?

[ivy'sgrandkid]

yeap first time I tried on the lens haha

[BigRedArrow]

Wow. I really liked all the close up focus's on the people's faces. Especially the first one where the eye's are what's the focus. beautiful.

[eazym]

is this you're only thread, Ivy? or you got others running about?

[ivy'sgrandkid]

Eazzzzy!! I have on in macros and still life , one in landscapes and a scrap book