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GAF Photography Thread of 2016

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mooksoup

Member
Comment redacted cause it's wrong and unprofessional.

Hey yeah thats harsh man. Real people are going to look like real people. Even models look like real people before it all polished up in the processing.
I think it's up to you to adjust and shoot and process in flattering ways for each individual.
So her skin isn't perfect.. most people's isn't. there are ways you can handle it.

You have the colour of her dress and the graffiti, the the city in the distance to play with. Maybe less grey sky, more of that foreground vibrance.
Her expression works and seems genuine. Her body language feels a bit awkward and defensive. Probably nerves from posing, even if you don't particularly get on with her, you are in control and trying a more playful dialogue between the two of you could have been helpful to get her relaxing.


Every once in awhile you will probably get a model you don't click with or care for much. Just do your best to get them a few good shots and then move on to the next shoot. Eventually when you aren't shooting as much to practice/learn you can just send these types of models your rates when they message you to shoot.

Yeah this too, i've definitely had shoots with people who didn't want to be there and were prickly with me. You can try to be playful and help them loosen up, sometimes works, sometimes not. You can only really try to be in control of the situation and try to find something that works.
 
Hey yeah thats harsh man. Real people are going to look like real people. Even models look like real people before it all polished up in the processing.
I think it's up to you to adjust and shoot and process in flattering ways for each individual.
So her skin isn't perfect.. most people's isn't. there are ways you can handle it.

You have the colour of her dress and the graffiti, the the city in the distance to play with. Maybe less grey sky, more of that foreground vibrance.
Her expression works and seems genuine. Her body language feels a bit awkward and defensive. Probably nerves from posing, even if you don't particularly get on with her, you are in control and trying a more playful dialogue between the two of you could have been helpful to get her relaxing.




Yeah this too, i've definitely had shoots with people who didn't want to be there and were prickly with me. You can try to be playful and help them loosen up, sometimes works, sometimes not. You can only really try to be in control of the situation and try to find something that works.
I actually spoke with her a little earlier today. She knew she didn't look great and if you can't see the cuts on her arms and back then I probably did a much better job than I think I did. It was honestly just one of those "long day" rants I think. I don't mind imperfect skin...just don't ask me to retouch that since I'm not getting paid for this. I briefly tried to direct her a little, then she just kind of came off "I'm going to do what I want" sort of and I was just like "fuck it whatever." Part of my problem is I don't talk much during a shoot and I'm probably too much in business mode to be playful...I'm stiff as fuck. Grey skies were due to weather and she told me she wanted the skyline more in the pictures so I pretty much strayed away from close up shots. At the least no limbs got hack off severely so at least I'm improving on that front.
could you build a second kit strictly for business purposes?
My Sigma lenses are my business lenses for the most part. My step up lenses if well I could afford them would be the better Nikkor equivalents or at least weather sealed Tamron stuff.
 

JORMBO

Darkness no more
I actually spoke with her a little earlier today. She knew she didn't look great and if you can't see the cuts on her arms and back then I probably did a much better job than I think I did. It was honestly just one of those "long day" rants I think. I don't mind imperfect skin...just don't ask me to retouch that since I'm not getting paid for this.

Do you have photoshop? The spot healing tool can clean up all the skin imperfections in your shot in under a minute. It's the first thing I do with *every* photo that has a person in it. If you don't clean up skin blemishes you will probably find models wanting to beat you up :p
 
Do you have photoshop? The spot healing tool can clean up all the skin imperfections in your shot in under a minute. It's the first thing I do with *every* photo that has a person in it. If you don't clean up skin blemishes you will probably find models wanting to beat you up :p
Yes. My computer runs like shit though I don't really have both Lightroom and Photoshop open at the same time.
 

mooksoup

Member
I actually spoke with her a little earlier today. She knew she didn't look great and if you can't see the cuts on her arms and back then I probably did a much better job than I think I did. It was honestly just one of those "long day" rants I think. I don't mind imperfect skin...just don't ask me to retouch that since I'm not getting paid for this. I briefly tried to direct her a little, then she just kind of came off "I'm going to do what I want" sort of and I was just like "fuck it whatever." Part of my problem is I don't talk much during a shoot and I'm probably too much in business mode to be playful...I'm stiff as fuck. Grey skies were due to weather and she told me she wanted the skyline more in the pictures so I pretty much strayed away from close up shots. At the least no limbs got hack off severely so at least I'm improving on that front.

Yeah i get that totally.
Trying to talk to the subject and be friendly while at the same time keeping your mind on all the technical stuff and being organised is really difficult.
It feels like a whole different skill, on top of the actual photography, i had to learn and still am trying to get better at.

Had a job where i was doing heaps of headshots for a company, and one of the subjects was straight up aggressive and rude to me for no reason. Tried everything i could think of to get them to relax, which just annoyed them more. Completely shows in the final images, they are just awful. Sometimes you just have no control.
Luckily in that case the organisers were there and saw how it went down, and were apologizing to me afterwards hah.
 

mooksoup

Member
Yes. My computer runs like shit though I don't really have both Lightroom and Photoshop open at the same time.

If you are just using lightroom there is a spot healing tool too.
Also in case you haven't tried using an adjustment brush lowering the clarity on people's skin. There is a built in setting for skin too, though that tends to be a bit over the top and plasticy. Really helpful for me, use it all the time, as my portraits tend to be all overblown contrast, sharpness and clarity to begin with, which is pretty harsh on skin.
 

brerwolfe

Member
Yeah i get that totally.
Trying to talk to the subject and be friendly while at the same time keeping your mind on all the technical stuff and being organised is really difficult.
It feels like a whole different skill, on top of the actual photography, i had to learn and still am trying to get better at..

One thing to try-- have fun. If you're having fun shooting, they're having fun modeling. If everyone's having fun then you can start getting more creative and just trying different things. You stop worrying about the technical side and just go with it.

Then you fix it in post because you didn't realize how over/under exposed everything really was.

But the goal should always be "how can I make this fun for me?" Because if you're having fun, everyone is.
 
Yeah i get that totally.
Trying to talk to the subject and be friendly while at the same time keeping your mind on all the technical stuff and being organised is really difficult.
It feels like a whole different skill, on top of the actual photography, i had to learn and still am trying to get better at.

Had a job where i was doing heaps of headshots for a company, and one of the subjects was straight up aggressive and rude to me for no reason. Tried everything i could think of to get them to relax, which just annoyed them more. Completely shows in the final images, they are just awful. Sometimes you just have no control.
Luckily in that case the organisers were there and saw how it went down, and were apologizing to me afterwards hah.
I would love to get to the point you're at, which is why I do this stuff, just need to get the direction stuff down. I've only had one baad model, I don't think I complained about her on here. I did to my ex but that's about it. Even the models BF knew she was being unruly though. I'm never mean during these things at least. I guess since I had nobody to complain to I was like "fuck it I'll complain on here" didn't go the way I wanted to. At least I learned.
 

mooksoup

Member
One thing to try-- have fun. If you're having fun shooting, they're having fun modeling. If everyone's having fun then you can start getting more creative and just trying different things. You stop worrying about the technical side and just go with it.

Then you fix it in post because you didn't realize how over/under exposed everything really was.

But the goal should always be "how can I make this fun for me?" Because if you're having fun, everyone is.


hahah yep exactly. Plus it's really easy to make people laugh while taking their photo, especially if they are feeling nervous. It can be really playful.
 
If you are just using lightroom there is a spot healing tool too.
Also in case you haven't tried using an adjustment brush lowering the clarity on people's skin. There is a built in setting for skin too, though that tends to be a bit over the top and plasticy. Really helpful for me, use it all the time, as my portraits tend to be all overblown contrast, sharpness and clarity to begin with, which is pretty harsh on skin.
Oh I've used the spot tool I think I just want something...quicker that can remove large portions of acne. I think I just want a "remove shit" button that can just remove things with one click, but that's just not possible.
 

Futureman

Member
Walking around doing photos of my neighborhood and this kid asked me to take his portrait.

EvHLxnWh.jpg


I was going to do Advanced Portrait Photography at this school in my area that I've been taking classes at (I'm 32), but they raised the tuition 62% since last semester (before was around $400 and now ~$615). I think I might just skip it and assign myself a photo project to do... I usually like the classes because they get me shooting, but I need to be more self-motivated I guess.

Peps:
zO2MFJwh.jpg


Tillie:
3lBZwSnh.jpg
 
Walking around doing photos of my neighborhood and this kid asked me to take his portrait.

EvHLxnWh.jpg


I was going to do Advanced Portrait Photography at this school in my area that I've been taking classes at (I'm 32), but they raised the tuition 62% since last semester (before was around $400 and now ~$615). I think I might just skip it and assign myself a photo project to do... I usually like the classes because they get me shooting, but I need to be more self-motivated I guess.

Peps:
zO2MFJwh.jpg


Tillie:
3lBZwSnh.jpg

Beautiful border collie
 

vern

Member
Oh I've used the spot tool I think I just want something...quicker that can remove large portions of acne. I think I just want a "remove shit" button that can just remove things with one click, but that's just not possible.

Download an app called Meitu, it'll make her look perfect lol.

A couple photos from the PGA Championship yesterday:


2016 PGA Championship - Walker tees on 16 by brerwolfe, on Flickr

I like this one the best, cool perspective, blimp getting in there is good too. I guess you had to follow around this same guy all day?



Some shots from XishuangBanna in Southwest China. Lots of people lazying about. Hot as balls here.

Life in the Tropics by Eric, on Flickr

Life in the Tropics by Eric, on Flickr

Tubular by Eric, on Flickr

I'm in Laos now, not sure how long. A few days I guess. Also hot as balls here lol, I'm so sunburnt already. Rented a motorcycle and rode around the forests and villages today, played with a bunch of cute little kids. Not too bad.
 

brerwolfe

Member
I like this one the best, cool perspective, blimp getting in there is good too. I guess you had to follow around this same guy all day?
No, my job last week was to get press conference sound from whoever ended up winning the tournament, but I was bored sitting in the media center and decided to catch up with the leaders. They were in two separate groups, back to back, so I walked with them for the last 6 holes and took photos for fun. The dude pictured ended up winning.

I like that photo, I just wish he were wearing a brighter color so he wouldn't get lost in the tree shadows. It was getting so dark out there, I was nervous they weren't gonna finish.
 

vern

Member
Went to Japan last week, here's a few of the pictures I took:

I like the 3rd one best. I think the 5th and 6th (6th especially) might be a bit oversharpened and saturated for my tastes.

Kimono Girl is nice too, I like girls with cameras. :D
 

Laieon

Member
I like the 3rd one best. I think the 5th and 6th (6th especially) might be a bit oversharpened and saturated for my tastes.

Haha, my girlfriend said the same about 5 and 6. I can't stand the trend of unsaturated pictures though, I absolutely love color. I don't care about things looking unnatural to an extent, I'm not necessarily trying to capture what I see. As far as media goes, I like pretty much anything that has incredibly saturated colors. I definitely agree with them being a bit oversharpened, but I think that's more sharpening them and then sizing them down, I think they look better full sized.
 

vern

Member
Haha, my girlfriend said the same about 5 and 6. I can't stand the trend of unsaturated pictures though, I absolutely love color. I don't care about things looking unnatural to an extent, I'm not necessarily trying to capture what I see. As far as media goes, I like pretty much anything that has incredibly saturated colors. I definitely agree with them being a bit oversharpened, but I think that's more sharpening them and then sizing them down, I think they look better full sized.

Your gf sounds smart 😜
 

Laieon

Member
Your gf sounds smart ��

Different strokes for different folks. I had her mess around with the images in lightroom, the more realistic results she came up with didn't really do anything for me.

I do think I need to go back into lightroom, shrink the images, then mess around with the sharpness though.
 

vern

Member
Different strokes for different folks. I had her mess around with the images in lightroom, the more realistic results she came up with didn't really do anything for me.

I do think I need to go back into lightroom, shrink the images, then mess around with the sharpness though.

Yea for sure. Do your thing. Don't worry about pleasing my tastes lol
 

Groof

Junior Member
I'm on your side Ryuelli. I've always been more toward colour and slightly more saturation. I do agree though that pic 5&6 could do with less sharpening.
Overall my favourite of the bunch is pic 2, something about it that strikes me.
 

Elitist1945

Member
Sorry if this isn't the place for this specific question, but are there any new/updated Action Cams (i.e. GoPro) coming out anytime soon? I want to pick one up but I don't want to get one and then have the newer model come out right after.
 
How does one get model release forms written for them and does it cost money? I'm not going into much detail, but got some work essentially stolen that I can't even use.
 

vern

Member
How does one get model release forms written for them and does it cost money? I'm not going into much detail, but got some work essentially stolen that I can't even use.

There is an app you can download and they can sign the release on your phone. Forgot the name of it though. Or download one from 500px or a few other sites.
 

vern

Member
I'll have to look into this. I'd prefer something physical though.

https://support.500px.com/hc/en-us/articles/204728157-Release-Forms


Print the one you need.

I know you said you won't give details, but what happened?



A few photos from first 2 days in Laos:


Monk by Eric, on Flickr

Ride by Eric, on Flickr

Ping Pong by Eric, on Flickr

TV by Eric, on Flickr

Sandwich Vendor by Eric, on Flickr

Dusk by Eric, on Flickr

Give me a light by Eric, on Flickr

Smiles by Eric, on Flickr
 
I go to the models office to pick up my stuff that was locked in her office. We take a couple of pics that she says would be used as like a small instagram shout out for this company that gave her building free beer. I ask if I can put my copyright on my images before I post a pic or two in Instagram, she tells me to talk to her representation, I call them and get screamed at repeatedly and says that he'll send a cease and desist because the guy wasn't even paying attention to me saying that I haven't posted anything yet, asks if I had the model sign a release form, which know body probably would've cause the thing wasn't even planned at all unless one carries them at all times and just demands that it gets signed before he takes any pictures of anything. I eventually just hang up after he realizes that I didn't even post anything with the model for the campaign cause he said they own all images with her appearing in them. She puts up the pics without even attributing me to them. I think that's the gist of it.
 

brerwolfe

Member
We have a family of Sandhill Cranes next to our house. I've been trying to get some photos of them as the chick grew, and then yesterday the family came up to our front door. It was by far the closest I've been to them, and they didn't seem to mind the photos.


Our Resident Sandhill Cranes by brerwolfe, on Flickr


Our Resident Sandhill Cranes by brerwolfe, on Flickr


Our Resident Sandhill Cranes by brerwolfe, on Flickr


Our Resident Sandhill Cranes by brerwolfe, on Flickr


Our Resident Sandhill Cranes by brerwolfe, on Flickr


Our Resident Sandhill Cranes by brerwolfe, on Flickr
 
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