Quality

[christine_hines]

<p>Ive been doing photography around my small area mostly for family and friends. Ok straight to the point I feel my photos dont have the that eye popping color and richness like I feel i see in other photos. People say they like my work. but dont i so i feel like i should have a jury of my peers to let me know the real deal .<br>

Like the pic i did of my child the color and quality, I feel it's just flat. of course the child is beautiful, but is the photo. What could I have done to make this Great. im saying for photo sake, I just feel its missing something. Is it? <br>

I hear the arguments of professionals saying picture takers feeling the can become a prof. photographer just because they have a camera. but I truly do love it, I've been making pictures for years and each time I do a job I work at it to present it at its best. I difinitely dont pust it like I probably could, I think I just get nervous about my work.<br>

anyway, whata ya say...............</p>

<i>[Moderator note update 4/25/09: Per Christine, she's using Canon Rebel XTi and 28-135 lens with 480 Speedlite.]</i>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>To be clear, are you referring to photos already in your photo.net portfolio, or are there other photos about which you have questions? If other photos then we'd need to see one or two examples.</p>

<p>It will also help us to help you if you can provide some technical information. Are you using film or digital? Doing your own editing or using a lab? Looking at your portfolio I'm not seeing any indication of the materials you use, so it's difficult to offer specific technical advice.</p>

[williammurrayphotography]

<p>Hi Christine, first let me complement the work that you have been doing, your portraiture is fantastic and clearly you have a real eye for it.<br>

In regards to your question, Lex is bang on the money, it is a little difficult to advise you given that you have provided no technical details, having said this I will do my best.<br>

If you are shooting film, load a film that is designed to give punchy colours such as Fujichrome Velvia (although you would probably find this film a little on the colourful side for your subject matter), or more appropriately Fujichrome Provia F or in terms of a high quality colour negative film you could try Kodak Ultra Color.<br>

If you are shooting digital, there should be a setting on your camera that allows you to turn up the colour in the image, the manual for your camera will best tell you what to do.<br>

I hope that I have helped at least a little.</p>

[stsva]

<p>You have some great images in your Photo.net portfolio. If you do want to get a little more "pop" in your images, one of the quickest/easiest ways is to apply an S-curve adjustment. If done carefully this is more subtle than just upping the color saturation, and I think it's more effective.</p>

[luis_g]

<p> Christine, your portraits are very good. You've got the hardest part down, the human engineering. People relate to you, and they obviously feel comfortable enough around you to open up and be at ease.</p>

<p>I notice you have some light management problems in contrasty situations. That can be dealt with with (outdoors) in various ways: Learning how to locate better light, time of day, Reflectors, Flash or all three.</p>

<p>Let us know what you're using, and also how you process pictures.</p>

<p> </p>

[cathy_and_david_bock]

<p>Christine. I'd say you definitely have potential. I think what you need to work on most is your composition and post processing. If you do not already have Lightroom, I suggest purchasing it and using it to edit your photos. If you want some good inspiration check out my good friend Parris Whittingham. He's an amazing photographer in NYC. I would also suggest listening to every single episode on The B School Blog (www.thebschool.com/blog) as it will be very helpful. :)</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>I looked at your portfolio, and I know there's one thing you can do that will unify all of those photos, and keep you on the lookout for improvement in the future: white balance.</p>

<p>By "white balance" I mean the apparent color of white light, by temperature, in degrees Kelvin. I want you to copy your existing photos, run those copies through any postprocess application that lets you adjust white balance. I want you to get the white balance set to between 5000K and 5500K. Sunshine is 5000K most of the time; candles are 3200K; use sunshine to calibrate and unify the appearance of most of your photos; get the white light used to make the photo look like sunshine. Read up on "warming" and "cooling" light; that's what you need to bring this together. This will level out the appearance of the light in the photos; it will help to unify them.</p>

<p>Next, I want you to go back and raise the "black point" in those photos; slightly. "Black point" is where the blackest black will begin in your images; raising it slightly will increase the contrast some. This will help to take down some of the "gray" look to the halftone areas. You might want to adjust some of the other factors, to bring the images together in a way you like.</p>

<p><strong>Centerlining: The Most Effective Software Processing Technique</strong><br /> Finally, when you postprocess, I want you to consider this method: centerlining. I do this, and it helps me a great deal. When you run an application there can be all kinds of software adjuster sliders or boxes or whatever. It doesn't matter what program it is, they will all have their presets. Look at the photo with the manufacturer's preset. Then, go through and centerline the adjustments, one by one, so that it is at 50% power. As you make a change, you will see the impact that it has on the photograph. Sometimes I will notice that an individual adjustment I make in postprocess is too strong or too weak at 50%, so I might use 25% or 75% for that one. Click on down through the possible default adjustments until you come to the end. Does the photo look better? A lot of times it will.</p>

<p>It does not matter what software application it is, who wrote it, or what it does. Photoshop CSQRTVY 10,000 or Freeware PhotoEditing Special. There will be adjustments in there, use centerlining to figure out the desired impact of those adjustments on your image, and things will go much, much more smoothly. I can edit 250 photos for postprocess very, very swiftly using this method. It will get me to within 80% of what I want, every time. Usually the only other refinement I do will be cropping; the software editing programs are way more sensitive and powerful than are often needed. In that last 20%, there can be a lot of refining, but finding what needs to be refined or edited is the trick, and centerlining is a technique that can help identify what's what.</p>

<p>So, you see, regardless of what software editing program you have, I recommend centerlining. By applying adjustments in 50% or 25% increments, it can be easier to "box in" the effect that will create the influence on your photo that you want.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>I would like to re-emphasize one point that I mentioned in passing: copy before editing. Always preserve a copy of the original, and a copy of whatever you had before the editing session began. That way, you can conserve your work. It helps you to start over easily if you mess up or want a different variation.</p>

<p>To get centerlining effects applied to a group of photos fast, sometimes you will find that an application will let you save certain custom presets. I do this; I'll have some named, for example, "Centerline" or "Centerline 25;" you get the idea. That's how I can go through 250 images quickly.</p>

<p>Centerlining works with any digital editing program because it is containing the photographer's interaction with the editing program's capabilities. 50% or 100%, or 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%. Centerlining.</p>

[christine_hines]

<p>ok, thanks for the replys! and now i'll try post my childs pic , again. I'm using the digital canon rebel xti , the 28-135 is lens and cs2 for post work. . plus check out my portfolio and feel free to critque. I'm looking for a new lens not knowing which one should be the next to purchase. </p><div></div>

[pete_harlan1]

<blockquote>

<p>People say they like my work. but dont i so i feel like i should have a jury of my peers to let me know the real deal .</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Agreed. Your peers are a great way to judge your work. Friends and relatives rarely will be critical out of kindness or just an inability to analyze a image technically or aesthetically.<br>

I will also compliment you on your basic composition. I looked at the 16 photos you have, they are all pretty good compositionally and your subjects are relaxed. Good job there.<br>

I will comment on your last photo you included in your post.<br>

I feel you used too wide a aperture in this photo. The young lady's eyes are in focus, but her sweater, ears etc begin to lose focus. This is a simple depth of field error. The background is a bit distracting and there is too much head room...crop it. The image could definetly benefit from some post procesing, levels and curves, a little more saturation</p>

<p>Punch or pop to photos:<br>

These terms seem to have different definitions depending who you ask. I think I know what you are after though.<br>

First; I feel ANY digital image can benefit from some post processing. Contrast and color can be enhanced in two places.<br>

1) Post processing<br>

2) Lighting<br>

Outdoor portraiture is a challenge w/o some means to modify the light. (True only if you wish to attain great results) As already mentioned, reflectors are often necessary. When asked to do outdoor portraiture, I am usually not thrilled with the prospect as I know I will be carrying an arsenal of equip to the shoot. Reflectors, diffusers, strobes, blockers etc..etc...<br>

I'll take the peace and control of my studio every time over shooting outside.</p>

<p>Lenses: If your forte' is portraits, I highly suggest primes in the 90 to 135mm range. This range really depends on your shooting style. Many will even use 200mm and beyond for a certain look. The 135 remains a favorite portrait lens for many pros. Again, if you are serious about portrait shooting, in my opinion I would steer clear of zooms if possible.</p>

<p>all the best,</p>

<p>Pete</p>

<p> </p>