Fade 2 Blaque

[beezy40]

I shot this self portrait with my nikon shutter remote triggering my D80 with a
Nikon 50 mm f/1.4D AF lens attached using F/1.8 @ 1/500s using ISO400. Performed my BW conversion in camera, and did some additional post in Nikon Capture NX2, LMR 2.0, and some surgical tweaks in Photoshop using layers. My agenda was to create a image that was dynamic, and dimensional, that takes the eye directly through a maze of textures( Hair, Skin, Blurs, Sharpening ) shades of black/white, directly to the eyes, which I sharpened the most. Thanks for looking.


Nikon D80/ AF Nikkor 70-300mm 1:4-5.6G/ Sigma DG 28-70mm
1:2.8-4/ Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor/ Nikon SB600 Flash
"Truth is the light illuminating my images"


"Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly." - Robert Schuller
"You don't take a photograph, you make it." - Ansel Adams

[beezy40]

Now that I have had some time away from this image, and had a chance to view it with fresh eyes, I'm really not feeling anything from it. I mean, it's so bland without any emotion, what so ever. I must have been intoxicated when I posted this, my apologies for wasting your time.

"Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly." - Robert Schuller
"You don't take a photograph, you make it." - Ansel Adams

[0lBaldy]

Breezy, I think your picture is great and has a lot of potential..
I think the dynamics of your vision were off because of the light background which draws the eyes..
Fresh eyes are a good thing, but for looking for alternative solutions to achieve your vision not abandoning it.. You seem to have a keen sense about what you want to achieve so when you finally get it .. it will be an Eureka moment and because of all the little set backs your feeling of accomplishment will be even greater. So, hang in there and keep Practicing cubed.. just like you are now!

Just an idea for your "Fade 2 Blaque" pic

[beezy40]

I think the dynamics of your vision were off because of the light background which draws the eyes..
Fresh eyes are a good thing, but for looking for alternative solutions to achieve your vision not abandoning it.

OLBaldy, you really are too kind, and I really do appreciate your honesty. I really love this edit, it compliments my title, perfectly. I am so hard on myself, which can be good, and bad, in this case, you were correct, I gave up the ship too quick. I should have had a creative thought process like yours where, you darken the entire image to a certain degree, and have the eyes completely lit. That was a brilliant choice IMHO!!! Thanks for the encouragement because, I'm my only support system here in Mi, and it's refreshing to have creative individuals such as yourself, who care. I am working on my creative balance.

[dmrdm]

I liked your photo. I have a D80 also. When I saw your post, I thought...heck, I should try something like this also. I'm only a hobbiest, but the only thing that I would mention is that there are a few spots that I think are too blurred or soft for mood of the photo. Possibly those were photoshop tweaks...the tip of the nose, and the top edge of it, to my right..the area above the mustash...and maybe that shoulder on my left.

The title is great.

[beezy40]

dmrdm, thanks for your reply. The Nikon D80 settings I chose for this shot actually made
some of my feature, soft. I tried really hard to correct this in PHS CS3, but from your comment, I was a little shy in the effort to correct this. But I still appreciate your thought process on my work.

[amica999]

Beezy, don't be shy and too hard on yourself, after all: we have to start somewhere..and this is a perfect place for it :-)

[beezy40]

Thank you so much amica999 for the sober reminder, I'm just so passionate about anything that I personally put my stamp of approval on. I just want stay above the negativity as much as I can, because the world is way more sophisticated, and since I would like to become a fulltime wedding/ event photographer by 2010, it is a must that I learn from my mistakes now. You are correct about one thing, we do have to start somewhere, maybe I should practice patience as well.

[Verywierd]

There is nothing basically wrong with your picture.

It is mostly the direction and focus of the light, which is both a little too high key and spread out, especially over the right shoulder. This is making the image look soft and directs the eye to your shoulder, thus weakening the portrait. I made a few small changes in lighting to shift the visual focus to your face and left ear (with stud). See what you think.

[beezy40]

Verywierd, I can see your point. What I am learning, very quickly might I add, is that
each image has different dynamics, and those dynamics change depending on what mood you, as the creator/artist are in within the moment. I did not see this dynamic when I was in my creative flow piecing this together, as a matter of fact, I felt weighted down creatively, because I had spent so much time in front of the monitor creating this. Your perspective is really refreshing, and it has added life to my work here. Thanks for renewing my creative spirit, maybe I am too hard on myself. It is so important that I stay as honest as possible about what I present to the world, because the world is unforgiving, and can really be cruel if you produce subpar images. Everyones patience is shot, which I equate to myself producing more dynamic images that provoke thought, and emotion. Thank you for your input. It really means more to me than you'll ever know.

[Qixil]

I like the honesty of the result - but it doesn't say what it's being honest about.

I would be tempted to place a very out of focus significant other (or thing) in the white space. Just to give this more context. This could be baloney.

[bazza64]

Hi Beezy,
When you take a close up portrait of someone (in this case you), the idea is to only have the subjects face as the centre point of focus. In your photo the blury object over your right shoulder and large amount of white in the same area is distracting the viewers attention from the main subject, you.

All I've done is clone out that object and used D&B to create a spotlight effect to bring all the attention back to you. I also did a USM 20,55,0.
I noticed from previous posts that you are learning about depth of field, here's a couple of suggestions that might help you out also. Do a 'Google' search on 'circle of confusion' and 'portraits_ 1:1 lens ratio' and 'portraits_ light ratio's'. You are obviously keen to learn, keep asking the questions and there's plenty of talented people in this forum only to willing to help you out.

Hope this helps,
Barry.

[beezy40]

bazza64, Qixil Thank you both for your critique, and concern. I agree totally with you bazza64, distractions are clear as day within my image here. I shot this totally in the moment, which is no excuse for the choices I made, but my focus was just getting a clear shot of myself. I was not in a controlled enviroment for one, and it was 2am in the morning, second. I was not thinking about setup at the time, but I now know that in the future, I should think in steps, first. Always ask myself the important questions first, before I pull out my DSLR. What is that I wish to convey? How do I go about conveying it? Which tools do I need to get my vision out my head?, and on to some tangible medium for the world to see? Again, the world doesn't have time for excuses, and you shouldn't have to explain your thought processes when you create something for the world to see. Clearly, I didn't think this image totally through. But I really get it now, and I truely appreciate all who critiqued my image. I will look more into the dynamics of what ever I post from now on, in hopes that you will see what I didn't see.


Nikon D80/ AF Nikkor 70-300mm 1:4-5.6G/ Sigma DG 28-70mm
1:2.8-4/ Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor/ Nikon SB600 Flash
"Truth is the light illuminating my images"

"Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly." - Robert Schuller
"You don't take a photograph, you make it." - Ansel Adams