The Photographers' Corner 2013-2020

[seraphim]

Haven't shot portraits in a long time, other than candid shots.

 

[aja8888]

Quick photo of daughter's 10 year old male cat..(hey, it's a portrait):

 

[Walt34]

I notice there are a lot of shots of landscapes and objects here, but not too many portraits.

Same as the rest, I won't post them without the subject's approval. And although I have a basic (i.e., cheap) studio light and reflector set it is rare that I can get someone to take the time to pose for a decent portrait. I do get some "happy accidents" from time to time though.

 

[Ronstar]

I notice there are a lot of shots of landscapes and objects here, but not too many portraits. Is that because you guys aren't keen to post portraits in order to help preserve some anonymity here, or because you're not that interested in photographing people?



Just curious.

I'm just a beginner and the only portraits I've taken were of DW as part of a class project. Class instructor critiqued the shots by saying that older subjects require softer lighting. Needless to say, those shots will never appear online.

 

[mathjak107]

photography is a lot like fishing. once you get in to it you need all kinds of specialized equipment and skills for just that segment.

while i consider myself fairly decent as a macro photographer i would never think of shooting a wedding or models.

different skill set ,different gear.

usually what ever segment we gear up for and know is what we tend to do.

 

[Mr. Paul]

I took a class in portrait photography but rather than invest in all the gear, I just tried to apply some of the principles to taking photos with the gear I have. There is a middle ground between regular snapshots and true portrait photography. For me that usually involves using my flash and paying careful attention to composition.

This is just a fill in flash in an outdoor setting. Senior pic for a family friend.



This is a bounce flash in combination with settings that allow for proper exposure of the mountain scene outside the window. This was taken last Christmas .. Brian, my oldest son.

 

[Major Tom]

Interesting to hear the reasons that more people pics aren't posted here - thank you for your comments. I was thinking the main reason would be that we are a bunch of introverts who would rather take pictures of things than people, but was pleasantly surprised to find privacy concerns being quoted as the main reason by many.

Toolman - my understanding regarding model releases is that if you are not planning to profit financially from the publishing of portraits it usually falls under the description of editorial use, which doesn't require a release. I'm open to (and would be interested in) further discussion on this though.

I have a number of people pictures that I have considered posting. I'm pretty sure the subjects wouldn't mind, were they to know, as the pictures were posted on my photo website back when they were first shot, with full knowledge of the subjects, who didn't mind then. No releases were signed as, like most others here, I do it for fun and not profit. The only reason I hold back from posting them is the same reason I haven't posted a picture of myself - I am trying to retain a modicum of anonymity here. The more I think about it though, the more I wonder why. I mean, the worst that could happen is that someone who knows me in real life finds me in these forums, discovers how much I have in my portfolio and what my withdrawal rate is - and how bad could that be? The answer is - not that bad at all, so I am not quite sure what is holding me back.

 

[Nemo2]

so I am not quite sure what is holding me back.

Fear of being hounded by the paparazzi?

 

[FIREd]

Ever since I've read about the Fuji x100s on this thread, I have spent countless hours researching it and now I want one. But I can't justify the expense! I already have 3 decent cameras in good working order, do I really need another one? DW does not seem to think so.

 

[Major Tom]

Fear of being hounded by the paparazzi?

The paparazzi that exist solely in my head perhaps

Ever since I've read about the Fuji x100s on this thread, I have spent countless hours researching it and now I want one. But I can't justify the expense! I already have 3 decent cameras in good working order, do I really need another one? DW does not seem to think so.

+1
The only thing holding me back from getting an X100S is my frugal nature. If my current DSLR every bites the dust, then it (or it's successor) could well be my new camera.
I was about to post a few links to X100S reviews, but you have obviously already done plenty of reading up and don't need anyone to sell you on it!

 

[FIREd]

+1
The only thing holding me back from getting an X100S is my frugal nature. If my current DSLR every bites the dust, then it (or it's successor) could well be my new camera.
I was about to post a few links to X100S reviews, but you have obviously already done plenty of reading up and don't need anyone to sell you on it!

I was thinking it would be a -very- nice replacement for my 5-year old Canon G-10 but the darn thing is still in mint condition...

 

[mathjak107]

Ever since I've read about the Fuji x100s on this thread, I have spent countless hours researching it and now I want one. But I can't justify the expense! I already have 3 decent cameras in good working order, do I really need another one? DW does not seem to think so.

see that is how a normal wife should react , ha ha ha.

mine would go i want one too....

we just have no adult supervision .

we are out shooting together every weekend if we aren't with the grandkids.
]
while we love our regular gear we do see the importance of having a high quality small light walk around camera as well.

 

[Major Tom]

I was thinking it would be a -very- nice replacement for my 5-year old Canon G-10 but the darn thing is still in mint condition...

That's a shame, as it would be a big step up from the G10. Aaah well!

 

[mathjak107]

the fuji x100s at the cradle of aviation museum. all handheld and pretty high iso

 

[mathjak107]

the fuji vists a horse farm

 

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner

Mathjak

Portraiture does not require a lot of special end equipment. An off camera flash and a square of styrofoam covers a lot of ground. A window as a broad, soft source of light. Shooting outside using the sun as a backlight and the shade of a tree as the backdrop...

... Of course, by the time I figured all that out I had expensive studio lights, umbrellas, soft boxes, light stands, boom arms, soft focus filters... Lol.

Even shooting weddings got pared down to a couple of handlebar flash units and stands, with a QB2 battery pack. A good flash, though, which can be used off camera is worth it's weight in gold.

Take Mr Paul's nice examples.

 

[seraphim]

The Photographers' Corner

"Toolman - my understanding regarding model releases is that if you are not planning to profit financially from the publishing of portraits it usually falls under the description of editorial use, which doesn't require a release. I'm open to (and would be interested in) further discussion on this though."

If you plan to publish a recognizable photo of an individual, you require a release - at least their permission. No remuneration for the photo is necessary. Putting it on FB is publication. Posting it on a bulletin board at work, for others to view, is publication. There are exceptions for news services or journalists covering public events, but I'm not current on the legal differences. I think I gave all my legal books to my niece...

A verbal release is fine among friends and family whom you trust...

 

[seraphim]

An iPhone selfie with window light..

 

[TOOLMAN]

The Photographers' Corner

"Toolman - my understanding regarding model releases is that if you are not planning to profit financially from the publishing of portraits it usually falls under the description of editorial use, which doesn't require a release. I'm open to (and would be interested in) further discussion on this though."

If you plan to publish a recognizable photo of an individual, you require a release. No remuneration for the photo is necessary. Putting it on FB is publication. Posting it on a bulletin board at work, for others to view, is publication. There are exceptions for news services covering public events, but I'm not current on the legal differences. I think I gave all my legal books to my niece...

Thanks for the info.

My limited understanding of this subject comes from listening to podcasts like - "The Digital Photo Experience".
I had a few "people photos" published in the local newspapers this year, but after listening to some podcasts talk about the subject I decided the safe course was to stick to posting only photos of things. For me it's just a hobby.

 

[mathjak107]

Mathjak

Portraiture does not require a lot of special end equipment. An off camera flash and a square of styrofoam covers a lot of ground. A window as a broad, soft source of light. Shooting outside using the sun as a backlight and the shade of a tree as the backdrop...

... Of course, by the time I figured all that out I had expensive studio lights, umbrellas, soft boxes, light stands, boom arms, soft focus filters... Lol.

Even shooting weddings got pared down to a couple of handlebar flash units and stands, with a QB2 battery pack. A good flash, though, which can be used off camera is worth it's weight in gold.

Take Mr Paul's nice examples..

if i was a wedding photographer i would never use my gear.

i would not want to deal with the huge files of my d800 with thousands of shots.
i wouldn't be using my macro flash and macro lenses either so you do need lenses more geared to other styles of photography.

i would need lots of different flash brackets and different flashes.

basically nothing i geared up for macro would be any good for portarit or wedding photography.

they really are very different skill sets that are needed more than the equipment issue though.

like anything in life if you try to do everything you end up being not very good at anything.

my buddy is a great wedding photographer, i would never even think of doing what he does ,yet he looks at some of my macro stuff and just shakes his head in amazment at some of it.

 

[mathjak107]

"Toolman - my understanding regarding model releases is that if you are not planning to profit financially from the publishing of portraits it usually falls under the description of editorial use, which doesn't require a release. I'm open to (and would be interested in) further discussion on this though."

If you plan to publish a recognizable photo of an individual, you require a release - at least their permission. No remuneration for the photo is necessary. Putting it on FB is publication. Posting it on a bulletin board at work, for others to view, is publication. There are exceptions for news services or journalists covering public events, but I'm not current on the legal differences. I think I gave all my legal books to my niece...

A verbal release is fine among friends and family whom you trust...

not only can't you use it for profit but most important you can't use it for any other purpose other than what it is representing or to promote a cause.

i couldn't take a photo of you and use it on a poster for save the whales as an example . maybe you are a visting eskimo and live on whales when you go home.

 

[Walt34]

"Toolman - my understanding regarding model releases is that if you are not planning to profit financially from the publishing of portraits it usually falls under the description of editorial use, which doesn't require a release. I'm open to (and would be interested in) further discussion on this though."

This is a very good discussion of copyright issues. It is not a simple subject. The video runs an hour. Search on "Kelby training", "copyright", "Jack Resnicki", "Ed Greenberg" and variations thereof and there are some others too.

Copyright Essentials for Today's Photographer, with Ed Greenberg, Jack Reznicki - YouTube

 

[Mr. Paul]

Great example Seraphim of getting great results with minimum gear.

I'm going to disagree with mathjak107 here and say there is no reason one should not expect good results while trying to "do everything" with a camera given a willingness to learn. When I retired I took a portrait class and a wedding photography class to expand my skill set, in addition to spending a lot of time learning how to use the new (to me) TTL flash with off camera capabilities. Haven't done underwater photography but not much call for that in Colorado

 

[TOOLMAN]

This is a very good discussion of copyright issues. It is not a simple subject. The video runs an hour. Search on "Kelby training", "copyright", "Jack Resnicki", "Ed Greenberg" and variations thereof and there are some others too.

Thanks

 

[mathjak107]

Great example Seraphim of getting great results with minimum gear.

I'm going to disagree with mathjak107 here and say there is no reason one should not expect good results while trying to "do everything" with a camera given a willingness to learn. When I retired I took a portrait class and a wedding photography class to expand my skill set, in addition to spending a lot of time learning how to use the new (to me) TTL flash with off camera capabilities. Haven't done underwater photography but not much call for that in Colorado

the answer is the major part of learning is doing. i know when we go out to shoot on weekends we are not going to shoot weddings or portraits. we shoot either street photography or macro work.

hense that is where our good skills develop and what we know.

sure i can learn other aspects but it isn't something we do regularly or even have an interest in doing.

unless you actually spend quite a bit of time actually doing that segment the odds of being really good at it are not to great.