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Home: Video University Forums: Digital Photography for Videographers:
Engagement Pictures

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DarrenS
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Jul 24, 2007, 4:01 PM

Post #1 of 36 (1927 views)
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Engagement Pictures	Can't Post

Seeing as nobody seems to be sharing their pictures anymore Mad

(hint hint Smile

) I thought I'd post some from my last shoot. Two of the nicest people you'll ever meet right here. He's a flight mechanic for Air Canada; she's a registered nurse. They own this 100 acre horse farm together and are happiest when here together. They also make a killer hamburger and serve cold beers...which is pretty darn cool considering neither of them drink alcohol.

http://darrenscala.com/jmbeardmore.htm

Hope you like'em,
Darren

P.S. If your subject wears stripes even after you specifically told them not to wear stripes just concentrate on the beer, and don't worry about it. Laugh

(This post was edited by DarrenS on Jul 28, 2007, 2:40 AM)

mazzystar
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Jul 24, 2007, 8:55 PM

Post #2 of 36 (1902 views)
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Re: [DarrenS] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Great set Darren.

Teh first pic can very well be sold in a fine art gallery. I love the PS work you did especially the crossprocessing with the fence in the background. Your sepia toning is perfect too.

The 2nd pic however seemed just a tad bit "overcooked". I felt the yellows behind were too screaming.

The last pic - The glowing field is GORGEOUS. But the sun, I feel is just a tad bit overblown.

Then again I'm no pro.

Thanks for posting.

____
blog

Mark Foley
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Jul 25, 2007, 7:44 AM

Post #3 of 36 (1873 views)
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Re: [DarrenS] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

That first shot is awesome Darren....

_________________________
Mark

Shadow
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Jul 25, 2007, 8:49 AM

Post #4 of 36 (1869 views)
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Re: [DarrenS] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Nice, I like the sepia one the best.
I was once told by my photography teacher to have the woman's face more visible - might be an idea for next time to switch the positions around. Nice pic though!

I also like the blue/white one with the horses, it is very cute!

Postal Boy
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Jul 25, 2007, 9:35 AM

Post #5 of 36 (1867 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

You do some blending on the last one, or some extra "flash" from a distance? They are very well lit for having such a strong backlight.

-Postal

DarrenS
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Jul 25, 2007, 1:34 PM

Post #6 of 36 (1844 views)
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Re: [mazzystar] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Jason thanks for the fine compliments and your candid words. Very much appreciated.

Agreed on the yellows and I'll probably agree even more once I see these pics on my NEC at the studio (processed these from home on an uncalibrated POS Viewsonic CRT); I just checked the original image and it's pretty darn yellow from the ultra-low sunlight skimming over the rooftop behind us. I think they're yellow weeds actually. I made it worse by boosting saturation in post. I have saturation turned completely off inside the camera, so I usually boost it a bit later.

I just noticed you can see the rainbow beside John's head in this picture. It appeared after a brief thunder storm passed by. I enhanced it for the last image. It didn't show up on film as well as hoped, but was indeed visible.

And btw you're pro calibre whether you're pro status or not. If the evening Petronas Towers photo isn't a postcard I don't know what is :)

DarrenS
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Jul 25, 2007, 1:44 PM

Post #7 of 36 (1841 views)
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Re: [Mark Foley] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks very much Mark! It's probably my favorite. She gave me a Bob Barker when she saw it. Laugh

She also gave me an unframed unmatted 16x20 on Ultrasmooth order, which is mighty cool.

DarrenS
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Jul 25, 2007, 2:03 PM

Post #8 of 36 (1838 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks Heidi. You're probably right. I was just so happy to finally get a dude subject that was so down for pictures. Usually they're not into it as much as the women but John was enthusiastic. Plus his face is loaded with character. Guess that's why I favored him ~slaps back of hand~ Smile

Shadow
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Jul 25, 2007, 2:07 PM

Post #9 of 36 (1834 views)
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Re: [DarrenS] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

oh no it's good, it's good!!! I just meant as an alternative. The photo is good though and when the couple poses and it looks good take the shot! If they're doing something cute and you reposition them you'll never get that same cute look back when they're trying to recreate it.
Just as an idea if you're setting up people.

As for the yellow pic, I kind of like it for the reason they're farm folk (or seem to be from the photos), the picture had a very "john deere" look to it - thought it went well with the atmosphere.

DarrenS
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Jul 25, 2007, 2:18 PM

Post #10 of 36 (1831 views)
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Re: [Postal Boy] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Good eye Postal, as usual. I figured you'd notice that. It's another HDR image. No flash or reflections were used. Shot hand held from atop a 5-foot composted horse manure pile Laugh

. Other than hdr blending there's surprisingly little post processing on that picture. I burned the field grass and enhanced the rainbow so you can see it better, plus the regular stuff like sharpening and contrast adjustments. There is a wicked electrical storm just out of frame camera left. We lucked-out, actually. Smile

RustyB
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Jul 25, 2007, 2:59 PM

Post #11 of 36 (1823 views)
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Re: [DarrenS] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

....It's another HDR image.....

I spotted that right away, since you posted a previous example and explained it, before I even knew what it was. It really catches your attention...really cool picture. I liked all of them!

I thought the "yellow" in the tractor picture looked neat. If I were to nitpick out of any of them, however, the pose kinda looks uncomfortable, but that couple looks natural doing it I guess. Laugh

Good stuff!

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DarrenS
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Jul 25, 2007, 3:53 PM

Post #12 of 36 (1812 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

you'll never get that same cute look back when they're trying to recreate it

You're so right. Never.

Thanks again Heidi you're too generous. They are indeed 'farm folk', or at least they strive for that one day (still have their day jobs right now but he retires next year...not too shabby for 51). That is a john deere tractor and I just had to incorporate it into a couple pics because he was so darned proud of it. I could be wrong but I'd bet all that fresh paint was applied for the photoshoot. They would never say so of course (way too modest and soft-spoken) but I bet it was all painted in the hopes of getting it in their pictures. Funny story: first day he got the 'bushwacker' (that red thing they tow around to cut field grass) he ran over a Bell Telephone box and took out three hundred phone lines. lol

I love horses. They seem to still like me, too, even after years of not being around any. She said they're usually spooked by strangers with mustaches/beards. But not me. The one on the left (with all the whiskers) has bionic lips and a neck like a rattlesnake. With his stealthy Lou Ferrigno lips he bent the hood on my 85/1.4 lens right in front of my eyes, then I'm pretty sure he laughed about it. Smile

(This post was edited by DarrenS on Jul 25, 2007, 10:08 PM)

DarrenS
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Jul 25, 2007, 4:11 PM

Post #13 of 36 (1806 views)
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Re: [RustyB] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey thanks a lot Rusty. Glad you liked them!

You are dead-on about the pose. She was very uncomfortable. She pulled it off pretty well and it made for a light-hearted shoot the rest of the time, plus I never asked her to get up there anyway Laugh

. I was busy tippy-toeing through their garden trying to find a good spot to shoot from (and not kill all their vegetables at the same time) and she had already jumped up there on her own. Fun people.

szerangue
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Jul 25, 2007, 11:34 PM

Post #14 of 36 (1763 views)
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Re: [DarrenS] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Number 4 was the only one that I did not care much for... the rest were very nice.. I think the rest each stood on thier own merits and were unique. Very nice. I have not pulled my camera out of the bag for about a month since I've been knee deep in video edits. I should take some time out and try to create some of those HDR images. I really like those. Great job, Darren
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Postal Boy
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Jul 26, 2007, 9:10 AM

Post #15 of 36 (1746 views)
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Re: [szerangue] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

I keep trying but have yet to get a good HDR image. They always end up kind of foggy, and I really can't get skin tones to look good. Maybe I'm just using the wrong images :(

They look really nice, though.

=Postal

DarrenS
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Jul 26, 2007, 12:12 PM

Post #16 of 36 (1732 views)
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Re: [szerangue] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks a bunch, Shane. HDR is really fun to play around with. 'Play Around' being the operative phrase here. Takes quite a bit of time but the results can be pretty spectacular. Best to do it with a tripod but if your camera's motor is fast (and you're shooting short glass, and there's enough light) you can do it hand held.

Thanks again. Smile

Shadow
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Jul 26, 2007, 6:54 PM

Post #17 of 36 (1701 views)
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Re: [Postal Boy] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Sorry if this sounds dumb, but what does HDR stand for?

DarrenS
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Jul 26, 2007, 8:45 PM

Post #18 of 36 (1692 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

High Dynamic Range. Basically you're mixing multiple images into one image, each image shot at a different exposure level. I think it shows environmental scenes more like how we see them in real life. Our eyes and brain are so incredible in terms of dynamic range and definition. $10,000 digital cameras and lenses and monitors and printers are just sucky in comparison. But with HDR you can blow right past the barrier that was once imposed by today's image sensor technology (ccd/cmos, etc) and make pictures that are otherwise impossible to make. It's fun.

Wiki's got a pretty good concise explanation of HDR...
click here

edit: tell me if that link doesn't work.

(This post was edited by DarrenS on Jul 26, 2007, 8:57 PM)

DarrenS
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Jul 26, 2007, 8:52 PM

Post #19 of 36 (1683 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Sorry. Just noticed you asked Postal Blush

DarrenS
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Jul 26, 2007, 9:29 PM

Post #20 of 36 (1677 views)
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Re: [Postal Boy] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Postal I just thought of something...any chance you are changing your aperture in between shots or have automatic *anything* turned on? That would give the 'foggy' look because the size of the picture is actually changing, so even if you use a tripod and cable release it's going to look soft or foggy. Must only use shutter speed changes to make HDR work. Aperture changes will change the size of the image, apparently. I've never actually tested it myself. Auto white balance (if shooting jpg) will also screw things up. For best HDR results everything must be under full human control.

edit: I just thought of another thing...maybe you're not doing the last part, tone mapping. If you don't tone map your hdr it will look bad because our monitors can't display hdr pictures.

(This post was edited by DarrenS on Jul 26, 2007, 9:47 PM)

Shadow
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Jul 26, 2007, 9:41 PM

Post #21 of 36 (1670 views)
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Re: [DarrenS] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Ha - I didn't know it had a fancy term, I just looked at the photo and wondered if you took two exposures and them mixed them together. Sly

DarrenS
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Jul 26, 2007, 9:49 PM

Post #22 of 36 (1665 views)
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Re: [Shadow] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yes that's basically all it is, only there's 7 photos involved. Usually 9.

Shadow
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Jul 26, 2007, 9:56 PM

Post #23 of 36 (1659 views)
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Re: [DarrenS] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Neat - I'll have to try that.
Closest thing I have done is shot one without flash - exposing for the outdoors, and then the same shot but exposing for indoors - then blending them together.

Postal Boy
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Jul 26, 2007, 10:01 PM

Post #24 of 36 (1658 views)
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Re: [DarrenS] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yea....when I shoot I set AEB and let the camera over-expose/under-expose based on shutter speed. So the shutter speed is what changes the exposure level.

Part of my problem I think is that I just don't have many "triple-shots" or more to play with...I have read tutorials (and tried them) where blending two images and using layer masks based on luminosity levels can work well, but I haven't been able to get that down as well, either.

You use CS3 to do them, yes? I think I need to do some more experimenting because yours look pretty darn good. Right now I am beefing up my off-camera lighting, though, so HDR will probably take a back seat to that.

-Postal

DarrenS
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Jul 28, 2007, 2:43 AM

Post #25 of 36 (1608 views)
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Re: [Postal Boy] Engagement Pictures [In reply to]	Can't Post

I use Photomatix Pro. You will see what I mean about tone mapping. Before tone mapping the hdr picture looks terrible on a monitor.

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