On Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 4:44 PM, Christine Aguila <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi Everyone: Anne is a colleague of mine, & I wanted to take some photos of > her, and fortunately she was very enthusiastic, and even said I could come > back again if I wanted a reshoot: I find her lovely, & her eyes very > striking. We met up at her house, & I had about an hour 1/2 to photographer > her on her deck. > > But, something very interesting happened: I actually got so bored--not > because of Anne; she was great and fun; she has a really great sense of > humor--rather, I was so bored with myself photographing her; creatively I > felt dead, and I don't know why--look how lovely she is!!! > > My 1st guess at an explanation is that it was all starting to feel too > staged, and I think I feel I was kind of letting Anne down because of that. > Also, I'm so inexperienced at reading ambient location lighting and how to > best exploit it--& knowing this, I think all of a sudden I became extremely > self-conscious about this, and I think I had a little inner panic. > > Anyway, in 30 minutes I shot 61 frames, and I then said, "Let's quit. I > feel done." And I so shocked myself that I said that. We had a great > girlfriend visit over iced tea afterwards & Anne liked a good many of the > shots. > > I've picked 5 to show you all here. Anne 1, 4, & 5 are my favorites, with 5 > being my number 1 fav. In Anne 4, Anne is holding up a diffuser disk to the > right and out of frame (obviously ;-)). Anne 3 & 2 aren't that great > because of the overwhelming highlights in the background. > > All shot with K10D & the DA* 50-135mm & all hand-held. I'm a little proud > of that latter. I think I'm getting better at wielding that kit around: > K10D, battery grip & DA* 50-135mm. Ironically, the battery grip, though it > adds weight, balances the kit for some better handling. > > > http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=840824 > > Comment/s critique/thoughts very welcome. > >
I like #5 the best, too: it really shows off her beautiful eyes. I think I see what you're saying. They're more-than-competent shots, and she's quite lovely to look at, but there seems to be something missing. It's like she's just a bit stiff, not quite relaxed, she's not really letting go and just enjoying the shoot. Please realize that I can't do this stuff myself; I know I couldn't do better - far from it! Most of my "portraits" (such as they are) are candid, with the subject not even realizing that they're being shot. Obviously, that wasn't an option for you. And, like you, I'd feel very self-conscious shooting in a "semi-formal" way, as you were. I'm sure that Anne picked up on your feelings of ackwardness (slight though they might have been), exacerbating the situation. As I said, the photos themselves are just fine - nothing wrong with them at all (except for some bright backgrounds that distract a bit), there's just nothing to raise them up into that "out of the ordinary" category. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
