swimming PJ...maybe?

Elaine · November 24, 2009

Not sure if these can actually fit in this category, but they aren't exactly sports either, so...
These are candids from my son's recent swim meet. I had more fun shooting these than trying for the action shots.

1

2

3

4

5

6

lizzard_nyc · November 24, 2009

The entire series is just great--You captured some wonderful interactions and emotions.
1. I realize one of the kids is looking at you and sometimes that's a "no no" for PJ style photography--but I think it still works--both kids look so nervous--with the chewing of the nails and the hand gestures.

2. Love the interaction in #2--wonder what is written on that kids hand.

3. that just made me laugh--guess he needs the quick energy.

Gotta run Elaine--
Really like the entire series. I like it in color too.

Elaine · November 24, 2009

lizzard_nyc wrote:

The entire series is just great--You captured some wonderful interactions and emotions.
1. I realize one of the kids is looking at you and sometimes that's a "no no" for PJ style photography--but I think it still works--both kids look so nervous--with the chewing of the nails and the hand gestures.

2. Love the interaction in #2--wonder what is written on that kids hand.

3. that just made me laugh--guess he needs the quick energy.

Gotta run Elaine--
Really like the entire series. I like it in color too.

Thanks, Liz!!

Most of the swimmers write their event/heat/lane info on their hands/arms so they have it with them at all times. You can see this in #4 and 5 as well.

sara505 · November 24, 2009

I like the last one the best, would like it better in BW. Nice series.

Elaine · November 24, 2009

sara505 wrote:

I like the last one the best, would like it better in BW. Nice series.

Thanks! Maybe something like this?

sara505 · November 24, 2009

Elaine wrote:

Thanks! Maybe something like this?

Better - but I think it could be a little darker to bring out some of the skin tones (I think my monitor is pretty accurate).

Elaine · November 24, 2009

sara505 wrote:

Better - but I think it could be a little darker to bring out some of the skin tones (I think my monitor is pretty accurate).

I'm pretty confident in my monitor, too, so perhaps we just have different taste in B&W? No worries. Thanks for your input! I'm glad I gave it a go.

sara505 · November 24, 2009

Elaine wrote:

I'm pretty confident in my monitor, too, so perhaps we just have different taste in B&W? No worries. Thanks for your input! I'm glad I gave it a go.

Perhaps that's it - but now I'm actually second-guessing my monitor, wondering if it's a bit on the light side.

Elaine · November 24, 2009

sara505 wrote:

Perhaps that's it - but now I'm actually second-guessing my monitor, wondering if it's a bit on the light side.

I tend to like slightly contrasty B&Ws with slightly bright (but not completely blown) skin tones, so...your monitor may be fine.

D

Tina Manley · November 24, 2009

Wonderful! I love them. My 4 kids were all on the swim team for many, many years and I regret so much that I didn't take more photos.

Tina
www.tinamanley.com

Elaine · November 25, 2009

Tina Manley wrote:

Wonderful! I love them. My 4 kids were all on the swim team for many, many years and I regret so much that I didn't take more photos.

Tina
www.tinamanley.com

Wow! That's neat! I have a feeling my son will be on this team for many, many years. Indoor swimming venues are tough to shoot in, I think. This one provided some decent light, but I still had to use ISO 1600. I'm not counting on getting good shots at every meet. Thanks for the kind words!

bdcolen · November 25, 2009

Elaine wrote:

Not sure if these can actually fit in this category, but they aren't exactly sports either, so...
These are candids from my son's recent swim meet. I had more fun shooting these than trying for the action shots.

A nice series, Elaine - 1,2 & 6 particularly standout for the expressions and composition. Nice work!

rutt · November 25, 2009

I have to agree with Sara; you can do a lot better B&W conversion with little effort.

Here is just the green channel taken from the color image:

I think this already a good deal better than your conversion and it's dead simple to get. Go to the channels palette, select the green channel, then Image->Mode->Grayscale and accept the offer to discard the other two channels. Viola!

For a little more work, you can then write a curve and get this:

There's always more you can do, but these two steps take less than a minute and to my eye add greatly to the quality of the result.

Elaine · November 25, 2009

bdcolen wrote:

A nice series, Elaine - 1,2 & 6 particularly standout for the expressions and composition. Nice work!

Thanks, BD!

Elaine · November 25, 2009

rutt wrote:

I have to agree with Sara; you can do a lot better B&W conversion with little effort.

Here is just the green channel taken from the color image:

---

I think this already a good deal better than your conversion and it's dead simple to get. Go to the channels palette, select the green channel, then Image->Mode->Grayscale and accept the offer to discard the other two channels. Viola!

For a little more work, you can then write a curve and get this:

---

There's always more you can do, but these two steps take less than a minute and to my eye add greatly to the quality of the result.

To each his own, eh?

I do like your second version.

I would just prefer it to be a bit brighter.

I try to stay in Lightroom and skip CS3 altogether, especially on a shoot like this one where I edited, posted and shared 125 photos (none of them B&W). I've seen your B&W tutorial and look forward to trying it on a different (perhaps more important?) shot, under different circumstances!

sara505 · November 25, 2009

Ok - I'm at least glad to know it wasn't my monitor. I also played with this a bit last night, just tweaked curves a little, and cropped slightly to bring more attention onto the girls.

I think one point to be made is, sometimes with a little work, a shot that at first seems ordinary, just part of a set, with a little attention can become something "important."

swimming PJ...maybe?

Comments