Sunflower shoot

divamum · September 20, 2014

Sorry haven't been around too much - my mom's been in hospital and my dad isn't really coping, so it's been pretty crazy, to say the least. Snuck away yesterday for a little head-clearing mission with Mini-D, to a location I've wanted to shoot for YEARS but couldn't never quite time out when the blooms were in. It's quite famous around, here and with good reason - sunflowers as far as the eye can see. Field, after field, after field. We even got pretty light..... It's magnificent :lust

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Reflections By Brian · September 21, 2014

I love these Diva! I was thinking of doing something similar. There is something about #3, however, that doesn't quite hit the mark for me. My eye is drawn to the flower she is holding instead of to her. The bright background makes the face appear slightly underexposed to me, and the tilted horizon doesn't really work for me. Not necessarily wrong, just a personal observation. # 1 and 4 are my favorites in this set. They are very radiant and her smile/personality just jump off the screen. Very nice set!

D3Sshooter · September 21, 2014

Well I hope that your mom gets better soon, you really caught the sunflowers and the sun in all the pictures. Good job !
Yellow reflections are unavoidable on the skin of the model, did you try to remove some (PS + NIK colorcast remove=yellow + PS layer mask voor skin only)
Not that it disturbs or so, I was just wondering how it would look.
Picture four has some minor burn-0ut , but then again it does work in this kind of shots.

Where is that place ? Looks so nice.... must be great with sunset

alaios · September 21, 2014

Hi, very good my only comment is that my taste says that are a bit overexposed all... it might be even my monitor though
Alex

D3Sshooter · September 21, 2014

alaios wrote: »

taste says that are a bit overexposed all... it might be even my monitor though
Alex

They are a bit hot Alex, bu then again I think that it fits the theme of the shoot. Lets face it, on a sunny day out in nature one can spot natural burns of white, light can be very bright .... I think that divamum has tried to create that feel. The best to answer that question is divamum.

alaios · September 21, 2014

hmmm I see your point. #2 for example, my eyes still complain. Anyway I do not want to spend more time on this since my voice was heard.
A

Mitchell · September 21, 2014

Fantastic set. Mini-D is beautiful and that field of flowers is over the top great.

kdog · September 21, 2014

Well this is just cheating, isn't it? Beautiful girl in great light in beautiful scenery? Can't go wrong!

1 and 4 ftw I'd say. 2 and 3 are lovely, but probably could have benefited from a bit of fill and catchlights. #4 is a cracking landscape photo!

divamum · September 21, 2014

Thanks all.

Yeah, 1/4 are the most "portrait-y" keepers for sure, but I'm trying to get out of my headshot comfort-zone and do a bit else, hence why I put the 355mm on and played around with a more lifestyle vibe. Which leads me to....

Brian, thanks for the feedback. The reason that 3 sucks is because, um... it's the wrong photo.

O

Totally didn't mean to post that one (or not that version of that one). I'm a dork, but I"ll claim preoccupation with family matters and an impending recital as my excuses. Although this wasn't as "pretty" a set-up for a portrait, I liked it because it demonstrates the scale of the flowers/location - it goes on FOREVER. (In fact, I wish I'd realised there was another field behind we could have used, which sloped DOWN so I'd have had a nice background behind her and wouldn't have had the horizon issue. Next year.....

Here's another - some of the same issues you mention, but I think possibly a better candidate:

1a

Kdog, I went 100% au naturel with these by choice and design - as much as an exercise to see how I'd handle it as anything (I told you I needed to clear my head!!). 5dII on spot meter with 5pm September sun low enough in the sky to be useable (another hour might have been even better OR it might have gone to full shade given the way the surrounding hills and trees fall). Hardest part was adjusting settings (because I couldn't see the in-camera meter while I was shooting into the light), and focusing (because the 5dII sucks when it gets confused). I was guessing about half my exposures, and given I was shooting straight into the light, I was actually pretty happy I was in the ballpark! Definitely not useable SOOC, but entirely edit-able. I've had to lift face exposure in post in many (I intentionally wanted to use that light as a rim/backlight), but given the gorgeousness of the surroundings and light I'm ok with it on this occasion. If I'd had an assistant, I'd have been ALL OVER a reflector (I considered my white jacket at one point, but didn't want to damage the flowers by hanging it on one in front to provide some fill!!)

Alex, it's interesting you comment on that - it's not the first time recently people have said my exposures look a bit hot. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with this as I'm getting responses from those with calibrated monitors. HOWEVER... the exposures aren't blowing the histogram, they look good on my monitor (bright, but not blown) and - the fact which will make me leave them as-is - they're printing up EXACTLY as they're showing on my screen once I've lifted them just a tiny bit further. So... iIs it just a matter of taste or....?? Definitely getting a bit confused by this, as it's only recently people have started mentiong it.

A few more... Again, trying to shoot outside my usual style a little. Not sure I've nailed it, but having fun experimenting

2a

3a

4a Pirouettes in a sunflower field are harder than they look.... lol

Hackbone · September 21, 2014

Really like the first post # 1& 2. She is quite the cutie. Is she planning anything with music?

kdog · September 21, 2014

I love the exposures in these. Nice and bright but not blown, just the way I like to shoot. I suspect people who complain about the brightness of your photos haven't calibrated the luminance setting of their monitors.

3a is smoking!

divamum · September 22, 2014

Thanks, Hack! She loves to sing/perform and is rather a talented singer-songwriter as well as LOVES doing music theater (no opera or classical in her world apparently lol), but at the moment sees that as hobby rather than career - she wants to be a French major

Kdog, thanks! I'm getting really paranoid about exposures right now - I tend to push them to as-bright-as-possible-without-hot-spots-or-being-blown, but multiple folks (some with calibrated monitors, apparently) say they're seeing them as way too bright. Making me doubt myself (although my prints are typically coming out about right)!!

kdotaylor · September 22, 2014

Diva, these are gorgeous, as usual. #1--to me her left eye looks a bit soft. I love #2, and the brightness doesn't bother me. #4 is absolutely perfect--even with yellow-tinged skin--it's okay because we all know it's from the flowers. #2a somehow looks uneven, in her eyes. #3a is just lovely. Nice job, looks like a really fun place to shoot. The bright sun adds to the bright flowery look for a total sunny effect.

jmphotocraft · September 22, 2014

1 and 4 for me. How about a vignette?

2a, I realize into-the-sun flare shots are all the rage these days but I'm just not hip to that fad. Not my cup of tea. 3a, I wish that flower on the left wasn't there. 4a, I wouldn't get it without the explanation, so I think that tells you something.

StueveShots · September 22, 2014

All of these are beautiful (as is your daughter!), but number 4--wow! Stunning! (For what it's worth: Your shots do not read "hot" on my calibrated monitor at all--bright and light, but not hot.)

divamum · September 22, 2014

Thanks Jack, KD and Stueve

@Jack Already some vignette there (most of my shots have at least a little)

I know it's not to everybody's taste, but I admit that I'm a flare fan - I didn't quite nail it here (there's not enough for it to Make A Statement, but it's too much to ignore and/or tone down in post), but close enough that I'm happy to put them on my wall. Some of these are definitely getting printed!!

Hackbone · September 22, 2014

Diva, do you measure bright areas in photoshop to see if they're blown?

divamum · September 22, 2014

Hackbone wrote: »

Diva, do you measure bright areas in photoshop to see if they're blown?

Yes. I don't mind the occasional specular blowout, but a couple of times in the last month people have said my skintones made people look like they were "glowing". They were bright on the histo, but not blown. It's just weird, after years of never having that be a comment, suddenly several people have said the same thing (which is why I'm taking it seriously

)

Seefutlung · September 22, 2014

kdog wrote: »

well this is just cheating, isn't it? Beautiful girl in great light in beautiful scenery? Can't go wrong! ...

+1

Reflections By Brian · September 23, 2014

I like 1a much better. I also really like 3a a lot. I have done the same thing posting and unintended version of a photo. Luckily, I haven't done it with a client photo... yet. I hope your mom gets better soon.

divamum · September 24, 2014

Thanks, Brian and Seef!

Dooginfif20 · September 24, 2014

I love #1!!!!

r3t1awr3yd · September 24, 2014

Are you in MD? Cus I was just in jarretsville this weekend...

Sunflower shoot

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