Make Your Background Work For You in Digital Imaging

Make Your Background Work For You in Digital Imaging http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r13344386 en Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:22:23 EDT Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:22:23 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13366460 Edit This : This may be an extreme example but I liked the fenced in effect.

Excellent thread and information Noel.
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]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13366460 Mon, 09 May 2005 13:26:50 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13366270 NoelC : Your lens flare removal job looks okay from here.

However, if you want a really smooth sky, try this:

1. Duplicate the image as a second layer.

2. Choose the lower layer, and run a Filter - Noise - Median with a large radius (e.g., 50 pixels)

3. Erase through the upper layer where it's blotchy to expose smoother sky underneath. Stay away, generally, from the edges of the leaves.

-Noel]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13366270 Mon, 09 May 2005 12:58:31 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13361854 pog : I was going to put this in the gallery... but I'm not happy with how I got rid of the lens flare.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13361854 Sun, 08 May 2005 20:10:08 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13361164 Mauricio9 : Brand new from today! Although the background was easy to deal with, there is some judicious metering work involved. ;)

Making pigeons

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13361164 Sun, 08 May 2005 18:18:44 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13359672 WaxPhoto : Always liked this one.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13359672 Sun, 08 May 2005 14:10:31 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13359554 Mauricio9 : I started to pay more attention to this issue after you pointed it out in a different thread it some time ago. I am happy to report I have been a good student. Here's one example; I will have more after I'm done processing the 400+ RAW files patiently awaiting on my hard drive (and backed up to the iPod, I'm not about to lose them!)

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PS: I lucked out this week and got a hotel room with broadband. :D:D:D

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13359554 Sun, 08 May 2005 13:54:21 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13359452 noe3 : ??

Columbine

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13359452 Sun, 08 May 2005 13:35:33 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13358603 CtrlAltDel : Here's a few where I tried to focus on the subject and blur the background to make the subject stand out. Crit?

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13358603 Sun, 08 May 2005 11:05:18 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13358354 AzzKicker : Thats the beauty and great challenge of shooting nature. You cant pose your subjects, you cant tell them to move left, or right, or look at you or up and down. You are given a great challenge trying to get the right shots etc. And anything challenging is fun. Except for school work ;)

Good advice noel.
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Morons Anonymous]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13358354 Sun, 08 May 2005 10:14:56 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13348019 ltec123 :

said by NoelC

:

Itec123, I don't mean to sound critical,
-Noel

That's what this is all about..

If no one would criticize, we would never learn..

Thanks, understand your concept better now.

LT]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13348019 Fri, 06 May 2005 19:17:00 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13348000 Splitpair :

said by NoelC

:

Beyond that, I do have very steady hands. Years of target shooting practice help; shooting a camera is not unlike shooting a gun. More than just the hands are involved. Take a deep breath and let it out, feel your heart beat, and squeeze the shutter button.

-Noel

All of that says relax take the shot and be done. Sounds easy doesn’t it? Truth is most folks never get the first part right and subsequently not understanding their error they continue to score low.

Was a time when a photographer would be a stickler on the details as it took too long to reload his camera now it seems too many photographers are going into a spray and pray and photochop the target hit to the bulls-eye era.

Wayne
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If you can't fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13348000 Fri, 06 May 2005 19:14:32 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13347842 Splitpair :

In a shooting contest one time I put all 3 shots through the zero on the 10. At first they thought I missed two of the shots. However, I seem to have a hard time with camera shake :).

I cannot comment exactly why you are having that problem. Generally though camera shake is either a physical problem where you cannot hold the camera still or you are trying too hard to hold it still.

Wayne
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If you can't fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13347842 Fri, 06 May 2005 18:55:42 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13347478 ChrisJT : I like that third photo from the top. Looked like an alligator mouth closing up on the bird.
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You get what you pay for.
Socom2: [BBR] DocT]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13347478 Fri, 06 May 2005 18:02:06 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13347429 NoelC : Itec123, I don't mean to sound critical, but the tree behind the vulture's head is the opposite from what I am suggesting. The dark-on-dark appearance makes one's eyes go elsewhere in the image. In that particular case, it would have been better to move to the right a bit, to offset the bird's dark head against the light background.

-Noel]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13347429 Fri, 06 May 2005 17:55:16 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13347237 ltec123 : Some I did at the zoo.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13347237 Fri, 06 May 2005 17:29:05 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13345947 McFly :

said by NoelC

:

My zooms have IS, that helps a lot. Beyond that, I do have very steady hands. Years of target shooting practice help; shooting a camera is not unlike shooting a gun. More than just the hands are involved. Take a deep breath and let it out, feel your heart beat, and squeeze the shutter button.

-Noel

I was just about to say the same thing. I have been hunting since I was 13. Taking pictures is alot like shooting a gun.
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"We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time." Vince Lombardi]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13345947 Fri, 06 May 2005 14:27:57 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13345674 jaykaykay : Fantastic shots and yes, due to the small things in the background, they show even better. Thanks for the hint. I will try to keep that in mind.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13345674 Fri, 06 May 2005 13:46:36 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13345259 normat : My favorite example of this was a photo posted in someones personal gallery. I wish I could find the photo again. A link to the photographers gallery had been posted here.

It was a photo taken at a wedding in South Africa. There were these two little girls all dressed up for the wedding. One girl was posing for the shot and the other girl was off to the side in the background. The girl in the background was slightly out of focus but you could tell, by the subtle look on her face, she was mad the other girl was stealing the attention. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13345259 Fri, 06 May 2005 12:48:45 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13345088 sheik28 : I had to swing around to avoid some people and a bench on the path. I was just hoping not to scare this guy off.
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]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13345088 Fri, 06 May 2005 12:26:32 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13345067 normat :

said by NoelC

In a shooting contest one time I put all 3 shots through the zero on the 10. At first they thought I missed two of the shots. However, I seem to have a hard time with camera shake :).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13345067 Fri, 06 May 2005 12:24:18 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13344907 Nezmo : Ah, I was forgetting IS. Thanks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13344907 Fri, 06 May 2005 12:03:26 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13344902 NoelC : My zooms have IS, that helps a lot. Beyond that, I do have very steady hands. Years of target shooting practice help; shooting a camera is not unlike shooting a gun. More than just the hands are involved. Take a deep breath and let it out, feel your heart beat, and squeeze the shutter button.

-Noel]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13344902 Fri, 06 May 2005 12:02:37 EDT Re: Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13344684 Nezmo : Terrifc advice Noel. Thanks. I'll scour through my collection when I get home to see if I have any that fall into this category. If I do, it'll be more by mistake than design :D. I look forward to using this suggestion on the next shoot.

Beautiful shots by the way. Can I ask how you manage to get such sharp results at long zooms and relatively low shutter speeds? Do you just have a really good, steady hand?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13344684 Fri, 06 May 2005 11:33:26 EDT Make Your Background Work For You http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13344386 NoelC : One thing I often advise people as they advance in photography, especially as they move up to good large aperture lenses, is to look not only at their subjects - the technicals DO need to be right on the subject - but also what's behind the subject. The Tiger Woods shot posted yesterday nicely illustrated, with Tiger in central focus and all the OOF people with triumphant hands in the air, how the surroundings can set the mood and really make a good image great.

If you're like me, and shoot a lot of handheld images, it's always a good idea to look at the background. Chances are there's something back there that will compliment your subject. So move around until the background adds to your image! It's well worth the effort.

You probably have an idea what the focal point of your image will be - the eye or head of your subject, for example. Position yourself so the background light and/or color helps lead your eye to that point in the photo, and sets off your subject. This can turn a good image into a stunning photograph.

Here are some of my examples. I'd love to see yours as well.

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-Noel

Something to say!
Sometimes dark lines can do the job
Watching and waiting
The green sets off the red head
lights hanging from the ceiling helped this flower shot

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13344386 Fri, 06 May 2005 10:59:30 EDT