NoelC
D S L R Bliss
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-03
Florida
| Make Your Background Work For You
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.
Canon EOS 20D
285mm 1/15th F5.6 ISO800
Something to say!
Canon EOS 20D
400mm 1/125th F5.6 ISO100
Sometimes dark lines can do the job
Canon EOS 20D
400mm 1/125th F5.6 ISO200
Watching and waiting
Canon EOS 20D
400mm 1/125th F5.6 ISO200
The green sets off the red head
Canon EOS 20D
28mm 1/15th F3.5 ISO400
lights hanging from the ceiling helped this flower shot
-Noel |
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Nezmo
The name's Bond. James Bond.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX
 ·Verizon FIOS
edit:
May 6th, @11:47AM
| 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  . 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? |
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NoelC
D S L R Bliss
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-03
Florida
edit:
May 6th, @12:04PM
| 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 |
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Nezmo
The name's Bond. James Bond.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX | Ah, I was forgetting IS. Thanks. |
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normat
Premium
join:2000-08-02
Boynton Beach, FL
clubs:
| reply to NoelC
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 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  . |
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sheik28
Premium
join:2000-10-15
New York, NY
 ·1and1
 ·Packet8
edit:
May 6th, @12:27PM
| reply to NoelC
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
225mm 1/250th -0.3ev F5.6 ISO100
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There is no such thing as a stupid question, and yes, the camel types.  |
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normat
Premium
join:2000-08-02
Boynton Beach, FL
clubs:
| reply to NoelC
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. |
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jaykaykay
4 Ever Young
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-13
Scottsdale, AZ | reply to NoelC
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. |
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McFly
Premium
join:2001-09-03
Pakenham, On
| reply to NoelC
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 |
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ltec123
join:2001-03-10
Brooklyn, NY
edit:
May 6th, @05:37PM
| reply to NoelC
Panasonic DMC-FZ3
31mm 1/200th F2.8 ISO80
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Panasonic DMC-FZ3
44mm 1/40th F2.8 ISO100
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Panasonic DMC-FZ3
55mm 1/500th -0.6ev F4 ISO100
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NoelC
D S L R Bliss
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-03
Florida
| 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 |
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ChrisJT
Premium
join:2001-12-20
Torrance, CA
clubs: | reply to NoelC
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 |
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
 ·T-Mobile US
·T-Mobile US
 ·AT&T Southeast
| reply to normat
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 .
Wayne
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If you can't fix it with a buttset and some beanies you ain't a technician. |
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Splitpair
Premium
join:2000-07-29
Cow Towne
·T-Mobile US
·T-Mobile US
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to NoelC
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. |
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ltec123
join:2001-03-10
Brooklyn, NY
| reply to NoelC
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 |
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AzzKicker
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Edinburg, TX
clubs:
| reply to NoelC
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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Click here to view my Photo Gallery
BBr Gaming Dictatorship Clans
Morons Anonymous |
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Backspace
Will SCOTUS Let This Fake Be Pres?
Arbitrary Text
join:2001-12-30
Upper U S
·Verizon Online DSL
 ·Comcast
·1and1
| reply to NoelC
Panasonic DMC-FZ10
6mm 1/400th F2.8 ISO100
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Panasonic DMC-FZ10
12.9mm 1/60th F2.8 ISO75
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Panasonic DMC-FZ10
13.8mm 1/125th F4 ISO50
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noe3
Question Everything
Premium
join:2004-10-04
Burnet, TX
| reply to NoelC
Columbine |
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Mauricio
Premium,MVM
join:2001-12-04
Vancouver, BC
| reply to NoelC
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!)
KONICA MAXXUM 7D
200mm 1/250th F11 ISO200
PS: I lucked out this week and got a hotel room with broadband. :D:D |
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WaxPhoto
I AM SAM
Premium
join:2004-04-08
Roanoke, IN
| reply to NoelC
Always liked this one. |
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