B&W Portrait

This is an older image that I previously had passed over because there were a few things wrong with it, but thought I’d give it a go and try to make it work.

In the straight image the girl’s skin was a bit blotchy around the arm and forehead, for some reason. So I softened the image in an effort to hide that.

Whenever you make a close up like this, little details are enhanced, including disadvantageous ones. Here the chin area had some of the girl’s hair showing and looking too close to (or possibly reminding the viewer of) a beard. So I tried to clone that out — still needs work though, unfortunately.

Lighting was my usual one light with reflector setup.

Tech info:

Fuji S2, 50mm lens set to f8, 1/90th sec. sync speed, 100 ISO, B/W JPG mode.

This month I thought I’d show a collage of a sister and brother with their parents, taken during what seemed to be a moody moment for them (toward the end of the shoot). This session was held at a beach here in South Florida.

Tech info:

Hand held Fuji S2, 50mm f1.4 set to f4.0 and f4.5 at 1/350th and 1/1000th sec., ISO100, B/W mode, JPG. This happened to be one of those days when the light at the beach just feels too contrasty, so the primary aim was to shoot with the sun behind the subjects, and try to avoid blowing out the highlights if possible.

–Eddie.

Tech Info:

Hand held Nikon D3 camera, 85mm 1.4 lens set to f3.5 at 1/500th sec., 1600 ISO, in B/W JPG mode.

The portrait was made during midday, but since the kids were placed underneath a doorway that had an awning over it, we had some good open shade to work with. Indirect lighting makes contrast control a bit easier while shooting digital.
The catchlights in the eyes came from light toned, sunlit objects and walkway located in front of the kids.
I was sure to place my camera at about belly button level to them so that they would take on a little extra presence, as opposed to shooting at eye level or above eye level.
The image was softened a bit in photoshop.

Ü

–Eddie.

Although I made this one a while ago, I had never displayed it… I don’t think.

During a session of two children, I began photographing just the baby of the pair, and while I did that the older brother proceeded to slip into what apparently was one of his favorite hiding places. When I spotted him, I tried quickly to set up and capture the scene. Harsh direct sunlight was coming in through a nearby window and I tried to work with it, but it is a bit more contrasty than I prefer.
Tech info:

Handheld FujiS2, 50mm f1.8, set to f1.8 at 1/90th sec., ISO 800, B/W Mode, Fine JPG. I had to compromise the exposure since the boy inside of the credenza needed a much different exposure than the detailed work on the outside of the furniture.

Ü

–Eddie.

Tech info:

Handheld Nikon D3, 80-200mm 2.8 Nikkor zoom, set to 200mm at f2.8, 1/2000th sec., ISO 3200, aperture priority.  B/W JPG mode.  I shot on aperture priority because the lighting was rather even, so I was reasonably confident that the light scenario would not fool the camera’s meter.  Since I was shooting action scenes with the lens at 200mm, I chose a high ISO.  This gave me high shutter speeds that helped minimize camera shake.
–Eddie.

On a recent trip up to Vermont, I got the chance to photograph my nephew for his senior picture. My aim with this particular take was to use the lines of the building’s wood siding to create some interest. The shallow depth of field helps blur the details in back so that the lines don’t become too distracting. As with most of my images, I made sure the sun was located behind him, even though it was not illuminating him directly. This prevents the indirect lighting from going flat, which can often happen if you shoot in open shade with the sun located somewhere in front of the subject.

Tech Info:

Handheld Nikon D3, 85mm f1.4 lens set to f2.8, shutter speed 1/640th, ISO 400, on B/W mode.

–Eddie.

Tech Info:

Handheld Nikon D3, 85mm f1.4 lens. B/W JPG mode. Sun behind subjects, as usual. Meter reading taken off the kids’ faces, then fine tuned after looking at the histogram.

–Eddie.

Tech Info:

Nikon D200, 85mm lens, set to f2.8, at 1/1250th sec., ISO 400, B/W mode, normal parameters.  As the girls were running away, I made sure to focus on the one closest to me so that whatever depth of field I did have working for me would extend toward the girl furthest from me.  Lighting consisted of morning light coming in from the right of the girls, but which was partially broken up and diffused due to surrounding trees and a building on the right.

Ü

–Eddie.

I wanted to get some images of this friend before she headed off to college and the rest of her life. I had taken grab shots of her as she was growing up, but had never taken the time to have a dedicated session. Interestingly, being a bit of a rebel, she has since changed her hair color. Does that mean another session? Ü

Tech Info:

Handheld Nikon D200, 85mm f1.4 lens, set to f2.0, at 1/400th sec., ISO 800, B/W mode, normal parameters. For this series of images, I positioned her in front of a large sliding glass door that had indirect daylight coming in. I had to watch out for the light coming too much from below (from a bright patio floor outdoors), so in most of the shots I had her leaning forward to lessen the upward angle of the light, in turn avoiding upward shadows. A large piece of foamboard was waved just in front of her to get the little blast of wind that sent her hair flying. Ü

–Eddie.

Tech info:

Handheld Nikon D200, 85mm f1.4 lens set to f1.8 at 1/640th sec., 1600 ISO, B/W mode, normal parameters. This image started out a little dark when I opened it up in Photoshop, and of course got a little noisier when lightened, but I don’t mind the effect in the end. Indirect daylight coming through a window to the right, which meant I had to make sure I was getting a catchlight in the eye furthest from the window.

–Eddie.

Sneaking in another family related image. This one here is a silhouette of my niece and nephew relating to each other during a cozy family get together one recent afternoon up north. I wanted this image look a little abstract by shooting in close so that the outlines of the faces might be emphasized. They were unaware of the camera focused on them, which made it fun for me to hunt and wait for the right moments.

Tech info: Handheld Nikon D200, 60mm f2.8, set to f4 at 1/125th sec., ISO 800, B/W mode, aperture priority. Usually during a paid shoot, I use manual exposure mode and keep exposure/settings relatively constant by staying on the same side of the subject and shooting freely until the light changes. In this way I don’t need to take constant new readings. However, during loose occasions, where I don’t want to move around so much (to stay on the same side of the subject), I will use aperture priority and let the camera dictate the shutter speed as I point in different directions. Although I had a hunch the camera would expose predominantly for the window light in the background and not the skin tones, I thought maybe it was time for a silhouette experiment anyway. Ü

This month’s image is a grab shot of my niece up north. It was a joy shopping for a tree with her, her boyfriend, and her dad. Even the cold was fun. haha.

Tech Info:

Handheld (brrr) Nikon D200, 28-70mm f2.8 lens, set to 65mm, and shot at f2.8, 1/200th sec., ISO 1600, B/W mode, normal parameters.  Somewhat dim overcast winter afternoon lighting.

Ü

–Eddie.