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.
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–Eddie.
Oh my! This is gorgeous. My favorite of your featured ones so far! Those little flowers really made all the difference….so darling. Beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing this one!
Wow, Eddie, the curls the stop action, wonderful capture…was this planned or they just ran away and you got a hold of the image?
TFS!!!!
Natalie, thank you for your good review. Ü
Tiffany, thanks. I was hoping this image wouldn’t look set up, because it wasn’t… I was chasing them as usual. Holding the flower like that in the right hand must be a family trait. haha.
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–Eddie.
Hi, Eddie. Not sure if you remember me from my old ilp days, but I can always consistently recognize your work. This one popped up on my googlereader and before I knew it was you, I “knew it was you.”
Great work Eddie. You are always ROCKING it timeless.
This is one of my favorites too. That lighting is stunning! I notice that your shutter speed is usually quite high, over 1000 – do you deliberately try to keep it that high, and if so what is your thinking behind it? Thanks for sharing as always, Eddie.
Hi Kristin! Of course I remember the hard working wedding photographer. Ü I like what you said about recognizing my image… thanks!
Hi Alison. I do tend to err on the side of high shutter speeds, especially now that digital will let us shoot at higher ISO without much penalty. When I scout and meter a given location/setting, I set my ISO so that I will not be hovering at a shutter speed that will inhibit the way I work (little time to stop with kids). So, after scouting and pre-metering different areas of a location, if I need 400 ISO over near the shaded bench, but could use 100 ISO near the sun dappled walk way, I will err at 400 ISO, and just let only my shutter speed vary according to exactly where we end up in the location. I tend to leave my aperture set to give me a shallow DOF – that rarely changes – so the shutter speed will be what I vary most during fast paced sessions.
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–Eddie.
Eddie I love this image! Amazing how beautifully you can capture the exuberance and magic of childhood without even showing their faces! The tones are spectacular and the backlighting just makes the image!
Michelle
Thanks, Eddie! That is fascinating food for thought. You’re so great to share all of this with us!
This is one of my favorite featured images thus far! Love everything about it.
WOW! I can *feel* the joy on their faces as they are running away from you! And I can also imagine their giggles!
To me that is the mark of an excellent photograph! Your work is always amazing, but this is also one of my favorites!
I’m a relatively new ILPer. I’m green, but I just have to tell you this is an amazing image! It captures the essence of little girls! The flowers are wonderful, but what I really love (call me weird) is the bottom of the first little one’s foot! This would be huge in my house if I were the parent!!
Eddie, Thanks for taking the time to answer all our questions!!!! That is so enlightening about pre metering everything first, I never done it, I thought I should, but never do bec. I thought it’s so newbie, but I guess, I should!!! I always look forward to your posting bec. I get to learn a lot from it…thank you so much!!!
just so lovely, eddie. the tones are delicious ~ soft and rich ~ and their body language couldn’t be more perfect. i often find that the images without faces are almost archetypal, capturing a moment in childhood. love it.
I love this shot. I also love when others share what settings they used, thanks.
Eddie: I have been reading a lot in the ILP forums about focus.
How are you able to get multiple subjects in focus while using such wide aperatures? I see several of youy photos on this post where the ap is even wider like the one of the two kids. Any insight would be helpful.
I am having trouble just getting the eyes in focus. Thanks!
KIM
Thank you, everyone. Your comments are so thoughtful, and I like finding out what others see in the images I post. Fun and encouraging. Ü
Kim, depth of field is dependent on a couple of important factors: aperture and distance from the subject.
Even though I use a shallow aperture often, if I photograph a scene that is 10 feet away, then even a shallow aperture can extend enough to include the other subjects in focus. It’s when you get closer that you really have to watch your aperture and your precise point of focus.
If you’re doing a head shot, then you’ve got to be sure that your main point of interest (usually the eyes) is sharp, and let other elements go soft if needed. Always focus on the eye closest to you, so that the DOF will extend toward the eye just slightly further away. When the eyes are on two distinct planes of focus (by inches), a shallow aperture will not get them both in focus on closeups.
You always want to be picking your focus points manually, never let the camera choose what to focus on. When composing, place the focus sensor on the point of interest, lock focus, then recompose if needed and shoot. I’ve found that back button focusing is so much better than using the shutter release button to activate and lock focus.
Also, be sure to use a high enough shutter speed to rule out the camera-shake factor. If you use an 85mm lens, try going for at least a 1/250th sec. shutter speed… and higher if you’re chasing the subject, or if there is lots of subject movement.
Nailing focus consistently does take practice.
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–Eddie.
Thanks Eddie for quick response.
I understood everything that you said on DOF!
I changed my camera to BBF today and can already see how it helps and experimenting with focus points. I am very excited.
This is why I love this site soooo much. I have learned more than any classes!
Your photos, website and responses are an inspiration for me not to give up!
Kim
eddie: One more question if you will…
Then when you are focusing on multiple subjects with a wide aperture from a proper distance, where do you want to focus??
Thank you,
Kim
Hi Kim,
If you absolutely need to have all subjects in focus in a group, then it’s best to use a closed down aperture just to be certain. But in a situation where you’re just trying to extend your DOF as much as possible at a wide aperture, you would want to focus on the closest subject, since that is the one that will be most scrutinized for focus by the viewer. And, DOF extends (to put it overly simply) from the point of focus toward the background… it does not really cover any distance (at shallow apertures) coming back toward the camera. This is why you usually want to focus on the subject or object closest to the camera.
Lots of shooting and analyzing your results will in time let you know which apertures can be used for different scenes, with different lenses and distances. By the way, here’s a good DOF calculator: http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html
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–Eddie.
Eddie:
Thanks again!
I love this moment. I thought it was perfect how their tiny feet are caught in that moment of childhood running around. Makes me want to be a tiny girl again and run around the yard with my best friend! Really nice Eddie!
Thanks, Danielle. They do remind us to be childlike again, don’t they?
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–Eddie.
Sigh, just luscious. Luminous tones, smooth and gorgeous. Beautiful moment too.
Classic Eddie Bonfigli at his best ; ).
Hi Je. Thank you for your good review.
My best to you as you move into your new place!
Ü
–Eddie.
Eddie, another question…since you do backlight all the time, do you use grey card? or you just use in camera meter and auto wb?
Frontlighting, yes, get card will be useful, but how about backlight? you know since I joined ILP, I always wait for your post here…I just love the thread on your tech info.
Thanks so much!!!
Eddie –
I normally find your tones beautiful – but this one is just amazing!
I couldn’t NOT comment on this photograph… Seriously the photograph is beautiful — but your tones are absolutely dreamy. I’ve had to stop and stare … over and over… thinking ‘really – this is digital?!’
it’s beautiful.
Hi Tiffany! Please excuse the delay in my response. Using a gray card would not be a bad idea at all, especially in determining a starting exposure when working in a set location where the light will be the same for a while. I find that I need to keep as compact and streamlined as possible, so I don’t use a gray card, since it is another piece of equipment to carry, handle, put away, etc. I have been aiming my lens at a neutral tone in the scene, and using that meter reading as a starting point. I make a test exposure to decide how far off I am from what I was envisioning, and to check the histogram. I readjust the exposure, and make another test shot. It’s usually good then, and I’m off to shoot for awhile in the lighting at the location. Since I stay on the same side of the subject, the light will stay consistent… until the sun goes behind a cloud, etc. This way a reading I take “lasts a long time”. Ü
Annie, thank you so much for your encouraging feedback. Your comment regarding whether it’s really digital is a real boost. Thanks!
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–Eddie.
Hi Eddie,
This is an amazingly beautiful photo that really inspires me to learn all I can about photography and as other have said it definitely takes me back to my childhood!
Did you make any adjustments to it in photoshop?
Thank you, Mhari. This image was adequately exposed, so in Photoshop I just had to add some contrast, and keep the highlights in check by erasing them back in to a certain degree on a duplicate layer.
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–Eddie.
This is absolutely stunning!! Thank you so much for sharing your tech. info. Wow, just gorgeous.
Thank you, Brandi!
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–Eddie.
Wow Eddie! This is a stunning shot and I too thank you for all you tech info and advice. I am sure their parents are very pleased…this is worthy of being printed on a large canvas. Every time I see a new shot of yours it validates my B&W obsession…
Thanks for your encouragement, Lindy. And cheers to our b/w obsession!
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–Eddie.
Wow, I just love the playfullness of this image, and the teensy feet and flowers, and the flowing dresses. These girls will love to have this photo to look at when they are all grown up. I too can hear the cute little giggles of the girls when I look at this picture! I love it!
Do you know what brand of dresses those are? Or where they are from?
Thank you, April. I did not find out what brand the dresses are, but I will try to remember to do that next time I meet with the mom.
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–Eddie.
Eddie: Another beautiful picture with glowing hair! It captures girls’ activity very well. Subra
Thanks for your feedback, Subra. Ü
–Eddie.
Hi Eddie ,
The Photographs you have taken are artsy and beautiful .
your photos paint a thousand words .
Im an amateur photographer . I have a nikon d200 and i bought a Nikkor 85mm 1.4 recently to take some pics of my sons bday .
im unable to get the settings right . only still pictures are focussed .
anything on the move (my son) is kind of blurred .
i have tried single shots , AF, 11 area focus . but still no change
do you have any insight that you could help with ?
Wow! I was sure I had commented on this, but I guess I just meant to. This is my absolute favorite of yours since I have been a member of ILP. It really captures the childhood of a girl so well. The flowers are the perfect touch and the tones in this are perfect.
Hi Abraham! Thanks for your good comments on this image and my work.
Regarding your questions: Is your new 85mm f1.4 lens longer than what you’re used to? If so, it may just be a case of getting either your shutter speed high enough to freeze camera motion (longer lenses require higher speeds to freeze motion, both camera and subject motion), or, a case of nailing precise focus. Longer lenses are more difficult to precisely focus during action since they have limited depth of field at wide apertures like f1.4 or so.
My suggestion would be to shoot for a while at f2.8 or so, and make sure you are getting at least 1/500th sec. for a shutter speed. This will cut down on the two error factors mentioned above. If you’re shooting b/w mode and don’t mind some “grain”, set your ISO to 1600 if you have to in order to get a high shutter speed.
I have noticed that the Nikon 85mm f1.4 is not so great shot absolutely wide open. Best results come when you close it up a little… f1.8, etc. Also, it does not focus as fast as the less expensive Nikon 85mm f1.8… so we have to work with that slowness. Focusing on action will be a bit tougher…. i.e., practice.
Please do report back with any thoughts and results, Abraham!
Heather, thank you! Ü
–Eddie.
Hey I love this picture!
I am just beginning to take profressional pictures myself.
Opening up my new business.
U took some amazing pictures.
Hi tls,
Thanks for your comment, and all the best with your new biz!
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–Eddie.
I love this! beautiful..
Thank you, Jayden!
–Eddie.