Perplexed.

[xerubus]

Okay... I'm trying my hand at people photography to take my hobby to that next level

Here's a shot of my youngest son... the expression on his face was absolutely perfect. I would love to hear some thoughts.

http://www.nikonaustralia.com/gallery/People/bailey_perplexed

cheers

[ajo43]

Fantastic portrait. You must be very happy with this one. I really can't fault it. I think it really captures the personality.

What was your backdrop, do you have a studio?

[bago100]

Not perplexed Xerubus

He's just read your D70 user manual

Excellent picture in my opinion
Absolutely a keeper and even worth printing and framing

Thanks for sharing your work

Well done!

Cheers

Graham

[xerubus]

Thankyou ajo43... yeh.. i am pretty stoked with how it turned out.

I don't have a studio... but maybe one day when I'm old enough to retire

the backdrop is actually fake... my son was standing near a white wall when i was using him as a model. I didn't have anything good enough for a backdrop so cheated and put it in with a combination of photoshop and the gimp.

I'm going to go and buy some backdrop material this weekend.

[xerubus]

thanks bago... much appreciated.

I wouldn't mind printing this one... have printed any before but this might be worth it.

cheers

[phillipb]

Why bother, nothing wrong with the background you got for nothing.

[xerubus]

I try to do as little PP as possible.. not a big fan of changing an original image from something it isn't... In this case, the white wall didn't do expression justice.

[Onyx]

Nice background - if you hadn't told us, I would have hardly guessed it was photochopped in!

[Vicareyus]

That's a really nice portrait Xerebus.
Also like the way you have done BMX bandit...keeping your son in colour but monochrome for background. Tell me, how did you slecet out your son to create separate layer of background and foreground - did you freehand trace around him...I just can't master that finely enough to do anything useful. Some tips please??

Vic

[Glen]

The perplexed portrait is perfect, captures the moment well. Like Vic I also like your other shots especially comfort and emotion.

[Greg B]

xerebus, excellent shot, very nice BW conversion too.

However (sorry, I have an however) I am not sure about the "neat and in the middle" composition. It does reinforce that he is just a little fella, and that works well with his perplexion (is that a word?)

But I wouldn't mind seeing it cropped right down to near his hand on the top of his head.

Small suggestion for an excellent photo

cheers

[Matt. K]

I agree with Greg B. Just a little too much empty space above his head.....Although it is entirely a personal opinion, you might like to try a few crops and see if it improves the image in your eyes. It's a taste thing. But the subject was beautifully captured.
On onother subject....have you considered creating a collection of digital backgrounds?

[xerubus]

Thankyou Vic, Glen, and Greg for the comments.

Vic.. I'll write a quick little howto and put it in the tips section.

Greg.. you know me... and I'm a thirds guy all the way... but I thought i'd give this 'neat' thing a try.... I'll give the shot a bit of a crop and see if I like the results.

cheers

[xerubus]

have you considered creating a collection of digital backgrounds?

i'd rather not get into the habit of 'faking' the background... would rather get all traditional and try to do very little PP.

[Matt. K]

Vicareyus
The secret to accurate selection is to learn how to use the pen tool. Enlarge your image to 100% or larger and click around it with the pen tool. I'll post more tips on the use of this tool at a later stage. When the subject is selected go to Windows/paths and save the path. No need to rename it. At the bottom of the path pallet is a dotted circle. Click it and the path becomes a selection. You can always recall the saved path and you can always modify it. A very powerful tool.
By holding the Control key you can adjust any node. You can drag a node to create curves...(after which you need to Alt/click to let the tool know you have completed the curve).
Practice with some simple shapes first.
If when using the pen tool it begins to fill with colour then click the 4th icon on left top of the toolbar to put the tool into the correct mode.
With the image enlarged to over 100% you don't need to be very accurate in order to get a precise selection.

Feel free to ask any questions if you get into trouble with this.

[Greg B]

Matt, are you using a mouse or a graphics tablet?

[birddog114]

Matt, are you using a mouse or a graphics tablet?

Greg,
I think Matt has a cat, not mouse and he uses a pencil not graphic tablet

[gstark]

Birddog,

Matt, are you using a mouse or a graphics tablet?

Greg,
I think Matt has a cat, not mouse and he uses a pencil not graphic tablet

Correct.

And when he remembers, he takes his tablets a half hour before mealtimes. And we can tell when he's forgotten to take them too.

[Greg B]

You guys....

[gstark]

You guys....

Hey!

You're in Melbourne. We're being nice to our disadvantaged members in this thread.

Consider yourself lucky.

[Matt. K]

I have taken my tablets. They work fine. They work fine. Just fine.
I use an optical mouse. It is all I need and is very accurate. I would never, never, never use a ball mouse.

3 things when using the pen tool...magnify the image to 100 or 200%. Press the space bar to move around the image. (Wait until the curser turns into a little hand). Press the spacebar and Alt or Control to zoom in and zoom out. With a bit of practice it becomes a relaxing pastime. Which reminds me. I am just fine.
Now get clicking.

[Vicareyus]

Thanks Matt for the helpful tips.

Have just sourced a full version of Photoshop CS (Was using PS Elements)...so look forward to the confusion that awaits when I load it tonight.

But your advice will prove helpful. Now...which are the tablets you recommend I take to assist?

Vic

[Onyx]

No-doze with extra caffeine. Used with a graphics tablet or precision optical mouse, it makes for fun fun fun with your images!!