Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Squeaky Clean




I have to give Larry the credit for helping me receive a Gold award for this image last night.  I loved so many shots I got of this happy little girl but thought this was one that had a sharpness and noise issue and would not print well.  He told me the baby's expression and the moment would override any lack of sharpness in her eyes and  any noise (which often is less noticeable in prints than the computer screen) and he also advised me to make the image black and white and to crop in a little to make the baby the main subject. Those changes improved the image a lot and I think improved my score over what I may have gotten without changes.  I still like it in color too but the black and white has a more timeless quality.  After a couple of years now of shooting digital and printing my own images, I still have so much to learn.  I find it especially difficult to judge my own shots, either I think they aren't good enough or they really appeal to me and not so much to others.  So thanks Larry!

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6 comments:

  1. Larry J. PatrickOctober 14, 2009 at 10:18 AM

    No thanks needed. You set-up the shot and pulled the trigger. When I first saw it, I knew you had a winner in this one. Great job.

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  2. CG TTLOctober 14, 2009 at 12:24 PM

    Cindi,

    I think you (...ya'll) made the right choice with the tighter crop and black and white.

    I don't know what I like best: the composition, the expressions, or the quality of light.

    The story is in the eyes, the kiss, the connection, and the authentically intimate moment. And the composition keeps me circulating around and around that story.

    The contrasting textures between the soft skin and the rough towel (especially in the black and white version) also holds me in the image and evokes my emotional response to the intimacy of bath time for the two of them.

    It's hard to improve on GOLD, but I might have added a very subtle dark edge vignette. But then, the towel in the black and white version already accomplises much the same thing.

    Very nice work. Congratulations.

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  3. CG TTLOctober 14, 2009 at 12:27 PM

    What lens did you use?

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  4. Steve SchuenkeOctober 14, 2009 at 12:31 PM

    Nice work! I could also see a version with some subtle texture and a hint of color from a layer below. Again, hard to pick on a gold. But it might be worth a try.

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  5. AnonymousOctober 14, 2009 at 5:45 PM

    Mother has to be especially happy with that Gold! Very Nice.

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  6. CindiOctober 14, 2009 at 10:49 PM

    Thanks for all the nice comments! Charlie, I shot with my 50mm 1.8 that day, the aperture was 2.8. I really like that lens for the backgrounds and it is easy to use in a close environment. Steve, do you mean reduce the opacity of the black and white layer? I am not sure what "a hint of color from a layer below means"...maybe a desaturated but not fully black and white?

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