Salsa dancing - help requested - DPChallenge Forums

01/25/2006 11:55:20 AM · #1

I shot these photos outside on Sunday... got a few dirty looks :( .. the young woman I was concentrating on came up to me and told me she has no current photos of herself and would I give her some prints... Told her I would be happy to (if they came out) and here are the ones I took of her...... please give me suggestions on how I can makes these better - (especially the one that shows her to the waist, color is off ) I would like for her to have some decent photos - I am going out now to shoot but will look for and acknowledge your responses when I get home - thanks so much

Message edited by author 2006-01-25 11:57:27.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

01/25/2006 01:35:05 PM · #2

Hi again..... I would so appreciate responses... what do you like about them, not like about them? Do you think they will look decent when printed... how would you rate them? I am very new to photography and a real newbie at PS... thank you

mystardream

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

01/25/2006 01:47:06 PM · #3

I like the shot of her to the waist pretty much the best. I dont know much about PS, so cant really give you advice on how to make them better.

NeverLovedElvis

Olympus C-760UZ

01/25/2006 01:51:22 PM · #4

It's all about lighting. Take your eyes out of colour mode for a minute and try to imagine these in b&w. If you do that you'll see that the first and fourth really pop because you've got nice whites and blacks in there. Nice change in shadows and because there' more light, there's just more texture.

You've got a nice camera and for these shots I'd guess that you used a long lense, that would limit what you can do with a flash which would have made the third photo superb. It's just a shame that the subject didn't get in the light more.

Shame really, some great shots there. The only thing I could really say from taking sports photos with a portrait setting and a short lense, just be patient. There's some real potential there and you've almost got some killer shots. Better luck next time and you might get exactly the photo you're looking for.

jbsmithana

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED

01/25/2006 01:53:26 PM · #5

The Dance and Salsa Dancing in the Sun are the two best. I think I might try and clone out the rails in the backgrond so it is just sand and ocean. Maybe the red arm over her head but that may be difficult. As for color they do not look that bad on my screen.

Hope that helps a little.

ignite

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

01/25/2006 01:58:35 PM · #6

What JB said... they look fine to me color wise. You could convert the one you mentioned to black and white if you are really worried about the color.

Next time, don't get in so close... There is no motion or drama in the pictures. They look static. Might wanna zoom out and take a few pictures with a slower shutter speed to blur the clothes etc so it gives a feeling of movement. Nevertheless, very good photos. I like the last one more. Crop the left side a bit.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

01/25/2006 02:20:58 PM · #7

Thank you all so much for your comments and suggestions...... I am working on them now... I will give them to her after I edit some more.. better these than none and I am not a professional or charging... I have learned a lot from this site.

drydoc

Canon EOS-7D

01/25/2006 02:24:29 PM · #8

MacClavey,
For what it is worth here is my two cents:
I know you want the girl's face in the shoot, however, my first choice is Desire. I think the look of concentration (the eyes, the tongue pressed against the teeth) on her partners face along with the hand positions would certainly be flattering to the girl. As far as making it better, I would certainly work on blurring out the arms in back of them. . . or even trying to eliminat them.
my second joice is the dance. To make it better (imho) I would blur more of the background and even try adding some contrasting color. (Don't ask me how to do it though!)
BOL

ignite

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

01/25/2006 02:40:44 PM · #9

I used 'The Dance' and cloned out the rails etc to make it just beach and sand as suggested. Also made one in black and white just to see how it looked.

//www.eurasiatelecom.com/salsa_cloned.jpg
//www.eurasiatelecom.com/salsa_bw.jpg

Edit : Hope you don't mind the crappy editing, I did not have time to tidy it up ;-)

Message edited by author 2006-01-25 14:42:54.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

01/25/2006 02:49:23 PM · #10

Thank you ignite... that's what I am working on but the clone stamp just stops working... get some done and it freezes... and I am not ps savvy.... did you make the B&W - in the greyscale or did you use other?

Message edited by author 2006-01-25 15:02:07.

drydoc

Canon EOS-7D

01/25/2006 02:56:35 PM · #11

One other thought after picking out three that I liked. Did you ever think of putting three shots together in a Triptych. I was thinking of the Woman Dancing, the Desire, and the Dance. I think that would make a neat looking presentation. Just my thought.

01/25/2006 03:01:20 PM · #12

No I didn't drydoc.... but I am thinking it now... I have that tutorial somewhere.. you know since I got my camera 3 months ago I haven't even dusted a darn thing.. and I like it

ignite

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

01/26/2006 01:42:12 AM · #13

I used Channel Mixer to convert it into greyscale, and then played around with the colors untill I liked what I saw. Then used very little dodging and burning to fix a few things.