Reply To: Fauxtogs who should end up on the main page…

[Bill]

Hello Kim – forgive me here as I was working late and have not had my coffee regiment as of yet.
Not sure, without looking back who presented your work here and yes, sometimes one of us will point out some mistakes that others are making when posting their work online.
Sadly, the internet allows us to view peoples work from distant areas almost 100% anonymously.

Yes, we may poke fun at some that are making horrible mistakes and point out all that is wrong, but in the end, we all make mistakes, it’s how we recover and correct those mistakes that defines us as artists or photographers.

I first saw that blue back ground, I thought it was a tarp that you buy at the local home supply store, it has the same weaving pattern. CC was right, if you had more distance between your subjects and the backdrop and used some DOF to blur the BG, you would have never noticed it. Minor issue, easily resolved.

It would kind of suck to see either your work or someone you know up here and torn apart, but then again where would you rather get that kind of honest criticism? I would rather it be here then from a client. Remember word of mouth advertising can be both the best and worst form of advertising for your business.

CC also pointed out that you constantly have to be aware of your background [BG] and anything that may enter the BG and cause distractions. Look to see where your model is compared to the BG, always make sure that the BG compliments the subject.

For the flash or lighting, on camera flash can be harsh. Typically the only control you have with on camer flash is the intensity. I have the same problem with my smaller camera [7D], the lens is too large and the pop-up flash casts an arc shadow across the lower portion of the frame, so I use a speedlite or off-camera-flash like a strobe. Also if you are stuck with using the pop-up flash, consider buying a diffuser for it to soften the light and reducing the harshness. They are fairly cheap and come in several styles.
I would suggest, unless you already have one, picking up at least 1 or 2 speedlites and remotes. If your not familiar with using lighting this way, you will be amazed at the results you can achieve with them, especially if you use them in combination with a pop-up flash. Look at Youtube, there are several photographers that will show you different ways of setting them up and using them. If you can’t afford the Nikon or Canon speedlites, try the the Yougnuo versions. For being cheap Chinese made versions of the speedlites, I hear they are pretty good, and great for those who are starting out with OCF.

Now I must return to get some coffee and take a nap, got some work to do today……….