Bre Johnson Photography

[BreJPhoto]

Hey everyone, my name is Bre and I run Bre Johnson Photography, I have been doing what I do for around 5 years now.
I believe I am great at what I do.  I would love the feed back from you guys, it’s always great to grow and learn.
http://brejohnsonphotography.com/
And “like” the facebook page at:
Facebook.com/brejphoto

 

[fstopper89]

I like your work. To nitpick a little, some need white balance adjustment. There are some orange/yellow casts on some of the skin and hair. Maybe it’s just me, but that color cast bugs me a lot. It’s not very pronounced though. You do also use a lot of dutch angles, I’m not saying I don’t, but that was one of the things people on here picked my photos apart for. I am working on using it more sporadically and when the composition seems to call for it more. Some of yours I noticed would have looked much better straight. Some do seem to work though, with my new “criteria” I am judging my own photos on… I feel that dutch angles are best used when the subject’s head/eyes are level with the horizontal plane, even if the actual horizon is tilted; or, when vertical lines may work better as diagonal lines while filling the entire frame.

Feel free to crit my work also. http://www.flickr.com/photos/roxanne_elise_photography/

[BreJPhoto]

Thanks for the feedback. And yes, I tend to do the tilt a lot. I try and take a lot of both types of photos, but maybe end up posting more of the tilted ones?
I do really like your use of color, it’s very warm and has a smooth feel to it.
I so wish I could afford a 5D. I make due with what I have which is a Canon t2i, 50mm, and 18-200. However I do rent the 24-70mm and the 16-35mm from time to time for wedding photography.

[Mrs Woo]

I have 5D envy too (want the Mark III because it really is close to my 7D in control layout and what I have read about its sensor suggests I’ll get superior low-light performance and I want to start doing night landscapes).

I agree on the white balance.  I am old-fashioned – I’m not a big fan of the dutch angles?  I sometimes wonder if part of it is a photographer who is still not completely comfortable with their ability to compose an image well and/or keep the horizon…well, horizontal.  Would love to have your input on that (as an old woman, I have done almost nothing with them, so have a sincere curiosity about why people choose them).

Really, though, marketable images.  Don’t worry about the T2i, has pretty much the same sensor in it as my 7D.  Renting lenses until you can afford to buy them is wise.  You might want to try the 70-200 f/2.8 as another lens for wedding photography?  I’ve heard of wedding photogs using that one, too, and I LOVE mine.

[cameraclicker]

Is “These shots only start at $100.” the same as “These shots start at only $100.”?  Just asking.

 

Mrs Woo:  I consider my 5D Mk III to provide about a stop better performance in low light than my T2i.  My page has test photos from both bodies.  With either body and an f/1.4 or f/1.8 lens, hand held photos using ambient light in the city is quite easy as you can get 1/60th to 1/120th at ISO 6400 with either body while noise is acceptable.  If you are shooting landscapes away from the city lights, a better investment would be a good tripod and remote shutter release.  Shoot at low ISO with a long exposure.

[Mrs Woo]

Thank you cameraclicker – I have a tripod (just upgraded actually – what a difference!), remote shutter release, always shoot low ISO with long exposure.   There is one image I am ‘waiting’ to capture – all things need to be in place at the same time:  a frozen lake, sleeping Canadian geese and some good moonlight.  No luck yet.  I had read that the 7D had too much noise vs. the 5DIII, but know I won’t afford a 5DIII for probably at least most of this year (we’ll see after we’re done building the new house).

[cameraclicker]

“a frozen lake, sleeping Canadian geese and some good moonlight.” does not sound like a 7D would be challenged, at least as long as the geese don’t wake up.

[Mrs Woo]

Good to know.  My current ‘problem’ is getting the frozen lake!  Rural Missouri hasn’t been frozen over well enough on the right days since my new tripod came in (right after Christmas).  🙁

 

[Gerbles]

These shots are OK. Definitely some skin tone issues on a lot of the outdoor portraits (green cast), some focus issues on some of them. There were a couple that had blown highlights in the background and on the subject. For example: http://brejohnsonphotography.com/portraits/#jp-carousel-554

Dutch angle shots are to be used with a specific purpose, and preferably with no horizon in the background. http://brejohnsonphotography.com/seniors/#jp-carousel-330

I also noticed about 99% of the portraits are centered, with very little use of the rule of thirds. And a lot of them have way too much head room for no apparent reason.

You do have about 4 shots that I would say are a step above the rest, like this: http://brejohnsonphotography.com/portraits/#jp-carousel-561

Also, on a side note, asking for likes on your page on a forum such as this is a bit umm… forward.

[BreJPhoto]

Yeah, the photo that you pointed out with the green cast is before I had a reflector, so I had some issues here and there, a slightly older photo.
I think I do about half and half tilted and straight on, I’ll definitely pay more attention to it more now.
As far as the likes thing, I personally think it’s a fun way to keep up with people and there work.

[Intuition]

Here’s my thing on tilting. If you must do it, make it seem intentional. This one :

http://brejohnsonphotography.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/mg_4598.jpg?w=352&h=529

just looks like one of your legs is shorter then the other. I have the worst time ever keeping my camera level, so I have to do a lot of tweaking with horizons, and that’s what that image reminds me of. Which is terrible because I love what the tunnel is doing on the ceiling. It’s visually interesting and frames the couple well.

[BreJPhoto]

I have one of them that is a straight on shot as well. I personally like the tilt on this one, but everyone is different with what they like.

 

[fstopper89]

I really do like a lot of the images on your website, I had looked at your FB page first. I like the wedding photo that is the banner on the website. Good color, exposure, and emotion in the photo. And the headshot Gerbles linked is very nice.

The 5D II or III are known for excellent low-light performance. I’ve heard the 7D is decent, but it’s not a full-frame body. I also have a T2i and it’s pretty terrible handling high ISO while the 5DII is great. I don’t regularly do weddings, and so I typically use my 70-200 f/2.8 lens for portraits, but I borrowed a 24-70 2.8 for a recent wedding, it’s necessary to have a wide-angle lens especially for those tight church altar shots.

[cameraclicker]

I agree with Intuition, I don’t see any obvious reason for the “folks in a tunnel” shot to be tilted.

There are spirit levels that go in the hot shoe (which work pretty well when on a tripod) and the 5D Mk III has a digital level that appears in the viewfinder if you press the right button.  Most of the time I level with DPP, ACR or Photoshop because I find it more accurate and less fussy.

[fstopper89]

Even if you don’t get it quite level in shooting, some programs like Lightroom make it super easy to straighten and crop and play with the crop until you get it just right. It also has a nice grid to help line up the horizon. You can also make virtual copies right in the program if you want to save different crops.

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