Girls event criticism

[theroo]

I took some photos for a friend's event over the weekend. I found that while taking 'stationery' objects to be easier, photos of people and groups of people proved to be quite hard. Any recommendations on how to shoot people at events? I realise timing is a key issue, capturing emotions, but what about position/framing/composition. Any hints?

Here are a few I took

1.

2.

3.

4.



Would really appreciate critical criticism!

[theroo]

5.


6.

[ak6110]

For me taking humans is a very diffcult task, as you know human skin have different tones colors with different lightings. For me till now, I am still trying to capture the their faces in a beautiful angle.

So for me I still need more input from you guys out there, help us out....

Try not to cut of the head for photo 3.

[theroo]

i think angles of faces is one thing, but i think taking body parts and angles of bodies is key too. something i struggle with. all too often ive taken pictures that just look as if any one could have taken them, you centre the subject, ask them to smile, and snap, that's it.

guess practice as well as experience make a difference?

[Jesmun18]

First of all, your photos are extremely big. Wanna us to see more detail before commenting?

As i can see, most of the photos is OOF. Example, the first one, the focus point should be on the card, Breakfast At Tiffany's, but you focus on the milk mug at the back.

[waileong]

Where is this place? The white leather armchair the girl is sitting on is beautiful!

For shooting people, it's really a question of planning. Eg. if it's a birthday, you already know you have to shoot the blowing candles, if it's wedding, you know you have to shoot the champagne pouring, etc.

So if you know in advance what you're going to shoot, then it will be easier to be in position. However, if you're just horsing around, well-- use a wide angle lens so it will be easier to crop later.

[Jer]

Originally Posted by theroo i think angles of faces is one thing, but i think taking body parts and angles of bodies is key too. something i struggle with. all too often ive taken pictures that just look as if any one could have taken them, you centre the subject, ask them to smile, and snap, that's it. guess practice as well as experience make a difference?

For a start, my guess is u are using only ambient lighting, which result in slow shutterspeed that causes motion blur. Why don't you try using flash to freeze the subject

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

your 1st set of pics belong to abstract & still life...
2nd set belongs to street and candids...

need me to shift for ya?

[LAZyNPL]

Hi theroo,

1. If you worry flash will alert the subject, then use the highest acceptable ISO to increase your shutter-speed.
2. If your camera has a AF-area selection, then use the centre-spot mode, dun use the auto-area selection; this will minimize wrong focusing point.
3. If your camera's shutter release is slow, you may want to visualise your framing and do a pre-focus before the subject come into your composition.
4. Pay more attention on picture composition:
a) Avoid direct light source, if unavoidable; use your subject to block the source;
b) Try to have clear background (even-shade of color is ok) and avoid clutters of mass (other than subject);
c) Exclude unwanted objects from your composition, make the edges clean when framing;
d) You don't have to include the head of your subject (if its a human) to tell your story; but when u do so, make sure he/she is in good/desirable posture.
5. Be Patience... wait, n wait, n wait, don't just snap your camera.

Cheers

[theroo]

waileong:
it's at One Rochester. Upstairs in the 'library' location is really very nice, not sure if i did it any justice though! :P
thanks for the advice on preparing prior to location, totally understand that. it was my first 'event' and it was a good learning experience as to how to be prepared and what you want to be looking out for. one of the problems with this location was that the room was really quite small so hence, quite hard to shoot 'anonymously' without people consciously knowing you're there.

Jer: one reason i didnt use flash was a) i dont have a separate flash unit and as mentioend later, a bit distracting for the subjects as the location was very small. but i understand what you're saying, dont think that pic of the girl in green is a very good example of the shots i took but i did like the composition if it was not blur...

Delctrlnoalt:
sure you can move them if it's not too much trouble! :P

Lazynpl: thanks for all your good advice. what do you mean by keeping edges clean? do you mean not having subjects littering the frame? sometimes i find that this is beneficial for the shot i guess it really depends.
anyway, thanks!

[grumpy]

Originally Posted by Del_CtrlnoAlt your 1st set of pics belong to abstract & still life... 2nd set belongs to street and candids... need me to shift for ya?

why need to move?
I see a coverage of an event