Periodically, I'd like to end off the week by critiquing a photo submitted by a past student of The Photographers' Workshop.
I'll be critiquing each photo in the same manner and using the same criteria I use when evaluating photos in my workshops and that includes composition, camera settings, exposure, focus, white balance and lighting.
My evaluations will be written in a manner that my past students can follow (since they've taken the course) but my hope is that all of you will be able to follow along to some degree as well, depending upon your current level of photography knowledge.'
This week's photo is from Carrie Alley, who just happens to be close friends with Rachel Chaney (a past student turned close friend) and as you can see, they share a common thread of being great photographers. The image below is of Carrie's 8 year-old daughter, Lily.
Nikon D700, Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 at f2.8, 1/250th, ISO 250.
Composition: The location, the colors and the total delight and energy on Lily's face are what 'make' this shot for me. I also love the green foliage on either side of her that really adds some nice color and texture and creates a nice framing element in this shot.
The tree directly behind Lily could have created a merger problem with her head, but because you're using such a long focal length (200mm) in this shot, your depth of field was shallow enough to blur that tree to the point that it doesn't create a merger problem at all.
Lily's placement is really great here. She's perfectly centered from right to left and you were able to avoid any border mergers with her hands or her foot, which makes this shot look really strong and intentional.
I wouldn't change anything compositionally.
Camera Settings: Your shutter speed (1/250th) was able to freeze Lily's motion in this shot suprisingly well. That said, 1/250th is kind of an 'in-between' shutter speed for this kind of movement because while it will be fast enough to freeze the movement of your subject in some of your images, it will be too slow to freeze the movement in others, resulting in soft focus.
Because of that and because there was plenty of light here, I'd rather see you use a faster SS (at least 1/320th, but preferably 1/500th) in order to ensure that you could prevent subject movement in a high percentage of your shots.
In order to accomplish that in Full Manual Mode, you'd need to increase your SS to 1/500th (ONE stop faster) and your ISO to 500 (ONE stop higher) in order to maintain this same exposure.
So your final settings would be: f2.8, 1/500th, ISO 500
And your camera handles an ISO of 500 just fine, so you wouldn't run into any problems there.
Exposure: Nice, vibrant, fleshy skin tone. Looks great.
Focus: This is very sharp on her eyes. (I magnfied it at 100% in Lighroom to check.)
White Balance: Due to the surrounding colors and the fact that many Nikons tend to shoot a little yellow/green, Lily's skin tone is pretty yellow/green in this shot. To fix that, you could create a Custom White Balance setting or, since your White Balance was alredy quite close to accurate, you could just adjust it in editing. (In the shot below, I adjusted the Temperature Slider in Lightroom to -9 and the Tint Slider to +16 to add more blue/less yellow and more magenta/less green.)
Lighting: There's not a ton of light in this exact location, but there's enough to illuminate Lily's face and eyes quite well and since she's in an evenly shaded area, the light is nice and even and flattering (without any dappled light.) And I love the warm glow in the background!
As usual, nice shooting Carrie - I'd have been happy if I had captured this one!
And while we're here, I also wanted to mention that registration for the next Photographers' Workshop opens up this coming Tuesday, February 18th at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time.
This workshop runs from March 31st through June 8th, 2014 and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
To register, all you need to do is:
1. Go here at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, February 18th.
2. Fill out the registration and choose a Regular Seat or an Auditing Seat. (Regular Seats are $395 and Auditing Seats are $245 for new students. Auditors can ask questions, post comments, upload photos, complete assignments, read my evaluations written for other students, etc. and have access to everything Regular Students have access to. the ONLY difference between Regular and Auditing students is that I do not provide evaluations on Assignments or Photo Critiques for Auditing Students, though Auditors can opt to sign up for Peer Group Evaluations or for a telephone/Skype consultation with me if they'd like to have their work evaluated. In general, the Auditing option is ideal for anyone who wants to work at their own pace and/or anyone who wants to save a little money.)
3. Complete the checkout process. (You will receive a confirmation email once registration is complete.)
4. Eagerly await March 31st. (I'll be mailing these out the First Week of March.)
If you'd like to read some comments and feedback from past students you can do so here, here and and in the comments section here.
And I'd really like to give away a few Auditing Seats in the workshop, but I'd like to do it a bit differently this time...
This time, I'd like to offer three free seats in class, but only to people that would otherwise not be able to afford the workshop. (So I'd just ask those of you who can afford the workshop to not enter the drawing this time.)
To enter, just leave a comment in the comments section below to enter yourself or someone else in the drawing and I'll list the winners on Monday. (Please be sure to leave an email address along with your comments so I can contact you.)
Hope your weekend is great.
I'd like to enter Aimee Lombardo for raffle.
She's my cousin with a brand new baby, Faye. Aimee and hubby Seth are saving up for DSLR. In the meantime, they have my old Sony. She felt they didn't have any good pictures of Faye during her first 2 weeks home. You'd laugh seeing Aimee scrunch up her face as she described photos that the flash went off! Her goal is better shots not using a flash. Aimee is a newbie and I did my best to get her started shooting in Aperture Priority.
[email protected]. Thanks Karen!
Posted by: Anna from RI | February 14, 2014 at 12:35 PM
Oh my gosh! I long and long to take your class but we never can get the money to do it. I would love to enter for a seat, please. <3
Posted by: Traci B. | February 14, 2014 at 02:08 PM
Thank you so so much for this opportunity! My husband surprised me with a DSLR for Christmas a year ago and I have fallen madly in love with photography. I have studied the manual and free tutorials online but would love to take the next step and take your class. I have been stalking your blog for a few years and your online class has been #1 on my wish list for the past year for my birthday, Christmas, and now Valentine's, but we sadly cannot afford it yet (why does being a grown-up and having children have to be so expensive?). Anyway, crossing my fingers that luck is on my side. Thanks!
Posted by: Hatsuho | February 14, 2014 at 05:10 PM
I am a former auditing student, and although I would love to audit again, I can't right now, but am asking for an auditing seat for next time you hold a class (hopefully their will be a birthday or holiday around the time registration is!) but I am not asking for me, but I am writing to nominate my friend/co-worker. We are both pre-k teachers, so although we love our job, money is tight. Sarah is a great teacher, and such a supportive co-worker, I love working with her every day! She is a very good photographer already (she has such a great eye for composition) but she recently got a second hand DSLR and I know she would enjoy this class and it make her photography even better! I would love for her to be able to take this class!
Thanks for the chance!
Posted by: My | February 14, 2014 at 05:58 PM
I have taken and audited the class and I would like to enter for my friend Elizabeth. She is my photog buddy and I know she would love this and would never spend that much money on herself.
Posted by: Kellie | February 14, 2014 at 06:40 PM
I would love to see my sister Michelle get a chance to take your class. She's a stay at home momma to two babies almost 3 and 1 and I think it would be a great opportunity for her. She hasn't really done something for herself in a while. She's always loved photography and is very good at it. Thank you!! You are the best Karen! <3
Posted by: Shannon L | February 15, 2014 at 10:31 AM
I would like to enter my wonderful daughter-in-law Maranda Ford into this chance of a lifetime class. She loves photography and her dream is to go pro someday. Thanks for this chance Karen!
Posted by: Lynea Ford | February 15, 2014 at 11:08 AM
PS
My email address is [email protected] (for entering Maranda Ford)
Posted by: Lynea Ford | February 15, 2014 at 11:15 AM
I would love to enter my friend Beth. She has watched me learn photography and even been my willing subject for some of your lessons. She has a great compositional eye (makes me jealous!) and a huge desire to learn how to take better photos of her children. I'll let her borrow my D40 for class since she doesn't have a DSLR yet (it's top on her wishlist).
Jackiarchibald at gmail.com
Ps- thanks for doing critiques on your blog. I miss your forum!
Posted by: Jacki | February 15, 2014 at 12:04 PM
I would love for my niece, Lindsey, to win a seat in your class! She is a stay at home mom to 3 kiddos and her husband is a Army veteran--they get by but she would never spend the money on herself for your class. She has a very natural "eye" for photography and is able to frame some of the most interesting shots of her kids, but she knows nothing about the settings on her camera so she just shoots everything in auto mode. I know learning about her camera and how to shoot without a flash would make such a difference in her photos! She could very likely make photography a business once she gets all of her kids grown! Thanks for the opportunity to get her in your class.
My e-mail is [email protected].
Thanks,
Tammy
Posted by: Tammy | February 15, 2014 at 12:22 PM
I'm with Jacki and would love to see our mutual friend Beth win a seat!
Kristi
[email protected]
Posted by: Kristi | February 15, 2014 at 02:19 PM
I long to learn something about photography, but cannot afford to do so right now. Money is tight this year: my husband (who has MS) and I have a son who is finishing his last year in university and then is planning to get married in the summer. I know it is really rude to think of myself but I guess I am selfishly hoping so I can take good wedding photos and save them some money too!
Posted by: justasiam | February 15, 2014 at 02:50 PM
it is a dream of mine to be able to fill an audit seat in one of your workshops. fingers crossed that this is my chance! thank you for your generosity and using your God-given talent to be a blessing to others. xoxo. taniawillis. (taniawillis AT columbus DOT rr DOT com)
Posted by: taniawillis | February 15, 2014 at 09:50 PM
I would love to be able to take your class. We get by, but we are still paying off student loans. We are both educators so we don't make much money! Our oldest son has started taking a college class years earlier than expected so traditional scholarships aren't available to him/us.
Best wishes to all who are interested in this!!
[email protected]
Posted by: christinew | February 15, 2014 at 10:55 PM
Just stopping by to leave my email for my nomination of Sarah and to leave the word "would" for the sentence "it make her photography better " !
Molly v h @ gmail.
Thanks again, for a chance at such an awesome gift!
Posted by: My | February 16, 2014 at 07:59 AM
My sister Angie introduced me to your blog about 7 years ago and we've drooled over your photos ever since. I was able to take the class about a year and a half ago and it was fantastic. Angie's husband is in grad school they've got two little girls and another baby on the way. While she's always wanted to take your class, it's never been able to work out for her. I know she'd love it!
Thanks Karen!
Posted by: Chelle | February 16, 2014 at 04:51 PM
I would love love love to take your class! I've been trying to time it right and find the funds to do it for years. I just got engaged and we're forced to do the long distance thing while I finish up my last internships for grad school. Your class would be a PERFECT distraction from missing my love and help me get ready to be able to capture all the exciting things we have ahead of us… my graduation, our wedding, honeymoon…. and whatever happens next in life (babies maybe?) :)
Posted by: genevieve | February 16, 2014 at 08:12 PM
Oh my email is vieve909 at hotmail.com!
Posted by: genevieve | February 16, 2014 at 08:13 PM
Monday is my birthday and I would live to win a spot in your class. It would make it the Best. Day. Ever.
[email protected]
Posted by: Gina Maserang | February 16, 2014 at 10:24 PM
Hi. . . I write to ask to be considered for one of the auditing spots for your upcoming workshop. I have a passion for art, capturing moments, and especially telling story. I work very hard keep these things alive while being wife, mother of 3, in part time mission work, and staying connected in my kids day to day. We are currently a one income family and I cannot afford your class--though I have great respect for it--what you do--how you instruct and share your art with others. I love to learn and grow as an artist--person. . . it changes me--and I want to use it in my life to help others. I would be so honored to have the opportunity. Thanks for offering space and your consideration. [email protected]
Posted by: Jenna LaFleur | February 16, 2014 at 10:46 PM
I've enjoyed your blog for a few years. I love the photo tips and how you share your heart. I wouldn't be able to afford your course otherwise, so I'd love to be considered for the audited seat. Thanks!
Posted by: Breeana | February 17, 2014 at 07:00 AM
Hi there, my name is Zach and I would like to nominate Genevieve for your workshop ([email protected]). My fiance and I are currently doing the long distance thing, bi-coastaly Boston to LA, and this would be an amazing experience for her and for us. We both share a passion for photography and this opportunity would link us together across the nation. Thank you for the consideration!
Posted by: Zach | February 17, 2014 at 09:28 AM
I'd be head-over-heels happy for a chance to take your class, Karen! You're amazing. Thanks for another chance!
Posted by: Amber | February 17, 2014 at 10:21 AM
Hi Karen! I'd love to be considered for an auditing seat in your workshop. I've been trying to save up for a spot for a few years now & it seems like something always comes up that demands my savings more! It's awesome that you're doing this for those of us who have the desire & passion to learn more about photography, but don't quite have the means to do so!
Thanks!
Posted by: Renee S | February 17, 2014 at 11:33 AM
I'd like to win the spot for my friend Yolanda Robinson. Now that you aren't ever having another Hometown Workshop, she lost her will. But I think she should still take your on-line workshop. She's artistic, funny, and an all around lovely person!
Posted by: Kelli | February 17, 2014 at 03:18 PM
I would absolutely love the chance to learn from you Karen. I can't spend the money now even though it would be money well spent. Critiques like this one are fascinating for me to take a peek into how you analyze a photo. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Candace L | February 18, 2014 at 04:29 PM
This class would be a great 40th birthday present for me (3/12)! I love to take pictures and have a camera, just need this amazing class!!! :) thanks for offering up these seats. My email address is [email protected]
Posted by: Angela | February 21, 2014 at 01:42 PM