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Student Image Critique

Lesson 13 from: Taking the Fear Out Of Low Light Photography

Jared Polin

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Lesson Info

13. Student Image Critique

Lesson Info

Student Image Critique

Trevor that's you that's me you're ready exposure what? He's shooting with five mark too okay, what lends my need to point ninety two point one radio station is that ah ninety millimeter what's at its own signal or time on uh tamra writes is that that's one of the ninety macron's but that doesn't matter in terms of composition well, first off the five d mark two it topped out at about well, you can take it to thirty, two hundred right? I think what it doesn't do well at thirty, two hundred it's really a tough ones a tough camera to shoot with the what exposure rise fine, I would go boom if I'd a little more but that's me this is your style of editing if that's what you like then that's fine, I'm not here to tell you that you're processing is any better than mine or any worse than mine because it's, what works for you? The one thing I personally don't like her dutch angles and I've said that a million times and a dutch angles whenever it's not straight I think when when somebody talked ...

about somebody yelled at me in the chat room today about the what what they say they said, uh do your mess ups do you try to hide them in black and white? I think that hiding your mess ups if an image isn't strong enough to stand on its own and you think it's going to be stronger because you throw it on a dutch angle that means the images and strong enough to be on its own that throwing it on an angle isn't going to make it any better that makes sense exposure is not far off it's not bad I think that the way they can get around that you could bump your contrast on this and I think it would fill it in a little more to make it go pop but it's a good moment that you captured I'm not going tell you go tighter because you're on a fixed lens you couldn't do it at that point so I have to take everything into consideration so that works as well it's a good it's an ok composition I would like it to be tighter but knowing your limitations with that lens it is what it is I'm not going to sit there and rip on it same thing here I would I would play with the contrast a little more but it's a nice it's a nice a moment captured because she's not moving too hard I like where the microphone is you have the separation from the mouth so she's not eating it the color on the other hand I really think with the contrast I think that was filling your your images must much better what do you editing with like room and what computer are you using twenty one inch mac okay so you have ah senator display on that that's not bad that's not terrible I would like to here's what I was talking about yesterday if you could have gotten on a lower angle I wouldn't mind that the monitors in there that wouldn't be terrible but I would like to see that you use this light in back of her now again she's jumping around a lot I was I was trying to get your low enough but she can't move right so that's the feedback that I have for that but exposure wise with that camera I honestly think that the d thirty three hundred is probably better in terms of quality do you do you think that's better than quality in the five day mark two I think image wise good in good light no but I think low light possibly probably yes in low light but so this isn't it's not bad just obviously a little tighter on that but exposure wise you're getting it this isn't bad either I like that she has her arm out it creates some dimension in it again I want to make it go boom a little more on dhere what I like you were emanuel right? I wish I had a laser pointer to say we have a laser pointer does this hat is that what this button does so I like you got the exposure right right that's important if you were trying to do the in auto or something like that or an aperture priority these lights would have clearly thrown off your image it would have done it it would have made it not acceptable not able to bring it back and in this case you did do that this is good too that's even better so that's it cannot go backwards can you guys go backwards? That's the red but that's the that's the eject button so this is fine it's more snapshot e but this is more of a winning shit that's a winning shots better than a shot that I took from the side because I didn't take any from the side this was a cool angle and this was when three people were in the pit was you me and louise right? You were in there so this is great she's holding she's actually standing still why she's standing still for you but this is great you've got this this whole area is nice the composition is great it could be a little tighter but it's not it's not bad it's not a deal breaker at all this works I love that the way the way that you captured it here just work on the processing a little bit to make it go boom a little bit how many times I say a little bit twice yeah, but but this is good that's good as well it's good it's good framing I like that you went horizontal and vertical not every shot should be vertical not every shot should be horizontal but this this does work and you see there's some movement in the arms here because she's probably moving forward right it's just it is what it is when you're trying to shoot this stuff but I'd be happy with oshi when did she put the microphone on the stand was this when I was done shooting the last couple songs? I think maybe yeah, she actually did that so this is good if you had a tighter lens this is where I would move up and go a little tighter but this competition does work. I like the lights in the background again I wanted to go a little more contrast in my personal opinion is to me it's a little flat do you generally go flat with your edits? I do a little bit of mood fi, but I didn't have this much contrast last night for because you don't like it or no no, I I tried to a little bit more but I think just a different and looked and looked more contrast you'd be ok, which is possible because we're looking at this on the what is this a plasma that one's out of focus right? I think that's out of focus so that one's out of focus can't do much with it if it's out of focus but though that was really good it was really solid for sitting that have you shot conference before you know so for not shooting concerts we go back and we look at the best shot in the whole bunch is this one this is a winning shot and I think we could pick out two more that would give you three nice shots from this and that's a win for the first time going out and shooting it to get the exposure right to deal with the lighting situation that you were dealing with to deal with one of the hardest bands to shoot because of how much she moves around you did a great job let's let's clap it up everybody at home giving a clap on anybody in here my cheek oh unedited images I didn't bring a laptop with me so there's uploaded to my ipad and straight straight png okay, what he's shooting with a nikon d six ten okay and lends seventy two two hundred two point eight was that what you were on with this? Yeah how far back where you're standing? I was from my seat where we're sitting on the side actually yeah all right so I can't be too harsh on that was added two hundred that was right out, right? So there's not much we can do usually you're not going to sitting in the seat over there shooting composition wise if we're just going to do it this is more of a vertical shot but I may have been in the way or people in front of you maybe in the way and the monitors so I get that yeah, we'll keep going that's cool this side up, all right? The little things in an image that catch you that's the first thing that caught me that's great. I love the dimension here. This goes this way this goes this way the angle that you were on, you have a computer, you have the wires, you have her looking in there that's cool, it works in color. You haven't boom. If I do, you haven't done anything yet with that camera you'd be able to do it. Would you go black and white or would you stay in color? I like color in this one. Okay, yeah, I would boom if I it I would definitely bring out the red. I think, um, yeah, I personally like that I'd keep in color and you're also getting a little bit of light in from the mountain from her screen. Yeah, that works too. This is nice. I like this frame this was from my seat as well well, that was better from your seat is this from your seat? Uh this one was from my seat as well. Yeah, not much did you have ones on here from the last two or three? I think we're I think I had six total the last three where as I was running around all right, well and this points out though like a lot of people were asking about shooting from the booth or just down towards the sound border shooting from this side and these air kind of some images that you could potentially your from seeing those locations and if anybody's thinking I'll get into a show with my professional gear anything's considered professional today you show up with a d thirty three hundred they're going to think that's the most professional camera in the world because the lens comes off the security doesn't care and so you're not going to get it into a show to shoot from the stands generally without a pass. So with this I just bring my angle down more whether the monitor stages in there it doesn't matter I just think too much head room up there is going to kill you so bring it down more and I think you'd be better off color wise exposure wise it's pretty good you may need to pull back just a little bit because a little ah a little over there hey that's me so that's all of us shooting that's a cool little scene on you gotta jumping shot where's my jumping shot I don't know I'm looking at my camera what am I doing? I'm changing lenses that's what I'm doing I was changing lenses when she did that so you missed some you're not ready you do that some people will say you should have two bodies so you're always prepared you're still switching lenses you're still switching bodies it doesn't take that much longer to switch the lens in my case uh that's a pretty good shot caller black and white yeah which one? Which way would you go? I will go black and white I think I think I think I was a little flat so yeah yeah there's not much light on here this was one of the lower light situations that we were shooting in now you're in front of the stage yes more of a vertical probably I haven't seen one vertical from you yet have I don't think so afraid of vertical know that canadian thing could be yeah I would I would consider going vertical for this and if you didn't go vertical for this just bring down the bring down your levels you're your whole body just so that you can framing a little tighter leah unedited oh that's what happens? We talked about that as they come too close to you the lead singer you lose all your life, there's nothing you can do really to correct for this, saving this image isn't going to happen very well if you bump the contrast, you change exposure going to lose all of her face and all of her eyes what you think about it I think it's a little fuzzy and but I like it. Um what do you like? I think I like the fact that it's a little fuzzy and a little dark. Okay, I think I don't know if that's what you like that's what you like and can tell you otherwise I actually wouldn't use it. Yeah, but if she was further back and she gets quote, she got close to you there's nothing you can do it's not your fault just is what it is, it's one of those things that just because they get in your face doesn't mean that you're going to need to shoot it you want to shoot it, but you're like, damn you, lead singer, can you back up, please? Yeah, you know that's interesting. If by chance the hand was blocking the light, it could have been like really cool could have been on that I don't like we chopped off the composition chopping off her body what were you looking at, what we're going for um I think I was probably trying tio go for all of her in there, but I was trying to do it so quickly, okay? Because the pits hard yeah, it's hard, but it's it's a good try. I mean, that's what you need to do, you need to shoot a little bit, you get better at it and then you start to realize what you need to do exposure wise, we're getting thrown off by these bright, bright lights. Were you in manual here? Yeah, what do you know what your settings were? I can't remember I think I had no I had I had just moved from larry back, so you were trying to get larry's exposure and he was really dark, so you don't your exposure to try to get him or you bumped riot so and drop the shutter speed and then we moved back to the center it was still set, so larry and then it was over exposed here. That makes sense that that's going to have this one thing you have to remember when you're shooting shows or in any situation where the lights change, where you go from even you'll see in a basketball game if you're shooting the action on the court and then you slow your shutter, speed down and drop your eyes so to shoot something students sitting on the bench you then have to remember to speed it back up for when you're shooting the action or it's not gonna work out too well so composition wise no, I'm not getting the exposure is better here you got that back you got that back but I'd have to bring the whole thing down there's way too much half the frame is up there yeah there's nothing there that's a little better what lends reshooting with eye but is eighteen to fifty five seventeen to two point eight okay, yeah, something like this I'd probably go either full body with your seventeen millimeters because I think you have a better chance of getting a lot of stuff sharper or more and focus when you shooting wire especially when they're moving so fast is when you're shooting tighter and I you saw me have this problem yesterday with seventy two, two hundred it makes it much harder to try to get them when they're jumping in and out of the frame and I'm trying to get a tight composition because I don't crop eso shooting this wider at seventeen would be better and would be able to fill the frame more same thing bring down the lines you can you can just center him or bring it down even if you cut him off a little bit of his knees or something and zoomed in just mohr framing right about their lines we're off a little bit. We're little cock eyed on those, but this is this. Is that almost eating the microphone thing? See from right in the middle. It kind of is like she's eating the microphone. So if you just take one step to either side, you could be better off and and again. Little too much headroom. This is just a horizontal waiting to happen. Yeah, all right, here we go. Edited images. That composition is right on right? That works. She's not eating the microphone. Focus wiser. We in focus. Do you remember? Uh, pretty pretty close. Yeah. Pretty close. All right. I like this. This composition is great. I don't mind that the monitors were here because that's part of the stage that looks good. This composition is right on she's. Right where she needs to be edited wise. Looks good. This is during one of the songs. There's. Not a lot of color, did you? You wanted to stay in color first. Black and white. Yeah, I think it worked for this. I went to black and white and I just didn't quite like the tones. God, that's, all that matters. It's, your personal choice, it's, your image that's a great shot, that's, another good shot. You're not going to get her feet in there because of where the monitors were what lens you're using this was an eighty five one eight balls and using the lens for somebody that's moving as much as this that's tough but that works uh it looks a little overexposed on here there may be just pulling back on the exposure a little bit in post with the raw but this is nice it nicely exposed it's a good moment that was captured were you waiting for something that happened like this where she brought them like down and we just shooting away I was I was kind of waiting for a moment like this I was because I saw the way she was kind of moving and uh when she went down I snagged it so perfect now this is good this is good framing good composition doesn't get better than that I'm not going to sit here and tell you she needs to be more in the centre which it would look better but it's great is a great shot everybody agree interesting and this is not ripping on anybody else's showed your work first off thank you for showing your work because it it takes a lot to put your work up here and have it critiqued and let the world at home see the thousands of people from around the world ok so but what I want to say is that when you see an image that makes you go wow, there's a big difference between the keepers and the not so keepers first it was this your first concert. I think you did a great job, that's all it comes down to. Then look at something like this and get the ideas starting and go. Okay, that makes more sense. Vertical, you have the seventeen, the fifty five you go out to fifty five millimeters. You may have to be a little closer than he is then at eighty five. But you're going to get what you need to get that's a great shot. Nice job. What body is it? Seventy cannon seventy but eighty five ends up being longer. That's perfect too that's! Good composition right there. The hand is up, the arm is up that's good. Not of not a bad amount of head room. I don't mind that because I rather have cut off at the knees then show more of the basically cut off the feat that looks good and I like the color in it. That's good as well. Maybe step in a little closer if you can. For this one little tighter just filled a little more for this was from my seats all right, so that that justifies that that is the issue I had as well the microphone right in the in the mouth it's still usable ideally in a night in an ideal world alright that can you guys that echoed in my voice in an ideal world that would be better obviously if it wasn't interface and it was off to the side but it's very nice that you've got this I love the lights in the background personally I love these blue streaks here in these blue it's just creating like a it's creating a weezer symbol in the background what it's doing? Because that's what they have in the background but if this is good it's not the best of the best because of where the mike is, what everything else about it is spot on details shot I actually don't take any detail shots yesterday like that s o that definitely works that always that's a nice one to throw in there feels good in black and white cousin eunuch larry wasn't in the color so this definitely worked all right sharon nice job. Thank you very nice. Oh, a drummer picture that works what was this shot with caitlin's this is a kim and seventy d within eighteen to one thirty five lens right? Ok, this looks good way to get the exposure works and it did you edit them know this is straight out of camera, okay rolls ross okay, that works not bad it's a nice little drum it's I mean it's a way to get the drum shot we said that how hard that was and that looks good here where we cut larry's feed off we have all that head room up there so you could have gotten all of larry in here. Larry is going to be upset with exposure wise getting larry where he is. Nice job, just composition wise either come in a little tighter and and and frame it right around here or pull back a little bit and you would be able to get all of larry in there because you have all that head room but that's not far off that's pretty good that's good to what I like about it is that you shot across stage. You shot and got this in there what's obviously this site up, which it isn't, but we got that and sidney doesn't have a like a lot of light in her face. I don't mind you staying in color. Well, you haven't you haven't tweaked it, but pretty good out of the camera, I would keep it in color because I like everything's red that could work and we just brighten it up a little bit and we're good to go that's cool, we're focused in on the finger where you're doing that or is that just a happy little axe no, I was focusing on the finger because she was coming at me with and she let it sit there the whole time she was leaning or she did yeah, of course she did. She did that ball because this was after I wasn't shooting anymore. Yeah, you were gone. This is when you guys were shooting. Yeah, it works. I can't say it doesn't work. What I like the face and folk. I don't know it's hard it's hard to say whether I want the face and focus or not on it, but it's still good and it's pretty cool. I mean, all the exposures are right on with that that works it's more of a snapshot from where you're at, it just doesn't have that dimension that's why, when you see me sneak up into here with wider lens, that means I have less distractions and that wider stuff is going to show more of the lights in the background and give us more dimension in the image this is doesn't have as much to mention there again, exposure wise it's right on composition wise right on as well. Pretty close, not bad the hand is almost cut off that's one thing we don't want to cut off well, you didn't so it's pretty close, nice job nice job there we go that's so that's the that's the other angle when I shot you when I was shooting her pointing at you this is her pointing at you and you're shooting her yeah are these that did that say editor unedited and unedited here it's just it's just the head room and it's not that bad here because it's a void it's almost a black void so it's not bad ah horizontal could have been better but it looks pretty good her black and what would you a black and white would you tell her black and white right that's not bad either little overexposed not bad bring down that angle and I think you'd be better off or horizontal would work as well she wasn't giving you too much so I know that there's not much else you could have done for that just again framing bring it down try to get all of the guitar in there when you can because cutting that off sometimes causes pain and mental pain like I cut it off so we got that that's cool this would be a black and white I'm assuming yeah nice job was good thank you marty it's good composition she standing there like that where that you're off to the side so the mike is an interface that's good these air did that say I didn't look at it it unedited, unedited all right, good is this from your seat? Yes, that they works from the side. So there's one and that's not cropped right? It's focused in on the microphone, isn't it? Is your eye and focus it's hard to tell. This is one that you're going to go into the computer, go black and white, bump up the exposure and try to make the face highlights come out a little bit more that way. This could work. Where is the other one? Where there was screaming in your face for some reason didn't have as much light in there. This could make that happen. So this is this is great composition that's awesome can't ask for it to be filled anymore from that, um, a little bit of movement going on in their composition wise. We want to bring that down, so try to block that light with her head. So that just means getting down a little lower if you can. I know it's harder, sometimes knees and all right, that works. This would end up being the black and white. I would think too. So it's a nice vertical from the side. Not so much on that one. It's ah, the facial expression and the microphone getting eaten.

Ratings and Reviews

Rusty Shinault
 

I'm a huge fan of Jared Polin; love his humorous and relaxed style of teaching. I love that he's passionate about photography, and that he is willing to share his experiences, opinions, and knowledge. I really enjoy Creative Live classes, and really enjoyed watching Jared teach in front of a live class. Hope to see more of Jared teaching on your platform.

user cf5d2d
 

Jared did not disappoint! He shared his knowledge of composition, exposure, and capturing the moment - all while engaging his audience and keeping things light and fun. I absolutely LOVE when how he sets up his equipment so that we can see each snapshot he takes, and then tells us why it's a good shot or why it's not a keeper. It's so easy to learn that way. I'm a second grade teacher (a.k.a. an educator) who, thanks to Jared can call myself a photographer. Jared is a photographer who is also a great educator!

a Creativelive Student
 

I've seen a few CreativeLive sessions and this was one of the best. It was very unique and engaging I liked the onsite shooting and review and critique. I have done teaching and I know how hard it is to teach WHILE you are doing and I think Jared did a great job of balancing that. I'm quite familiar with his FroKnowsPhoto podcast and website so I knew what to expect and both HE and CreativeLive EXCEEDED my expectations. Thanks much also for letting him use use studio for Raw Talk on the Road (my suggested name for it), I could see a real opportunity for CL to provide access to their facilities for others wanting to record training, etc.

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