60th Birthday

[gredawarha]

I took a few photos at my Fathers 60th Birthday present. It was great to see him enjoy himself with his family and friends especially as he has had a difficult time recently with Bowl cancer.

Anywhere less of the back ground. I took a few photos while I was there, not many as I wanted to enjoy myself too. It was very dark at the venue so all shots are taken with an external flash. Any comments would be appreciated.


The Birthday boy by Darren Joseph Gregory, on Flickr


Simon by Darren Joseph Gregory, on Flickr


Laura by Darren Joseph Gregory, on Flickr

[Geoff F]

Basically good, Darren; particularly considering the shooting conditions.

Is #1 a fraction high in the green channel? But that could be my monitor. The flash is slightly strong on his right shoulder and background. Not a significant problem though. And virtually impossible to get this sort of shot absolutely perfect. You have caught the moment nicely.

#2 has a few slight problems with background lights which I would try to reduce. Possibly even try cropping tighter with a different size ratio to remove the right side background light.

#3. She is leaning to one side. Some people like this sort of effect while others prefer portraits to be more upright. Not a real issue for me though. Maybe you could get away with just a slight boost to the highlights, preferably applied selectively to avoid the background lights.

[gredawarha]

Basically good, Darren; particularly considering the shooting conditions.

Is #1 a fraction high in the green channel? But that could be my monitor. The flash is slightly strong on his right shoulder and background. Not a significant problem though. And virtually impossible to get this sort of shot absolutely perfect. You have caught the moment nicely.

#2 has a few slight problems with background lights which I would try to reduce. Possibly even try cropping tighter with a different size ratio to remove the right side background light.

#3. She is leaning to one side. Some people like this sort of effect while others prefer portraits to be more upright. Not a real issue for me though. Maybe you could get away with just a slight boost to the highlights, preferably applied selectively to avoid the background lights.

Hi Geoff

Like you mention I am pretty pleased with the pictures. They were very much taken candidly without any "prep" other than me switching the camera and flash on.

I cannot see the green in the first picture so could be your monitor or my eyes.

Picture 2, I tried for quite some time to do something about the background lights in post but I was not happy with any of my processing so eventualy gave up.

With 3 I know exactly what you are saying about the "lean". I have seen some photos that are described as "dutch" angle and they are not for me. That being said this third picture is was actually taken by my 2 year old son with my assitance. He has become a little obsessed with playing with Daddy's camera. It was quite heavily cropped but considering it was taken by a 2 year old I can forgive the "dutch" angle.

Thank you for your comments