personally, almost anybody here that has done any type of media work (headshots, team pix) could have done better than what those guys did. no excuse for turning in anything that bad for olympians. i've had some pretty crappy situations (once i was forced to shoot in a room so small that i had put my camera against a wall - couldn't even look through the viewfinder!), but somebody should have pulled the plug on this misadventure before the first victim was finished. embarrassing to say the least.
I saw an article on Zeit that said the gaffes were so obvious that they must have been put in on purpose. It makes the athletes more human and not perfect. Maybe there is something to it as things like the rips in the paper are very easily corrected with five seconds of the clone tool. Definitely it's a bit of a head scratcher.
I'm all for creative angles, and exotic lighting, but when it makes the subjects look AWFUL....???? Yes, challenging conditions, but any seasoned photog would know how to shoot under those conditions. Who brings a 5 ft backdrop for a 10 ft space????
Ouch, those really are not good. That's too bad. These atheletes have an amazing oportunity that such a small percentage of athletes get to have, they should be given excellent photos to remember it by. That is very subpar work. There are about 500 people on DPC that could do an infinitely better job than that.
This is what a sports themed portrait should look like for an olympian
This is done by LVicari and is absolutely stunning.
I saw an article on Zeit that said the gaffes were so obvious that they must have been put in on purpose. It makes the athletes more human and not perfect. Maybe there is something to it as things like the rips in the paper are very easily corrected with five seconds of the clone tool. Definitely it's a bit of a head scratcher.
The photographer should have made the holes much larger and maybe also lit the flag on fire. Subtlety doesn't work in the real world any more than it works here.
Those photos were more about what the photographer could do with lighting, angles, etc. and took much too much away from the athlete. Racket over the face? Really? All I saw was the racket, I saw nothing of the person behind it. No personality to the individual.
it really doesn't take much equipment. just a little know-how.
what happened to our olympians is a great example of what happens when you get people to do something they have no experience doing. that's fine - when it doesn't matter - but when it matters, why would you use people without a proven track record...
I didn't see who this guy was shooting for. I noticed the athletes filed through a number of stations from media agencies. For what purpose were these photos shot?
This was posted on the shutterstock forums, I really don't think these are the official photos. I don't know how they got out but I think they are just test shots like the ones you do before a shoot starts just to test lighting and they are obviously not edited. They are not even from the official photographer from the Olympics. I'm sure we will be seeing much better ones put out before the Olympics start.
Although the photos below are certainly better than those posted in the link, the mood just isn't right. They are took dark, and tends to add too much photographic drama, rather than focusing on the athlete. Too much shadow, pulling the athlete away from the viewer. Its still too much about the photo, and not about the athlete.
Its a particular style, and one that I personally don't think fits in with an Olympic team. Many of those photos in the link did just that and as a viewer I was pushed away, rather than drawn toward the athlete.
I didn't see who this guy was shooting for. I noticed the athletes filed through a number of stations from media agencies. For what purpose were these photos shot?
"The photos were taken for Getty and AFP." Consider that the next time your photos are rejected by Getty. :-O
I didn't follow the links that were referenced in the one Tanguera showed.
Could it be these strange outtakes were from a competitor's photographer who wanted us to look bad?
I know, I know. I reaching here. They are awful. That's all.
it really doesn't take much equipment. just a little know-how.
what happened to our olympians is a great example of what happens when you get people to do something they have no experience doing. that's fine - when it doesn't matter - but when it matters, why would you use people without a proven track record...
great example of what should have been. How edgy helps the athlete.
